By Judy Hoy, Stevensville
Birth defects now common on newborn mammals, especially grazing animals and human babies appear to be caused by the synergistic effects of a combination of factors. Such factors are the result of exposure to pesticides, especially the most used herbicide in the world, Roundup/glyphosate. Factors include disruption of retinoic acid (Vitamin A) signaling, Congenital Fetal Hypothyroidism (CFH), disruption of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) production and damage to sperm.
Possibly most important with regard to disrupted embryonic and fetal development, glyphosate disrupts Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), a signaling molecule that is essential in organogenesis and craniofacial (including brain) development, which dictates size and placement of organs, teeth and limbs.
Roundup/glyphosate is a patented mineral chelator. It binds up many minerals, making them unavailable to the cells of exposed plants and animals. Manganese and calcium deficiency has been shown to cause bone malformations, especially of the head, face and limbs. Zinc deficiency disrupts development of male reproductive organs. Magnesium deficiency disrupts the normal development of the thymus and the immune system, causing newborns to be susceptible to infections and cancer. Glyphosate itself has been shown to cause cancer.
It is evident that glyphosate, having been shown by numerous studies to disrupt many important processes essential to the life of most animals and plants, should no longer by used anywhere. The disruption of development of craniofacial bones, tooth development, thymus, hearts, male reproductive organs and other organs is causing many wildlife species to decline precipitously and many have gone extinct. Glyphosate is in mother’s milk, in air, surface water and on plants. Glyphosate kills beneficial insects, like honeybees and other pollinators, directly and by killing their nectaring and food plants.
For the sake of newborns now and all future generations of newborns, please do not ever apply Roundup/glyphosate and safely dispose of all that is unused.