By Michael Howell
A recent research article published in the on-line open access journal “Poultry, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences” documents a high correlation between the rising use of glyphosate-based pesticides in the U.S. and the rising incidence of various diseases and birth abnormalities in animals and humans. The article [Hoy J, Swanson N, Seneff S (2015) The High Cost of Pesticides: Human and Animal Diseases. Poult Fish Wildl Sci 3: 132. doi:10.4172/2375-446X.1000132] was co-authored by local wildlife rehabilitator Judy Hoy, Nancy Swanson of Abacus Enterprises, and Stephanie Seneff from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The study was based on research conducted by Hoy on wildlife, mostly deer fawns, over the past two decades, US government data on pesticide usage, and data from the Centers for Disease Control on hospital discharge rates for various human disease patterns between 1998 and 2010.
Because much of the wildlife data is from deer fawns, most of the human data presented involves newborn infants, but some data for children 0-15 years old was also presented as well as for the full population (except newborn).
The study found many diseases and conditions whose hospital discharge rates match remarkably well with the rate of glyphosate usage on corn, soy, and wheat crops. These include head and face anomalies, newborn eye disorders, newborn blood disorders, newborn skin disorders, lymph disorders in children 0-15 (and in the general population except newborn), congenital heart conditions in newborns, enlarged right ventricle in all age groups except newborn, newborn lung problems, pulmonary bleeding and edema for all age groups except newborn, liver cancer for all age groups except newborn, newborn metabolic disorders and newborn genitourinary disorders.
The article concludes that correlations between glyphosate usage and specific health issues, along with the known toxicology profile of glyphosate obtained from the literature, reflect a plausible causal relationship.
“Something is causing alarming increases in diseases and birth defects in wildlife. Something is causing alarming increases in diseases and birth defects in humans. Our graphs illustrating human disease patterns over the twelve-year period correlate remarkably well with the rate of glyphosate usage on corn, soy, and wheat crops,” state the researchers.
Glyphosate is known to chelate vital minerals [US Patent #3160632 A]. Glyphosate is an anti-microbial and biocide [US Patent #20040077608 A1]. Glyphosate has been classified as an endocrine disruptor by the Endocrine Society. Glyphosate has been classified as “probably carcinogenic” by the World Health Organization and by the American Cancer Society. Glyphosate interferes with the shikimate pathway, essential to healthy gut microbes. Glyphosate inhibits the CYP enzyme activity, which is vital to a healthy functioning liver.
According to the study, the strong correlations between glyphosate usage and disease patterns, the highly significant p-values and the known toxicological profile of glyphosate indicate that glyphosate is likely a major factor in the increases in the serious issues with human health documented here.
The authors conclude, “Our over-reliance on chemicals in agriculture is causing irreparable harm to all beings on this planet, including the planet herself. Most of these chemicals are known to cause illness, and they have likely been causing illnesses for many years. But until recently, the herbicides have never been sprayed directly on food crops, and never in this massive quantity. We must find another way.”