Are Humans Building Pesticide Resistance, Too?

A recent study has found that the herbicide glyphosate, sold under the trade name Roundup (and others), is present in alarming levels in breast milk of American females. The study found that samples of mother’s milk from women in the United States contained levels of the weed-killer that were 760 to 1,600 time greater than the amount of pesticides allowed by the European Water Directive. Those levels are still less than the 700 ug/l maximum contaminant level (MCL) that the Environmental Protection Agency has decided is safe.

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The study also found that urine from American mothers contained levels of glyphosate ten times higher than urine from European women.

  Planet Natural

I wonder how the end picture looks regarding comparative health between Europeans and Americans given the fact that Europeans across the board have stricter environmental health laws.

The EPA contamination level was decided on the much-challenged assumption that glyphosate wsa excreted and did not accumulate in the human body. Those non-accumulation findings were based on studies sponsored by, among others, Monsanto, the maker of Roundup.

Indeed, this is how the EPA determines anything about chemicals – the chemical manufacturers’ own reports.

Studies have suggested that glyphosate is linked to cancers, endocrine disruption, DNA damage, leukemia, birth defects, and neurological problems such as Parkinson’s disease.

Apparently, the study should not alarm breast-feeding women into switching to formulas, because there’s probably just as much pesticide residue in those: “It is certainly disheartening to know that glyphosate is present in breast milk, but lest you think this means you should not nurse your baby, please be aware that soy-based formula probably also contains glyphosate, possibly in even higher concentrations. The US government has conducted very few studies measuring the amount of glyphosate residue in food, but a report issued by the Department of Agriculture in 2011 showed that over 90% of 300 samples of soy contained glyphosate, and nearly 96% contained AMPA, a derivative of glyphosate.” --Stephanie Steneff, a senior research scientist at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.