Numerous studies in recent months have tied agricultural pesticides to reproductive and other serious health problems. And a new study out of Argentina adds even more evidence to the fact that such chemicals are a widespread public health pandemic.
Andres Carrasco, head of the molecular Embryology Lab at the University of Buenos Aires, recently presented a report explaining that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, is responsible for causing birth defects, infertility, sperm destruction, and cancer.
For the study, Carrasco and his team tested the effects of glyphosate on animal embryos and found that the chemical alters and impairs proper embryonic development. The paper also explains that "glyphosate itself was responsible" for causing the birth defects, and that the results of the study suggest similar outcomes for humans as well.
"I didn't discover anything new," said Carrasco in an interview with GMWatch.org. "I just confirmed what other scientists discovered. In spite of the evidence, they tried to run down 30 years of my reputation as a scientist ... They know they can't cover up the sun with one hand. There is scientific proof and, above all, there are hundreds of affected towns [that] are a living evidence of this public health emergency."
Besides glyphosate, the whole slew of other toxic chemicals applied to conventional and genetically-modified (GM) crops are also a severe threat to human health. A report published in the magazine Scientific American back in February explains that the vast majority of pesticides are endocrine disruptors. The chemicals affect male hormones in particular, blocking or mimicking them, and ultimately leading to all sorts of very severe health problems.
