In article ,
Ohioguy wrote:

Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil
Don Huber, recently retired from Purdue University, and co-author G.S.

Funny, I sprayed glyphosphate onto a section of yard near my back
fence, to kill all of the grass. The soil is rich there, so I was able
to plant without disturbing the soil much, other than adding some
composted cow manure to the bottom of the holes, and then adding straw
later on to conserve moisture.

Tomatoes are probably the most susceptible to damage from
glyphosphate, yet mine are doing great there now. By using
glyphosphate, I was able to minimize soil preparation, soil erosion, and
backbreaking work. In truth, I wouldn't have a nice tomato garden
without the roundup, and the local steam would probably have become
choked with silt from erosion runoff, killing off some endangered
species. Way to go, glyphosphate!

Sounds like it's time to have a nice big plate of tomatoes, mozzarella,
and some basil. Eat hardy ;O)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup_(herbicide)#Health_effects
Health effects

Toxicity

Laboratory studies have shown teratogenic effects of roundup in
animals[13] [14]. These reports have proposed that the teratogenics are
caused by impaired retinoicacid signaling[15]. A 2011 report by Earth
Open Source asserts that the roundup active ingredient - glyphosate -
has caused birth defects in laboratory animal tests[16]. News reports
have supposed that regulators have been aware of these studies since
1980[17].

The United States Environmental Protection Agency? (EPA) considers
glyphosate to be relatively low in toxicity, and without carcinogenic or
teratogenic effects.[18] The EPA considered a "worst case" dietary risk
model of an individual eating a lifetime of food entirely from
glyphosate-sprayed fields, and with residue levels remaining at their
maximum levels, and concluded no adverse effects would exist under these
conditions.[18]

A 2000 review concluded that "under present and expected conditions of
new use, there is no potential for Roundup herbicide to pose a health
risk to humans".[19] The 2000 review has been criticized because it
reviewed mostly experiments where glyphosate and POEA were used alone,
not as a mixture as in Roundup, and for only one or two years.[20] It
didn't review toxicity studies of Roundup treatments (as a mixture) in
rats or rabbits that last more than 22 days[20] and its potential as an
endocrine disruptor was not assessed with a Roundup mixture at all.[20]
A 2008 scientific study has shown that Roundup formulations and
metabolic products cause the death of human embryonic, placental, and
umbilical cells in vitro, even at low concentrations. The effects were
not proportional to the main active ingredient concentrations
(glyphosate), but dependent on the nature of the adjuvants used in the
Roundup formulation.[21]

Deliberate ingestion of Roundup herbicide in quantities ranging from 85
to 200 ml has resulted in death within hours of ingestion, although it
has also been ingested in quantities as large as 500 ml with only mild
or moderate symptoms following ingestion.[22] There is a reasonable
correlation between the amount of Roundup ingested and the likelihood of
serious systemic sequelae or death. Ingestion of 85 mL of the
concentrated formulation is likely to cause significant toxicity in
adults. Gastrointestinal corrosive effects, with mouth, throat and
epigastric pain and dysphagia are common. Renal and hepatic impairment
are also frequent and usually reflect reduced organ perfusion.
Respiratory distress, impaired consciousness, pulmonary oedema,
infiltration on chest x-ray, shock, arrythmias, renal failure requiring
haemodialysis, metabolic acidosis and hyperkalaemia may supervene in
severe cases. Bradycardia and ventricular arrhythmias are often present
pre-terminally. Dermal exposure to ready-to-use glyphosate formulations
can cause irritation, and photo-contact dermatitis has been reported
occasionally; these effects are probably due to the preservative Proxel
(benzisothiazolin-3-one).Inhalation is a minor route of exposure, but
spray mist may cause oral or nasal discomfort, an unpleasant taste in
the mouth, tingling and throat irritation. Eye exposure may lead to mild
conjunctivitis, and superficial corneal injury is possible if irrigation
is delayed or inadequate.[12]

Glyphosate is toxic to human skin cells, through causing oxidative
damage; antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E were found to provide some
protection to such damage, leading the authors of the study to recommend
that these chemicals be added to formulations including glyphosate.[23]
Severe skin burns are very rare.[12]

Endocrine disruptor

A 2000 in vitro study on mouse MA-10 cells concluded that Roundup
inhibited progesterone production by disrupting StAR protein
expression.[24] Further studies demonstrated this was not caused by
glyphosate but to surfactants used as inactive ingredients in Roundup
formulations.[25]

A 2005 in vitro study on human placental JEG3 cells concluded that the
glyphosate disruption of aromatase is facilitated by adjuvants of the
Roundup formulation.[9][26]

A 2009 in vitro experiment with glyphosate formulations on human liver
HepG2 cells has observed endocrine disruption at sub-agricultural doses,
where a Roundup formulation showed to be the most active formulation.
The effects were more dependent on the formulation than on the
glyphosate concentration.[27]

A 2009 study on rats has found that Roundup is a potent endocrine
disruptor causing disturbances in the reproductive development when the
exposure was performed during the puberty period.[28]

[edit]
Genetic damage

A 1998 study on mice concluded that Roundup is able to cause genetic
damage. The authors concluded that the damage was "not related to the
active ingredient, but to another component of the herbicide
mixture".[29]

A 2005 study raised concerns over the effects of Roundup in
transcription.[30]

A 2009 study on mice has found that a single intraperitoneal injection
of Roundup in concentration of 25*mg/kg caused chromosomal aberrations
and induction of micronuclei.[31]

A 2009 in vitro experiment with glyphosate formulations on human liver
cells has observed DNA damages at sub-agricultural doses, where a
Roundup formulation showed to be the most active formulation. The
effects were more dependent on the formulation than on the glyphosate
concentration.[27]

Ecologic effects

A 2000 review of the toxicological data on Roundup concluded that "for
terrestrial uses of Roundup minimal acute and chronic risk was predicted
for potentially exposed nontarget organisms". It also concluded that
there were some risks to aquatic organisms exposed to Roundup in shallow
water.[32]

Toxicity
A 2009 study has concluded that while physiological pH decreases
glyphosate uptake in animal cells, Roundup formulation contains
surfactants that increase membrane permeability allowing cellular uptake
at physiological pH.[8]

Aquatic effects

Fish and aquatic invertebrates are more sensitive to Roundup than
terrestrial organisms.[32] Glyphosate is generally less persistent in
water than in soil, with 12 to 60 day persistence observed in Canadian
pond water, yet persistence of over a year have been observed in the
sediments of ponds in Michigan and Oregon.[11]

The EU classifies Roundup as R51/53 Toxic to aquatic organisms, may
cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment.[33]
Although Roundup is not registered for aquatic uses[34] and studies of
its effects on amphibians indicate it is toxic to them,[35] scientists
have found that it may wind up in small wetlands where tadpoles live,
due to inadvertent spraying during its application. A recent study found
that even at concentrations one-third of the maximum concentrations
expected in nature, Roundup still killed up to 71 percent of tadpoles
raised in outdoor tanks.[36]

A 2010 study has found that long-term exposition to environmental
relevant concentrations of a Roundup formulation causes metabolic
disruption in he fish leporinus obtusidens.[37]

Environmental degradation and effects

When glyphosate comes into contact with the soil, it can be rapidly
bound to soil particles and be inactivated.[11] Unbound glyphosate can
be degraded by bacteria.[38] Glyphosphate has been shown to increase the
infection rate of wheat by fusarium head blight in fields that have been
treated with glyphosphate.[39] A 2009 study using a RoundUp formulation
has concluded that absorption into plants delays subsequent
soil-degradation, and can increase glyphosate persistence in soil from
two to six times.[40]

In soils, half lives vary from as little as 3 days at a site in Texas,
to as much as 141 days at a site in Iowa.[41] In addition, the
glyphosate metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid was shown to persist up
to 2 years in Swedish forest soils.[42]

A recent study concluded that certain amphibians may be at risk from
glyphosate use.[43] One study has shown an effect on growth and survival
of earthworms.[44] The results of this study are in conflict with other
data, and have been criticized on methodological grounds.[32] In other
studies, nitrogen fixing bacteria have been impaired, and also crop
plant susceptibility to disease has been
increased.[39][45][46][47][48][49][50]

False advertising and scientific fraud

False advertising
In 1996, Monsanto was accused of false and misleading advertising of
glyphosate products, prompting a law suit by the New York State attorney
general.[51] Monsanto had made claims that its spray-on glyphosate based
herbicides, including Roundup, were safer than table salt and
"practically non-toxic" to mammals, birds, and fish.[52]

Environmental and consumer rights campaigners brought a case in France
in 2001 for presenting Roundup as biodegradable and claiming that it
left the soil clean after use; glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, is
classed by the European Union as "dangerous for the environment" and
"toxic for aquatic organisms". In January 2007, Monsanto was convicted
of false advertising.[53] The result was confirmed in 2009.[54]

Scientific fraud

On two occasions, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has
caught scientists deliberately falsifying test results at research
laboratories hired by Monsanto to study glyphosate.[55][56][57] In the
first incident involving Industrial Biotest Laboratories, an EPA
reviewer stated after finding "routine falsification of data" that it
was "hard to believe the scientific integrity of the studies when they
said they took specimens of the uterus from male rabbits".[58][59][60]
In the second incident of falsifying test results in 1991, the owner of
the lab (Craven Labs), and three employees were indicted on 20 felony
counts, the owner was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined $50,000,
the lab was fined 15.5 million dollars and ordered to pay 3.7 million
dollars in restitution.[41][61][62] Craven laboratories performed
studies for 262 pesticide companies including Monsanto.

Monsanto has stated that the studies have been repeated, and that
Roundup's EPA certification does not now use any studies from Craven
Labs or IBT. Monsanto also said that the Craven Labs investigation was
started by the EPA after a pesticide industry task force discovered
irregularities.[63]

yum yum!
--
- Billy

Mad dog Republicans to the right. Democratic spider webs to the left. True conservatives, and liberals not to be found anywhere in the phantasmagoria
of the American political landscape.

America is not broke. The country is awash in wealth and cash.
It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the
greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks
and the portfolios of the uber-rich.
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/.../michael-moore
/michael-moore-says-400-americans-have-more-wealth-/