THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear Friends and Colleagues
Statement of Concern on the World’s No.1 Herbicide, Glyphosate
Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are the most heavily applied herbicide in the world and usage continues to rise. Since the late 1970s, the volume of GBHs applied has increased approximately 100-fold; largely from the widespread adoption of GM Roundup Ready crops that are genetically engineered to be tolerant to glyphosate.
Studies published in the last decade especially have found that initial risk assessments of glyphosate as presenting limited hazard to vertebrates had ignored the possibility that glyphosate and its metabolites might act via other pathways as well failed to assess the impact of changes in use patterns. In 2015, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
In response to these developments, 14 scientists have published a “Statement of Concern” outlining the risk of GBHs, drawing on emerging science relevant to their safety. They conclude that: GBHs often contaminate drinking water sources, precipitation, and air, especially in agricultural regions; the half-life of glyphosate in water and soil is longer than previously recognized; glyphosate and its metabolites are widely present in the global soybean supply; human exposures to GBHs are rising; and regulatory estimates of tolerable daily intakes for glyphosate in the United States and European Union are based on outdated science.
The authors recommend that common commercial formulations of GBHs be prioritized for inclusion in government-led toxicology testing programs as well as for biomonitoring with systematic efforts to monitor GBH levels in people and in the food supply. In the absence of government funds to support GBH research, the authors suggest that a system be put in place through which manufacturers of GBHs provide funds to the appropriate regulatory body as part of routine registration fees to finance independent safety studies. Assessments of GBH toxicity should encompass potential endocrine disruption, impacts on the gut microbiome, carcinogenicity, and multigenerational effects looking at reproductive capability and frequency of birth defects.
With best wishes,
Third World Network
131 Jalan Macalister
10400 Penang
Malaysia
Website: https://biosafety-info.net/ and http://www.twn.my/
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CONCERNS OVER USE OF GLYPHOSATE-BASED HERBICIDES AND RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURES: A CONSENSUS STATEMENT
John Peterson Myers, Michael N. Antoniou, Bruce Blumberg, Lynn Carroll, Theo Colborn, Lorne G. Everett, Michael Hansen, Philip J. Landrigan, Bruce P. Lanphear, Robin Mesnage, Laura N. Vandenberg, Frederick S. vom Saal, Wade V. Welshons and Charles M. Benbrook
Environmental Health
http://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0117-0
Abstract
The broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate (common trade name “Roundup”) was first sold to farmers in 1974. Since the late 1970s, the volume of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) applied has increased approximately 100-fold. Further increases in the volume applied are likely due to more and higher rates of application in response to the widespread emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds and new, pre-harvest, dessicant use patterns. GBHs were developed to replace or reduce reliance on herbicides causing well-documented problems associated with drift and crop damage, slipping efficacy, and human health risks. Initial industry toxicity testing suggested that GBHs posed relatively low risks to non-target species, including mammals, leading regulatory authorities worldwide to set high acceptable exposure limits. To accommodate changes in GBH use patterns associated with genetically engineered, herbicide-tolerant crops, regulators have dramatically increased tolerance levels in maize, oilseed (soybeans and canola), and alfalfa crops and related livestock feeds. Animal and epidemiology studies published in the last decade, however, point to the need for a fresh look at glyphosate toxicity. Furthermore, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer recently concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” In response to changing GBH use patterns and advances in scientific understanding of their potential hazards, we have produced a Statement of Concern drawing on emerging science relevant to the safety of GBHs. Our Statement of Concern considers current published literature describing GBH uses, mechanisms of action, toxicity in laboratory animals, and epidemiological studies. It also examines the derivation of current human safety standards. We conclude that: (1) GBHs are the most heavily applied herbicide in the world and usage continues to rise; (2) Worldwide, GBHs often contaminate drinking water sources, precipitation, and air, especially in agricultural regions; (3) The half-life of glyphosate in water and soil is longer than previously recognized; (4) Glyphosate and its metabolites are widely present in the global soybean supply; (5) Human exposures to GBHs are rising; (6) Glyphosate is now authoritatively classified as a probable human carcinogen; (7) Regulatory estimates of tolerable daily intakes for glyphosate in the United States and European Union are based on outdated science. We offer a series of recommendations related to the need for new investments in epidemiological studies, biomonitoring, and toxicology studies that draw on the principles of endocrinology to determine whether the effects of GBHs are due to endocrine disrupting activities. We suggest that common commercial formulations of GBHs should be prioritized for inclusion in government-led toxicology testing programs such as the U.S. National Toxicology Program, as well as for biomonitoring as conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.