For the Love of Weeds-Pt. 2…Round-Up Pesticide, Blessing or Curse?

Well, I certainly never thought I would do a part two on a blog post having to do with weeds, but here goes!  This post has to do with my statement about my intense dislike of Round-Up, and I have been asked to explain why I hold that opinion by fellow blogger Michelle at one of my favorite blogs, https://rabbitpatchdiary.com.  I’ll add some pretty pictures to hopefully charm it up a bit!

The material out there is vast, but I will do my best to sum it up in as brief a post as possible. I will post links at the end of this post so you can do your own follow-up studies and draw your own conclusions.  Hopefully for the sake of the environment and ultimately your health and those you love, you will reach the same conculusion as I have come to, and look for alternative methods to control weeds. When I am not pulling, this recipe  is a simple one to use and it works!

One of my main sources for health news is Dr. Mercola, and I have read many articles relating to the dangers of Round-Up on his website alone.  I will use other sources for this post, however, to give a broader analysis of the topic.  According to the Dr. Mercola article, Monsanto is Inside Everything. this so called crop-saver is showing up in urine samples, breast-milk, blood samples, water supplies, and in the very air we breathe.

A study reported by The Detox Project reported that glyphosate, the active main ingredient in Round-Up, was found in women’s breast milk at 760-1600 times higher than the level allowed by the EU in drinking water. So the purest form of food for the tiniest among us is now contaminated by man-made killer chemicals!  Further studies showed glyphosate crosses the placental barrier with 15% reaching the fetal compartment.

 

To quote Angelika Hilbeck, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Institute of Integrative Biology in Zurich:

This is reckless and irresponsible conduct in a democratic society, which still has a living memory of previous reckless chemical contaminations, such as DDT.”

Blood samples and urine samples in Canadian and US women respectively were found to be at maximum levels for urine and levels similar to the concentration found to have endocrine-disrupting effects in vitro in the blood samples.

While on the topic of embryonic health, the inert ingredient, polyethoxylated tallowamine, or POEA, in Round-Up was actually found to be more deadly than the active ingredient, glyphosate, according to the article in the Scientific American Weed-Whacking Herbicide Proves Deadly to Human Cells. In this article, evidence is shown that just because an ingredient is listed as inert-Federal law classifies all pesticide ingredients that don’t harm pests as “inert,”-doesn’t mean they aren’t necessarily biologically or toxicologically harmless. “This clearly confirms that the [inert ingredients] in Roundup formulations are not inert,” wrote the study authors from France’s University of Caen.“Moreover, the proprietary mixtures available on the market could cause cell damage and even death [at the] residual levels” found on Roundup-treated crops, such as soybeans, alfalfa and corn, or lawns and gardens.

So what if you don’t use Round-Up… why should you care…doesn’t it simply disappear after it kills the weeds, isn’t it “biodegradable” like we are told in most places that sell it.

No

In 2009, a French court found Monsanto guilty of lying; falsely advertising its Roundup herbicide as “biodegradable,” “environmentally friendly” and claiming it “left the soil clean.”

 

Furthermore, if you eat, you need to care…Glyphosate is sprayed on some crops right before they are harvested to help then dry out. Monsanto’s patented genes are present in about 95 percent of U.S.-grown soybeans and 80 percent of our corn.In 2014, Roundup Ready crops accounted for 94 percent of soybeans and 89 percent of corn. Between the two, these crops cover more than half of America’s farmland.  The problem is certainly not limited to America… In Argentina, where Monsanto’s Roundup has turned the country into the world’s third-largest soybean producer, a report by the Ministry of Health revealed that, between 2005 and 2009, cancerous tumors were double the national average in the areas where GMO crops are grown and agro-chemicals like Roundup are used. Now, more than 30,000 doctors and health professionals in Argentina are urging the government to ban Monsanto products. (https://draxe.com/monsanto-roundup/).

So what exactly is Round-up ready and GMO crops?  Simply put, they are crops from seeds altered to withstand the effects of Round-up while the weeds around them die.  It is  argued that GMO crops increase food supply thereby helping to curb world hunger.  There is no evidence to prove that this is the case according to the New Soil Association in 2008. In fact not only does it not increase yield, it leads to terminator seeds-seeds that are grown for a second generation that are sterile…leading to just the opposite of increased yield. In addition to less yield, GMO corn is shown to have 18 times the safe level of glyphosate set by the EPA…I would argue there is no safe level, period.  About 75 percent of the food available at the grocery store contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs), grown from Roundup Ready crops, in particular alfalfa, corn and soy. (https://draxe.com/monsanto-roundup/)

To help yourself and your family, look for organics and foods labeled non-GM0 whenever possible; shop at local organic farm markets if available and if you eat meat buy only  organic, 100% grass-fed or non-gmo food fed animals, ideally  from a local farmer you can get to know; on-line sites such as Vita-cost sells organic non-perishables, and they offer great sales from time to time.  Shop around, your health is worth it! A list of the top pesticide ridden foods and ones you can get by with not being organic can be found here: http://borntogrow.net/dangerous-pesticide-ridden-foods/  Also, soaking veggies and fruit in baking soda for 15 minutes can remove some of the pesticides, depending on the food, but even that labeled organic should be soaked.

So what are some of the other affects on our health from this ignorantly loved chemical…autism, breast cancer, Parkinson’s, depression, anxiety disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and diseases, inflammatory bowel conditions, obesity, cardiovascular disease, infertility, ALS, multiple sclerosis, infertility, allergies, cancer and much more…

A very interesting chart, one that would be very hard to argue with, shows the instances of autism rates with the rise of glyphosate usage, please use the following link to see the astonishing chart as well as watch a very informative interview with Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), revealing how glyphosate wrecks havoc on human health.

::https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx

I am going to stop here, but trust me, this only scratches the surface!  There is so much more that can be said and explained, but this post is very long as is!! And please note, though this post is about Round-Up, pesticide use in general should be thoroughly looked into. Please see the links below, and especially read ways to avoid consuming this chemical, and many others, even if you are against using as I am.  I may add a third post for nutritional ways to combat toxins and another on the beauty and nutrition of certain weeds, inspired by Barry.

I will say in closing, it is a shame that those of us who try to protect the earth we have been entrusted to take care of are sometimes dismissed as hippies, crazies or over-zealous earth-worshippers.  I don’t worship the earth, though my “About” picture certainly portrays me as a tree-hugger 😉  I do, however, worship the God who gave me this beautiful place to live and I believe as a Christian I am responsible even more to show gratitude for what He made and gave as a gift…this incredible creation, including ourselves, that we are to treasure and take care of.

Until next time, please let’s all do our part…the adorable subjects in the pictures, and those in the future will be glad you did!

∼Jen

 

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx…Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide May Be Most Important Factor in Development of Autism and Other Chronic Disease

http://www.drmercola.com/digestive-health/glyphosate-the-celiac-causing-culprit/

http://borntogrow.net/dangerous-pesticide-ridden-foods/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/margie-kelly/genetically-modified-food_b_2039455.html

http://web.mit.edu/demoscience/Monsanto/impact.html

http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/is-roundup-weed-killer-glyphosate-affecting-your-health/