Roundup, the world's most widely used weedkiller, "probably" causes cancer, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
Other issues with Conventional farming include the excessive use of Glyphosate associated with genetically modified (GM) crops. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many herbicides sold throughout the world, including the well-known formulation, Roundup. Glyphosate-based herbicides are used widely for weed control. As Glyphosate kills all vegetation, it is therefore necessary for crops to be genetically modified in order to become pesticide resistant and tolerant to glyphosate.
Glyphosate poses risks to the environment and human health. According to a report from WHO, the weedkiller has been detected in food, water and in the air after it has been sprayed. The World Health Organization has also declared Glyphosate as "probably" carcinogene. The evidence for WHO's conclusion was from studies of exposure, mostly agricultural, in the US, Canada, and Sweden that were published since 2001.Source theguardian.com
"In addition, studies in the 90s involving rats exposed to glyphosate, have indicated that 30-36 percent of the compound was passed through the animal's gut wall and into their bodies. A similar study on hens and goats got likewise results. In the rat study, seven days after the glyphosate was administered, the remaining glyphosate levels were found in the rats' bones. In a WHO publication, "the glyphosate isotope was widely distributed throughout the body, but was primarily found in bone." We note that,"Glyphosate, regardless of what limits are set, sinks into human organs and accumulates, creating a toxic environment for the human body. Source naturalnews.com
"The production of glyphosate has led the world down a dark course. The human body was intended to eat unmodified, natural food. Chemical-laced, genetically engineered science has manufactured a new-age frontier of food that is wiping out small organic farmers from the picture. As science takes a short cut and eradicates the fields, it globalizes food production. Small organic farmers who work hard to protect the balance of the ecosystem and purity of food, have felt the squeeze global chemical companies are putting on their ability to provide whole food. Glyphosate is a danger to the future of organic farmers, who seek an herbicide-free environment to grow pure and wholesome food." Source naturalnews.com
Rats fed genetically modified corn developed mammary tumors and severe liver and kidney damage as early as four months
"Genetically modified foods are relatively new to the food supply, and people have only been consuming these foods since the mid-1990s. There is no long-term data on how genetically modified foods affect human health. However, a study published in the "International Journal of Biological Sciences" in December 2009, notes that rats fed genetically modified corn had a decline in liver, kidney, heart, adrenal gland and spleen health and function. Short-term studies in which animals were fed genetically modified foods for only 4 weeks usually show few negative side effects." Source livestrong.com
In addition, "A research led by French Professor Gilles-Éric Séralini of the University of Caen in France concluded that rats fed a lifelong diet consisting of Roundup-containing genetically modified corn suffered serious consequences. The findings revealed that Rats exposed to even the smallest amounts of GMOs, develop mammary tumors and severe liver and kidney damage as early as four months in males, and seven months for females". Source naturalsociety.com
"Séralini and his colleagues used a Monsanto seed variety known as NK603, made tolerant to the company's own Roundup herbicide linked to DNA damage and infertility." Source naturalsociety.com
Séralini's research was later harshly criticized and described as a scientific fraud in an article written by Jean-Claude Jaillette in Marianne magazine. The article claimed that "researchers around the world" had voiced "harsh words" about Séralini's research. A criminal investigation was launched and lasted three years. On the 6th of Nov 2015, The 17th Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Paris passed sentence. "The trial demonstrated that the original author of the fraud accusation, prior to Marianne, was the American lobbyist Henry I. Miller in Forbes magazine. Miller had previously lobbied to discredit research linking tobacco to cancer and heart disease on behalf of the tobacco industry. Since then he has tried to do the same in support of GMOs and pesticides, through defamation." Séralini and his team won the defamation and forgery case over his research and Marianne magazine and its journalist were fined for public defamation. Source gmoseralini.orgs
So far, no research has been conducted on the health and safety for people who eat genetically modified foods.