EVSLIN: Are Roundup-like herbicides making us sick?

Roundup-like herbicides in our food and the environment are a growing concern for experts around the world. I’ve been writing about the possible toxicity of these chemicals for several years, resulting in an invitation to give a keynote address at the 2022 UN General Assembly Science Summit. As the research becomes more worrisome by the week, so too does the need for decisive action.

UC Berkeley published a study this month that may finally convince our regulatory agencies that Roundup-like herbicides need a major reevaluation now. Researchers from multiple universities analyzed the data from 480 children, who were followed closely from before birth to age 18. They found that the higher the concentration of glyphosate (the active ingredient of Roundup-like herbicides) and its breakdown products in the urine of these children when they were young, the more likely these same children were to have evidence of liver inflammation and metabolic disorders by age 18. These children are at increased risk for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and liver disorders. The source of the glyphosate in these children was calculated to be both from diet and, at times, the environment.

A government study, also published recently, showed that 80 percent of the Americans sampled had glyphosate in their urine. Equally disturbing is that they found that the higher the measurement of this chemical in the urine, the lower the levels of male and female sex hormones in the blood.

Another study analyzed the urine of people who spray pesticides and found that the higher the level of glyphosate in their urine, the higher levels they had of reactive substances that are often precursors of cancer and metabolic disease.

Studies over the last few years also demonstrate that Roundup-like herbicides are likely to profoundly affect the bacteria that live in and on our bodies. These studies may prove to be one of the major pieces to the puzzle of why these chemicals can harm our health. Glyphosate is not only patented as an herbicide but is also patented as a chemical with marked antibacterial properties. With Roundup now pervasively in our food system, we have allowed a powerful chemical with antibiotic properties into the bodies of almost everyone who eats a standard American diet.

Roundup-like herbicides were added to our diets in the 1990s. They are now the most heavily sprayed herbicide in history. Monsanto patented Roundup and showed farmers that they could better dry and harvest many crops by spraying them. This often led to grains, such as wheat, oats, and barley, being sprayed shortly before harvesting. Next, Monsanto revolutionized farming by genetically engineering certain crops, such as soy, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets, to be resistant to Roundup. This meant that fields of these crops could be sprayed while they were growing. The spraying killed the weeds and not the crops. The result is that most GMO soy, corn, canola, and sugar beets now contain glyphosate. It also means that a sizable percentage of non-GMO foods, such as bread, breakfast cereals, and beans, contain glyphosate because of spraying prior to harvest.

The EPA has been told by the U.S. court system that they need to reevaluate the safety of glyphosate-containing herbicides. While we wait for regulators to act, we should be asking reasonable questions about how to protect ourselves and our families from the possible toxicity of glyphosate in our food. Research studies have shown that within days of eating an organic diet, people’s urine becomes dramatically cleared of pesticides, meaning that small personal choices can make an almost immediate difference. Unfortunately, we are only just learning of the longer-term effects, such as possible changes to the bacteria that live in and on our bodies, liver inflammation, cancer precursors, and so on.

While these effects may go on long after our urine is clear of pesticides, an organic diet is a positive start. Buying organic food represents an additional benefit: voting with your dollars which then results in more options as the economic benefits for producers increase. The good news is that eating organic food has become less expensive and more accessible to families. Unfortunately, the prices remain high, but the standard American diet does not keep our citizens healthy. I believe the evidence is compelling that we need dramatic changes to our food and food production system.

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Lee A. Evslin, M.D., is the author of Breakfast at Monsanto’s: Is Roundup In Our Food Making Us Fatter, Sicker, And Sadder? He is a retired Kauai-based pediatrician and the former CEO of Kauai Medical Clinic and Wilcox Hospital. He served on the state-sponsored task force involved with the analysis of pesticide usage on Kaua‘i and received special recognition from the American Academy of Pediatrics for his work on pesticide legislation.