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avaistheone1

(14,626 posts)
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 06:20 PM Apr 2013

Roundup, An Herbicide, Could Be Linked To Parkinson's, Cancer And Other Health Issues, Study Shows

Source: Huffington Post

April 25 (Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.

The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.

Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says.



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/roundup-herbicide-health-issues-disease_n_3156575.html



Roundup ~ courtesy of Monsanto.

47 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Roundup, An Herbicide, Could Be Linked To Parkinson's, Cancer And Other Health Issues, Study Shows (Original Post) avaistheone1 Apr 2013 OP
Monsanto............... dipsydoodle Apr 2013 #1
More love from Monsanto. gateley Apr 2013 #2
Now that's RoundUp has gone generic denem Apr 2013 #3
Is that true? dipsydoodle Apr 2013 #4
Yes Crepuscular Apr 2013 #5
Patent expired. DCBob Apr 2013 #6
Toxicologically speaking Roundup/glyphosate is considered one of the safest agrichemicals out there. DCBob Apr 2013 #7
I believe they've managed to suppress a number of studies LiberalEsto Apr 2013 #14
One more reason to buy organic Le Taz Hot Apr 2013 #8
I do. But you can't stop the world from coming into your yard, and it's getting into food. Honeycombe8 Apr 2013 #13
No doubt libodem Apr 2013 #9
Bingo! sikofit3 Apr 2013 #26
I remember one time, pulling clover from my front lawn Xipe Totec Apr 2013 #10
my yard is bigger than Carolina Apr 2013 #12
Good for you! tabasco Apr 2013 #16
My neighbor uses tons of the stuff. fasttense Apr 2013 #21
show him the studies before he poisons you, too wordpix Apr 2013 #23
An older friend who can't pull them now uses white vinegar to get rid of weeds. It works, too. freshwest Apr 2013 #18
I just let the clover be in my "lawn." appal_jack Apr 2013 #20
You might like this online book, then, about weeds :) kentauros Apr 2013 #22
What an excellent on-line book (& library)! Thanks, n/t. appal_jack Apr 2013 #29
You're welcome :) kentauros Apr 2013 #30
Yes, all I do is mow, otherwise I let them sort it out among themselves (the weeds). bemildred Apr 2013 #47
Homeowner deed restrictions demanded a perfectly manicured grass lawn Xipe Totec Apr 2013 #37
Ah, HOA's suck. appal_jack Apr 2013 #45
Starting in about 10 seconds, this study is going to be touted by the horde of DU Monsanto haters... Buzz Clik Apr 2013 #11
Here is a quote from the article in the OP stating that the study was JDPriestly Apr 2013 #17
Ok, good. Again, not to diminish the researchers or their findings, but... Buzz Clik Apr 2013 #19
I would still not dismiss the research and "Samsel is retired" only means wordpix Apr 2013 #25
The entire point of my response to the OP was to clarify a few points. Buzz Clik Apr 2013 #31
Are medical doctors research scientists? Crunchy Frog Apr 2013 #32
What are you asking? Buzz Clik Apr 2013 #34
Thanks. I don't use Roundup and don't like or dislike it. JDPriestly Apr 2013 #41
You forgot: Botany Apr 2013 #15
"popularly used on...golf courses"---hmmm, my mom was an avid golfer & has Alzheimer's wordpix Apr 2013 #24
Sorry to hear about your mom. Buzz Clik Apr 2013 #33
Xenoestrogens BethanyQuartz Apr 2013 #27
they spray that stuff on forests also to clear brush. ever wonder why old Bush has parks.? Sunlei Apr 2013 #28
No problem. Monsanto has a patent on Round-up Ready human beings.n/t denverbill Apr 2013 #35
Peer reviewed journals vary in quality/impact. yellowcanine Apr 2013 #36
Impact factor is a very fuzzy thing Celefin Apr 2013 #39
Understood. All the more reason why a serious medical study would not be published in a journal yellowcanine Apr 2013 #40
I concede that this is the way it works. Celefin Apr 2013 #44
Well shit. Arkana Apr 2013 #38
There's a GMO tie-in here as well. KamaAina Apr 2013 #42
Better Living thru Chemistry Brimley Apr 2013 #43
K&R DeSwiss Apr 2013 #46
 

denem

(11,045 posts)
3. Now that's RoundUp has gone generic
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 06:35 PM
Apr 2013

I am waiting for a studies saying it's terrible, and Monsanto announcing some propriety herbicide that is supposed to be safer.

DCBob

(24,689 posts)
7. Toxicologically speaking Roundup/glyphosate is considered one of the safest agrichemicals out there.
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 07:16 PM
Apr 2013

But for sure there could be long term effects that dont show up in any toxicology test.

 

LiberalEsto

(22,845 posts)
14. I believe they've managed to suppress a number of studies
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 09:13 PM
Apr 2013

that would contradict the "safe" argument.

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
13. I do. But you can't stop the world from coming into your yard, and it's getting into food.
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 09:02 PM
Apr 2013

Apparently it's being used on acreage.

So many people get cancer these days. I can't help but think the growing use of pesticides and other environmental toxic things are one of the causes.

libodem

(19,288 posts)
9. No doubt
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 07:45 PM
Apr 2013

Pretty sure that is why all our gut bacteria needs recharged with probiotics. Who ever ever heard of that back in the 60's.
Yeah, roundup ready grains, all genetically modified to resist weeds, until we can't even digest wheat gluten any more. Great.

sikofit3

(145 posts)
26. Bingo!
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 08:42 AM
Apr 2013

When I was reading the article that was the FIRST thing I thought of. All the information now on what inflammation does to the body and probiotics etc..... they know this and are preparing us all for it because it is in everything. I have no words for these people.

Xipe Totec

(43,872 posts)
10. I remember one time, pulling clover from my front lawn
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 08:02 PM
Apr 2013

carefully unthreading the clover runners from the St Augustine grass using nothing but my hands and a small stick.

My neighbor watched me do it for more than an hour before finally coming over and saying:

"You know, I believe in better living through chemistry..."

I jut looked at her and smiled, and kept digging out the clover by hand.


It's been over thirty years. I wonder if she still thinks the same.


By the way, I am a trained chemist.

Carolina

(6,960 posts)
12. my yard is bigger than
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 08:47 PM
Apr 2013

I can manage alone, so I have a yard guy who helps. He always wants to spray some Roundup on weeds, but I emphatically say: no chemicals. Like you, I pull my weeds by hand and pay neighborhood kids to help. In addition to being healthier, I find pulling weeds mentally therapeutic. Clears the mind and the garden!

 

tabasco

(22,974 posts)
16. Good for you!
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 09:23 PM
Apr 2013

And the neighborhood kids.

Consider letting it grow wild and invite nature into your backyard.

 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
21. My neighbor uses tons of the stuff.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 06:56 AM
Apr 2013

He sprays our shared fence line with it. He also lets his girl friend's 8 year old son spray it around the edges of their house, fences, gardens, driveway and paths even during high winds. There is a huge patch of dead grass along the road where he must spray huge quantities of it down the slope. The neighbor near the slope has come down with cancer. I notice we always lose livestock within a week of his spraying. Last year we lost about 3 older chickens back to back in the week after he sprayed. This year we lost a newborn spring lamb (stillborn) two days after he sprayed. We don't use it. We don't use any chemicals.

His live in girl friend came down with a really deadly cancer last year. But surgery and chemo saved her life. I wonder if they ever considered not using the chemical?

 

appal_jack

(3,813 posts)
20. I just let the clover be in my "lawn."
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 11:47 PM
Apr 2013

I respect your commitment to hand-pulling, Xipe Totec, but why not let the clover (and, if you're in a biome similar to me, also the henbit & creeping charlie & plantain & chichweed & yarrow & queen anne's lace & lambsquarters & pigweed, etc. ) be in your lawn as part of a more diversified pastoral landscape. Many of these plants were accepted as natural components of lawns prior to the invention of broad-leaf herbicides. Once a chemical tool existed to rid us of them, the lawn companies tried to convince us that real lawns were only grass. I remain unconvinced, and believe that natural diversity in a lawn, mowed at 3"-4" depending upon site & species composition, will result in a pleasant & healthy open landscape.



-app

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
22. You might like this online book, then, about weeds :)
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 07:48 AM
Apr 2013
Weeds - Guardians of the Soil

It's been around for a while, and it's written more for farming than residential. Even so, it's still a good info source about why we need "weeds" and what they indicate about your soil health.

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
30. You're welcome :)
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 09:24 AM
Apr 2013

They do have an excellent library. When I have some ground again, instead of just pots, I'll probably go through their library to save and print what I need.

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
47. Yes, all I do is mow, otherwise I let them sort it out among themselves (the weeds).
Sat Apr 27, 2013, 07:20 PM
Apr 2013

Purity is vastly over-rated when it comes to lawns.

Xipe Totec

(43,872 posts)
37. Homeowner deed restrictions demanded a perfectly manicured grass lawn
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 12:17 PM
Apr 2013

One neighbor built an English garden. After years of lawsuits he was finally forced to rip everything up and replace it with St Augustine grass.

It made the papers at the time but it was quite a while ago, so no luck finding a link
Here is a link to a book that talks in general about these issues:


http://books.google.com/books?id=jcKH9K_DHd0C&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=homeowner+deed+restriction+lawn+grass&source=bl&ots=vB-7HNRLaK&sig=8ZoHxeGLzu6mHY85n4hJlijr7Ds&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NqJ6Ud7tJsuO0QHmqoGoAQ&ved=0CG0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=homeowner%20deed%20restriction%20lawn%20grass&f=false

 

appal_jack

(3,813 posts)
45. Ah, HOA's suck.
Sat Apr 27, 2013, 03:16 PM
Apr 2013

I sincerely hope to go to my grave never having lived in any place where neighbors can tell me how to keep my grass & gardens, or what color to paint my house, etc.

Nonetheless, Xipe Totec, it sounds like you made the best and most environmentally sound choice in the situation.

-app

 

Buzz Clik

(38,437 posts)
11. Starting in about 10 seconds, this study is going to be touted by the horde of DU Monsanto haters...
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 08:06 PM
Apr 2013

... as a medical study proving that Roundup causes cancer, Parkinson's disease, and infertility.

Let me ask you a couple of questions just to get the record straight:

1) Is Entropy a medical journal?
2) Are either of the authors medical doctors or anything similar?
3) Was a direct link between Roundup and cancer, Parkinson's disease, and infertility demonstrated in this study?

Let me say this pre-emptively: I am NOT defending Monsanto, I simply want accurate answers to these simple questions.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
17. Here is a quote from the article in the OP stating that the study was
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 10:10 PM
Apr 2013

"authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists."

Link is above.

Entropy is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal on entropy and information studies. It was established in 1999 and is published by MDPI. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2011 impact factor of 1.183.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_%28journal%29

MDPI is

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute is a publisher of open-access journals that was established in 2008. It operates as MDPI AG, Basel and Doubu Technology Service Company Ltd, Beijing.[3] MDPI currently publishes 89 peer-reviewed scientific journals of which 10 have a listed impact factor.[4] The company has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland and two offices in Beijing, China.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDPI

MIT is quite reliable. I am not familiar with the MDPI. Any DUers know it?

 

Buzz Clik

(38,437 posts)
19. Ok, good. Again, not to diminish the researchers or their findings, but...
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 11:02 PM
Apr 2013
1) Is Entropy a medical journal? No. Quoting Dr. Senef, "Entropy is an Open Access journal that is willing to publish novel hypotheses regarding biochemical and biophysical phenomena, which can help the community break out of its current straitjacketed research paradigm."

2) Are either of the authors medical doctors or anything similar? No. Samsel is retired, and running down his expertise is challenging. Dr. Sensef is an computer and electrical engineer.

3) Was a direct link between Roundup and cancer, Parkinson's disease, and infertility demonstrated in this study? No. This was not original research, but a review of literature. The link between Roundup and these diseases is hypothetical and indirect.

wordpix

(18,652 posts)
25. I would still not dismiss the research and "Samsel is retired" only means
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 08:15 AM
Apr 2013

he has a lot of experience in his field and has time to do research that others may not.

 

Buzz Clik

(38,437 posts)
31. The entire point of my response to the OP was to clarify a few points.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 09:40 AM
Apr 2013

And I think you missed them.

First, as I said, I am not dismissing the article, but it is not truly research.

My point about Samsel being retired was in the context of finding it difficult to establish his area of expertise. If we are going to hang our hats on research papers concerning health effects of pesticides, I truly believe that the research should be conducted by those in the field.

Crunchy Frog

(26,548 posts)
32. Are medical doctors research scientists?
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 09:41 AM
Apr 2013

Last time I looked, that was not their area of expertise, apart from the ones who have that as their specific focus.

 

Buzz Clik

(38,437 posts)
34. What are you asking?
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 09:44 AM
Apr 2013

Are you asking if my daughter's pediatrician is a research scientist, the answer is no. If you're asking if there are research scientists who specialize in the field of human health (and have graduated from med school), the answer is yes.

I guess the next question is, Why do you ask?

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
41. Thanks. I don't use Roundup and don't like or dislike it.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 02:29 PM
Apr 2013

I just was providing the answers to your questions.

Botany

(70,291 posts)
15. You forgot:
Thu Apr 25, 2013, 09:20 PM
Apr 2013

Hammer toes, the heartbreak of psoriasis, and iron poor blood.

"Roundup is also popularly used on lawns, gardens and golf courses."
Nobody uses roundup on their lawns or gardens ..... it is a non specific
herbicide.

BTW I was just using round up* today to help the environment .... i killed some
garlic mustard, honeysuckle, and multi flora rose .... to be replaced by native
plants that might in time help recreate natural ecological communities that will
fix carbon, help slow storm water run off, provide high quality habitat for native
pollinators, and maybe it can make areas that can help link together "ecological
corridors" to help biodiversity.

* Over one acre I might have used 1/2 an oz. of 47% glyphosate

Entropy is not a scientific journal ......




wordpix

(18,652 posts)
24. "popularly used on...golf courses"---hmmm, my mom was an avid golfer & has Alzheimer's
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 08:06 AM
Apr 2013

Late stage Alzheimer's manifests with some Parkinson-like symptoms---I wonder if there's a link?

She has had Alz. disease for 6 yrs. now and can barely walk, talk or follow a simple instruction like, "Hold here on your walker." She used to be a brilliant artist with a million friends and vibrant social life.

Goddamn Monsanto!

 

BethanyQuartz

(193 posts)
27. Xenoestrogens
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 08:50 AM
Apr 2013

They've known for a long time how dangerous xenoestrogens are. And they've done everything possible to hide it, confuse the issue, claim links to cancer and other diseases are unproven, blah blah. I don't get it. Their kids will suffer shorter and sicklier lives, too.

yellowcanine

(35,692 posts)
36. Peer reviewed journals vary in quality/impact.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 10:23 AM
Apr 2013

Last edited Fri Apr 26, 2013, 01:33 PM - Edit history (1)

Highly ranked journals are more difficult to publish in so it is important to look at where particular studies are published and generally one needs to be a little suspicious of studies which appear in journals which don't seem to fit the discipline. This study is a medical study and it is published in the journal Entropy, which is listed as a journal for entropy and information studies. It is an odd fit. And note that Entropy had an impact rating in 2011 of 1.2. In comparison, the New England Journal of Medicine had an impact rating in 2011 of 53.3. Why would someone publish a medical study in a relatively obscure non medical journal? There is really only one reason - it does not rise to the level of even mediocre medical studies. It is "peer reviewed" only in the sense that the reviewers were scientists - it does not appear to have been reviewed by medical researchers. A university tenure committee would probably not see this as a peer reviewed study.

Celefin

(532 posts)
39. Impact factor is a very fuzzy thing
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 12:43 PM
Apr 2013

Medical journals with an impact factor below 15 do not count as especially important while journals dealing with history are -really- important with an impact factor above 2.

Impact factor is defined by citations divided by number of published articles. As everybody in medicine tries to cite everybody else to be on the absolute safe side and a lot of studies deal with similar issues in broad fields, the result is a very high impact factor in -general- for medical journals.
History articles tend to very specific concerning very specialized fields and there aren't nearly as many historians as there are medical scientists, thus obviously at lot less citations, thus a low impact factor.

In my field, agroecology, an IF of 4 is considered extremely important... but even a 'lowly' journal like 'agroforestry systems' with its IF of 1.2 has a very high impact in its specific field... just not a very high IF.

Impact factor is a lousy way to measure journal importance, but regrettably the only standardized one and it provides easily comparable numbers for managers of funding agencies. The latter making it downright counterproductive.

yellowcanine

(35,692 posts)
40. Understood. All the more reason why a serious medical study would not be published in a journal
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 01:43 PM
Apr 2013

like Entropy. Impact factor is ok as long as people publish things where they should be published and don't go shopping for easy publication outlets. Comparisons can be made as long as they are made within a field. Besides, as you noted, it is all we have and academic committees do use it.
It is best if people just read the papers and make their judgments that way but generally that is just not possible in many cases. Tenure committees generally look at a couple of papers and that is it.

Celefin

(532 posts)
44. I concede that this is the way it works.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 04:09 PM
Apr 2013

Just one more thing to consider is that if you want to publish in an open access journal out of the genuine concern that everybody should be able yo read your study you have few hi-IF journals available as there isn't the same institutional (and publisher) support for those.

Apart from that I do agree with your assessment on the problematic issue of searching for easy outlets to potentially very important or controversial studies.

Have a nice day

Arkana

(24,347 posts)
38. Well shit.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 12:21 PM
Apr 2013

I used that stuff to kill off a massive ornery thornbush in my parents' backyard.

Welp, it's been fun...I'll think of y'all when I'm dying from Parkinson's and cancer.

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
42. There's a GMO tie-in here as well.
Fri Apr 26, 2013, 02:33 PM
Apr 2013

One of Monsanto's bread-and-butter GMOs is "Roundup Ready". Here's how it works. You plant Roundup Ready seed and hope none of it blows over into your neighbor's field causing Monsanto to sue him. Then you hose the entire field down with Roundup, which kills everything in sight except for the GMO crop.

This, rather than any danger from the GMO crop itself, is likely the biggest threat to the food supply from GMO.

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
46. K&R
Sat Apr 27, 2013, 03:51 PM
Apr 2013
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- Buh-bye Monsanto.....

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