Herbicides

Glyphosate, known under the brand name Roundup®, is a herbicide that poisons a plant's immune system through chelation, which in turn causes the plant to die.

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in Norway. In 2003, more than 200 tons of glyphosate were sold in Norway and its use is increasing. Glyphosate is mainly used against deciduous trees in forestry and against vetch in grain fields after harvest. From October 2015, county permits have also been granted for the use of glyphosate to forcibly ripen barley and harrow. Traditionally, glyphosate has been considered less harmful to the environment than other pesticides because it breaks down quickly and binds strongly to soil particles. It has been assumed that glyphosate does not end up in watercourses. In line with the development of better analytical methods, glyphosate has been detected in groundwater in several European countries in recent years.

Chelation - The word chelation is derived from the Greek word chele, meaning “claw”; a chelating agent surrounds the central metal atom as if it were caught in the claws of a lobster. It involves chemicals that form soluble, complex molecules with specific metal ions, inactivating the ions in a way that prevents them from reacting with other elements or ions in a normal way.

A metal ion that has been captured by a strong chelating agent is not available for use as a metallic cofactor in enzyme formation in a plant. A metallic cofactor is a metal atom that is bound to, or otherwise associated with, a protein. It is necessary for the protein's biological activity. They are “helper molecules” that assist in biological transformations that would not have taken place without their presence. It is estimated that about half of all proteins contain a metal.

Glyphosate was first patented as a chelating agent in 1964. It is a very strong chelating agent, which is why it poisons plants. In 1974, Monsanto patented glysophate as a herbicide. When plants are poisoned by Roundup®, normal enzyme activity cannot occur and some enzymes cannot be formed at all. The plant's immune system is reduced to such an extent that the plant is quickly invaded and destroyed by bacterial pathogens that live in the soil where the plant grows.

Glyphosate makes plants more vulnerable to disease. It has been known since the 1980s that Roundup® destroys plants by knocking out their immune system, which further leads to bacteria in the soil completing the destruction.

Plants aren't the only thing glyphosate kills. It poisons beneficial insects that kill other species considered agricultural pests. The International Organization for Biological Control found that over 50% of 3 species of beneficial insects: parasitic wasps, webworms and ladybirds were killed by freshly dried Roundup® . Roundup has also been proven to destroy beneficial soil organisms such as earthworms and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Approximately a quarter of the glyphosate taken up by a plant is excreted from the root system and dispersed into the plant's rhizosphere.

A plant is forced to secrete poison when it is exposed to glyphosate. Glyphosate does not remain on the surface of a sprayed plant. It penetrates and enters every part of the plant, including the roots. The toxin released in place of the nutrient-rich root secretions the plant normally excretes is directly toxic to a whole class of beneficial bacteria and fungi. There are over 2 tons of living materials in an acre of soil. Soil is a living entity, and the quality of life of what it contains determines what minerals are available to be taken up as nutrients.

Glyphosate and fungi

There are very few trials documenting the effect of glyphosate on fungi. Grains of all kinds form a type of mycorrhiza called arbicular mycorrhiza. Experiments carried out in this area have found a significant reduction in symbiosis in plants growing in soil with glyphosate residues. The total biomass of spores is also greatly reduced. Absence of arbicular mycorrhiza is found to be of great importance for drainage of glyphosate residues.

In the soil, glyphosate is mainly degraded by fungi and bacteria. The presence of glyphosate in the soil leads to an explosion of the mold fungus fusarium, which is a pathogenic fungus that poses an increasing problem in Norwegian grain crops. Fusarium produces an undesirable level of mycotoxins (mold toxins).

Endophytes are a group of beneficial fungi that form a different type of symbiotic relationship with plants than mycorrhizae do. These are fungi that typically improve plants' growth opportunities and ability to take up nutrients, while repelling parasites, infections, predatory insects and other fungi. Endophytes produce specialized mycotoxins that make this possible. . Considering that thousands of spores land on the leaf surface of a plant every single day, it is important for the plant to form a symbiosis with endophytes that can establish an effective defense. For example, grain farmers producing wheat will benefit greatly from the root-based endophyte Piriformospora indica. Piriformospora indica stimulates a growth increase in shoots and roots of more than 30%, while protecting roots from pathogenic microbe attacks. There are also varieties of Trichoderma endophytes that are particularly effective against fusarium. Glyphosate is highly effective against endophytes, which in turn paves the way for fusarium.

For decades, Monsanto has claimed, with the consent of government ministries, that glyphosate is ineffective and completely safe once it comes into contact with the soil. That it has no side effects. Presumably it was bound so tightly to clay particles that nothing can be absorbed by a crop grown on a freshly burned field. In addition, Monsanto offered “proof” that Roundup® had a half-life of 3-60 days in the soil. They even claimed that waste products that are tightly bound to particles in the soil degrade quickly, so the poison is actually harmless and environmentally friendly.

If you take into account research that is not industry-driven, all these claims are outright wrong.

When studying agricultural soil under a microscope, it's not uncommon to see residues from several previous crops that have not decomposed. Roundup® penetrates all parts of the plant. When the plant disintegrates in the soil, glyphosate is released in a plant-available form and can poison various life forms it comes into contact with.

In addition, it was claimed that glyphosate that was tightly bound to clay or humus particles was completely inactive until it harmlessly dissolved and disappeared in a short time without a trace. Tests conducted by scientific communities without industry influence have falsified this on a number of occasions.

Firstly, tests conducted in countries outside the US without the influence of the $8 million Monsanto spends on lobbying each year have shown that glyphosate has a much longer half-life than Monsanto claims. Glyphosate can be measured in the soil for as long as three years after a single dose is applied. Glyphosate dissolves slowly in the vast majority of soils, and in practice it can hardly dissolve at all. Repeated applications over a period of years can cause a build-up of the elaborately active poison with very serious long-term effects.

Secondly, it has been shown that the clay and humus particles that absorb the so-called “deactivated” glyphosate deabsorb and release it in plant-available form when fertilizer containing phosphorus is applied to the soil. Phosphorus likes the same sorption sites on soil particles as glyphosate. When applied in large enough quantities, phosphorus can displace the poison, which can take days to find a new home in other available sorption sites. In the meantime, the poison is loose and available to destroy the immune system of any plant it comes into contact with.

False advertising: On January 20, 2007, Monsanto was convicted of falsely advertising Roundup® , presenting it as biodegradable and that it left a clean soil after use.

Scientific falsification: On more than one occasion, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has caught scientists falsifying test results at research labs hired by Monsanto to study glyphosate.

China has recently become the leading producer of glyphosate in the world, and in 2010 had the capacity to produce 835,900 tons a year. At the recommended dosage of 154 grams per acre, China's production alone could cover the treatment of five billion four hundred and ten million eight hundred and thirty-nine thousand (5,410,839,000) acres of the world's prime agricultural land.

As the use of scientific instruments and analytical methods has improved, as suppressed research has seen the light of day, and as decades of planting experience have broadened the base of actual results worldwide, it has become clear that much of the best farmland in the world has begun to decay. Even if the use of glyphosate stopped immediately, it would take decades to reverse the poisoning.

Glyphosate remains in the soil for much longer periods of time than Monsanto has been willing to acknowledge. Concentrations in the soil build up dose by dose, season by season. Monsanto's own test data reveals that only 2% of the product is degraded after 28 days. Whether it degrades over the course of weeks, months or years depends largely on factors in the soil. PH, temperature, clay content and mineral content are all influencing factors. Glyphosate can in some cases hold on to nutrients in the soil and remain stable for long periods of time. One study showed that it took up to 22 years for glyphosate to degrade to half the amount after a single dose.

Dr. Don Huber worked for 35 years as a plant pathologist at Purdue University. He is one of the world's leading experts on the negative effects of Roundup® on various crops, both RR crops and conventional crops. By weakening plants and promoting disease, glyphosate opens the door to a host of problems. According to Dr. Huber, there is “a reported increase of more than 40 diseases in crops sprayed with glyphosate. This number is increasing as people notice the connection between glyphosate and disease.”

Besides weakening plant defenses and increasing pathogen populations and malignancy, glyphosate can have indirect effects on disease susceptibility. This is because glyphosate blocks micronutrients needed to build up resistance to disease, blocking the availability of nutrients. It seems that plant diseases have exploded after the increased use of Roundup®.

It is a well-established fact that spraying with glyphosate promotes plant diseases. Spraying can also promote insect pests because many insects are opportunistic and seek out diseased plants with weak immune systems. Healthy plants are known to produce nutrients and form fungal alliances in a way that makes them inaccessible to many insects and other pathogens. Farmers all over the world report less insect problems in crops with a high nutrient content and good quality. Weak plants become a feast for insects. Plants ravaged by diseases promoted by glyphosate can also attract more insects, which in turn increases the use of toxic pesticides that further destroy beneficial compounds in the soil-food web. In addition to a lower nutrient content, is it possible that Monsanto's Roundup® could pose a health risk to humans as well as animals?

It would appear so.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) detected glyphosate in rivers, in the air we breathe and even in rainfall. While the concentrations found in the air and in precipitation are small, the scientific evidence emerging around what this chronic low-level exposure is doing to our bodies, especially to unborn fetuses and young children, is very concerning.

Warren Porter, PhD, Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison is an expert on pesticide exposure. He took the air exposure numbers from the USGS survey and found that the levels found in the survey can lead to accumulations that can alter endocrine-mediated biochemical mechanisms, leading to obesity, heart problems, circulatory problems and diabetes. Low-level exposure to endocrine disruptors such as glyphosate has also been linked to weakened immune systems and learning disabilities.

Glyphosate has been associated with birth defects in a number of laboratory animals and it has been reported that Monsanto has known about Roundup®'s link to birth defects since the 1980s, when internal investigations found mutations in animals exposed to high doses. Glyphosate has also been linked to infertility, endocrine disruption, abnormal and low sperm counts, miscarriages, placental cell death, birth defects and cancer.

The same nutrients that glyphosate chelates and prevents plants from utilizing are essential nutrients for human and animal health. These include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium, boron, and others. The lack of these elements in our diet disrupts vital enzyme systems and causes a long list of disorders and diseases.

Sources:

- Bioforsk: http://www.bioforsk.no/ikbViewer/Content/18652/almvik.pdf

- Ziegler, Arthur: "Seawater Concentrate for Abundant Agriculture"

- Dr. Don Huber, “What’s New in Ag Chemical and Crop Nutrient Interactions” Fluid Journal Vol. 18 No. 3, Issue #69, (Våren 2010)

- Caroline Cox, “Glyphosate Factsheet” / Journal of Pesticide Reform v.108, n.3, (Fall98 rev.Oct00)

- “ Monsanto guilty in 'false ad' row” B.B.C. News, (15 oktober 2009)

- Jeffrey M. Smith, “Monsanto's Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health” Natural News, 28 januar 2011

- “Widely Used Herbicide Commonly Found in Rain and Streams in the Mississippi River Basin”, Technical Announcement, USGS Newsroom, 8/29/2011

- Lucia Graves “Roundup: Birth Defects Caused By World's Top-Selling Weedkiller, Scientists Say” Huffington Post, 08/24/11

- Cuhra, Marek Review of GMO safety assessment studies: glyphosate residues in Roundup Ready crops is an ignored issue Norwegian Research Council, project 84107 Miljø-2015

- Vedtak på søknad om dispensasjon for bruk av glyfosat preparater til vekstavslutning i korn. NLR Hedmark, 2. oktober 2015

- Zaller, J. Heigl, F. Ruess, L. Grabmaier, A Glyphosate herbicide affects belowground interactions between earthworms and symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi in a model ecosystem Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 5634 (2014)

- Kryuchkovaa, Y et. al. Isolation and characterization of a glyphosate-degrading rhizosphere strain, Enterobacter cloacae K7 Microbiological Research, Volume 169, Issue 1, 20 January 2014

- Liu et al. Degradation of the herbicide glyphosate by members of the family Rhizobiaceae. Appl Environ Microbiol, 57 (1991)

- Araujo et al. Effect of glyphosate on the microbial activity of two Brazillian soils. Chemosphere, 52.

- Kremer and Means. Glyphosate and glyphosate-resistant crop interaction with rhizosphere microorganisms. Eur J Agron, 31 (2009)

- Lancaster et al. Effect of repeated glyphosate application on soil microbial community composition and the mineralization of glyphosate. Pest Manag Sci, 66 (2010)

Varma et al. Piriformaspora indica. Applied and environmental microbiology (1999).