Gly may, or may not be, carcinogenic, after all?

Jason Broom

Jason Broom

Well-Known Member
I posted another link to an article about glyphosate some time back, wherein a US agency charged with studying gly for carcinogenic effects was unable to find any link between gly and cancer. At that time, the World Health Organization (and its IARC unit) had published a report that glyphosate was "probably carcinogenic".

Well, this new article from Reuters suggests that the ORIGINAL finding was that gly does NOT cause cancer, or at least that they were unable to find any causal link of such, and that their "report" was modified in such a way as to obscure that little fact! When a news agency such as Reuters, which is about as objective as they come, in this day and age, is willing to publish an article like this, it really makes you think.

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/who-iarc-glyphosate/
 
Because I use some gly I'm extremely interested in these studies and read about every new one that comes out. My conclusion is that glyphosate is probably one of the safer chemicals around, but being suspicious by nature, I don't trust the stuff very far. I use as little as possible and am extremely careful when handling it. Still, it testing shows it to be harmless to humans, and there's a lot worse products being used on our food supply, that I absolutely won't use, such as Paraquat, which has been linked to the development of Parkinson's disease. Paraquat has been banned in Europe, and although sales in the U.S. are restricted to licensed farmers only, it's being used on millions of acres of the food people and livestock eat every year. 2,4-D is another, one that food plot guys might use. Research has shown that exposure to 2,4-D may cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, thyroid disorders, and sarcoma. So what's the verdict? You can't be too careful when using any chemical, but I'm more for educated awareness of the risks and moderation in all things rather than extremism. If someone decides to go 100% organic to guarantee that they'll live a little longer they're probably going get run over by a train.
 
^^^^^ Good points. I do use chemical in limited quantities but try to keep to mininum. It's my only complaint of no till methods in that some methods requires a chemical kill once or twice a year. And don't forget 2,4-D was one of two primary ingredients of Agent Orange used in Nam. Look up the foliage kill it accomplished on jungle growth in short order and your eyes will pop open. And it is linked with Parkisons disease for those exposed to it. I have several friends enjoying that curse. For those too young to know, it was referred to as Agent Orange for the orange markings on the barrels it came in. Just be cautious when handling any of these and don't use them or Fert within 100 yrs of water.
 
dogghr said:
^^^^^ Good points. I do use chemical in limited quantities but try to keep to mininum. It's my only complaint of no till methods in that some methods requires a chemical kill once or twice a year. And don't forget 2,4-D was one of two primary ingredients of Agent Orange used in Nam. Look up the foliage kill it accomplished on jungle growth in short order and your eyes will pop open. And it is linked with Parkisons disease for those exposed to it. I have several friends enjoying that curse. For those too young to know, it was referred to as Agent Orange for the orange markings on the barrels it came in. Just be cautious when handling any of these and don't use them or Fert within 100 yrs of water.
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I didn't know where that Agent Orange name came from, but I knew a guy that was there and he said they sprayed the stuff right on the troops, it would come down like rain. He was in his thirties and had all kinds of health problems that came from Vietnam.
 
I avoid spraying gly, or any other chemical, as much as possible. This year, I actually didn't spray at all, although one plot really should have been, I just ran out of time. It will absolutely be sprayed next year, and I won't lose a wink of sleep for doing it. At the rates us food-plotters employ it, and given that we don't typically eat many of the plants grown from our plots, directly, any risk there "might" be is further mitigated. Also, if gly really is a problem, we're all in big trouble because of how much of it is used on the stuff we eat these days.
 
Jason Broom said:
I avoid spraying gly, or any other chemical, as much as possible. This year, I actually didn't spray at all, although one plot really should have been, I just ran out of time. It will absolutely be sprayed next year, and I won't lose a wink of sleep for doing it. At the rates us food-plotters employ it, and given that we don't typically eat many of the plants grown from our plots, directly, any risk there "might" be is further mitigated. Also, if gly really is a problem, we're all in big trouble because of how much of it is used on the stuff we eat these days.
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I mentioned on this forum that sometimes I use 6-8 oz of gly along with clethodim on clover because it works really good to clean up some weeds that the clethodim doesn't kill. The pundits critiqued that application because according to them it's too light and might create RR resistant weeds. I didn't reply because I didn't want to get into an argument, but why would you apply any chemical heavier than necessary to achieve the desired results?
 
Mennoniteman said:
I mentioned on this forum that sometimes I use 6-8 oz of gly along with clethodim on clover because it works really good to clean up some weeds that the clethodim doesn't kill. The pundits critiqued that application because according to them it's too light and might create RR resistant weeds. I didn't reply because I didn't want to get into an argument, but why would you apply any chemical heavier than necessary to achieve the desired results?
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Because in America more is ALWAYS better !!;)... isn't it ?
 
My fear is not plant exposure so much but exposure to our skin and inhaling from its mixing to overspray. And I do know when I dig into my soil there are more organisms present in the unsprqyed sections. Perhaps coincidence I don’t know


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"Based on their results, Motta and Moran recommend that farmers, landscapers and homeowners avoid spraying glyphosate-based herbicides on flowering plants that bees are likely to visit."

I think that is probably very good advice. Most of us who do spray gly tend to do so after mowing and waiting for young, tender (not flowering) growth, which is likely to minimize the number of bees sprayed with the chemical. The study only asserts that bees actually sprayed with gly show reduced gut biota and increased mortality. When you consider how long gly has been in use, and how recent (relatively) colony collapse disorder started occurring, I would be surprised to find a strong correlation between the two. Still, responsible use of any chemical is vital.
 
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Jason Broom said:
"Based on their results, Motta and Moran recommend that farmers, landscapers and homeowners avoid spraying glyphosate-based herbicides on flowering plants that bees are likely to visit."

I think that is probably very good advice. Most of us who do spay gly tend to do so after mowing and waiting for young, tender (not flowering) growth, which is likely to minimize the number of bees sprayed with the chemical. The study only asserts that bees actually sprayed with gly show reduced gut biota and increased mortality. When you consider how long gly has been in use, and how recent (relatively) colony collapse disorder started occurring, I would be surprised to find a strong correlation between the two. Still, responsible use of any chemical is vital.
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I wasn't clear on if the exposure was to residual levels or direct spray exposure levels. Also had the same thought, as you noted with the long history of gly vs relatively recent CCD phenomenon. I was interested in the link between gut microbiome and susceptibility to pathogens with the bees.. Humans immune response largely resides in our gut microbiome which is generally not in great shape due to high sugar diets. After some health issues, I got educated to it's importance and started brewing kombucha and eating a lot of naturally fermented foods. That stuff gets scoffed at as hippy dippy medicine and i was probably guilty of saying that too, but i gave it a honest try and it has had a very positive effect on my health. Interesting to see bees gut microbiomes dictate their immune response too.
 
I have partaken of kombucha teas and if it was easier to obtain, I would drink it more frequently. In this area, you have to go to special stores to get it, or order in online. I suspect that humans evolved eating a lot of partially fermented fruits and that our relatively sterile and homogenized diet of today (to say nothing of absurd over abundance of sugars) is profoundly unhealthy. If it eventually proves out that glyphosate reduces the natural diversity and proliferation of our own gut microbiomes, we may be forced to concede that, perhaps it doesn't cause cancer, but is nonetheless quite bad for our health.
 
Jason Broom said:
I have partaken of kombucha teas and if it was easier to obtain, I would drink it more frequently. In this area, you have to go to special stores to get it, or order in online. I suspect that humans evolved eating a lot of partially fermented fruits and that our relatively sterile and homogenized diet of today (to say nothing of absurd over abundance of sugars) is profoundly unhealthy. If it eventually proves out that glyphosate reduces the natural diversity and proliferation of our own gut microbiomes, we may be forced to concede that, perhaps it doesn't cause cancer, but is nonetheless quite bad for our health.
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I know someone who makes their own Kombucha tea. Might be of interest to you to google it if you can't readily find it at the store.
 
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