POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
Liver and kidney damage due to a diet full of genetically modified food has already been shown in a notable, yet controversial study that was once forced to be retracted, and then later republished by the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology. This study, titled the “Long Term Toxicity of Roundup Herbicide and a Roundup-Tolerant Genetically Modified Maize” is joined now by a new, peer-reviewed study showing that even at the levels of glyphosate the general public is exposed to in drinking water, over 4000 genes and their proper functioning are altered in the livers and kidneys of rats.
Are we affected too?
Published in the Environmental Health Journal, the new study suggests that even super low levels of Roundup exposure are deadly.
The study results showed that exposure to low-dose glyphosate concentrations, in an established laboratory animal toxicity model system, can result in liver and kidney damage, with potential significant health implications for people as well as our pets and wildlife populations.
Here is an overview given by the study abstract:
“Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are the major pesticides used worldwide. Converging evidence suggests that GBH, such as Roundup, pose a particular health risk to liver and kidneys although low environmentally relevant doses have not been examined. To address this issue, a 2-year study in rats administering 0.1 ppb Roundup (50 ng/L glyphosate equivalent) via drinking water…was conducted.
A marked increased incidence of anatomorphological and blood/urine biochemical changes was indicative of liver and kidney structure and functional pathology….”
This follow-up investigation conducted by Dr. Michael Antoniou’s team at King’s College London was a follow up to Seralini’s 2-year study of rats exposed to Roundup that the biotech industry tried desperately to silence. Sites like the Genetic Literacy Project are still attempting to dismiss Seralini’s findings, but with additional studies like Antoniou’s, their arguments become baseless.
Here’s why:
- The Seralini investigation administered a commercial Roundup formulation at 0.1 ppb (parts per billion)/50 ppt (parts per trillion) glyphosate via drinking water for 2 years. Liver and kidney pathologies were found in the rats. The new study by Dr. Antoniou’s team investigated whether heightened liver and kidney pathology observed at an anatomical and biochemical level was reflected in the gene expression pattern. “Transcriptome” was analyzed, by comparing liver and kidney tissues from the Roundup treatment group with those of the control animals.Here’s what Dr. Antoniou said about what they found, “The findings of our study are very worrying as they confirm that a very low level of consumption of Roundup weedkiller over the long term can result in liver and kidney damage. Our results also suggest that regulators should re-consider the safety evaluation of glyphosate-based herbicides.”
- Dr. Antoniou and his team also found that a consistent pattern of alteration was found in the gene function of the liver and kidneys at this extremely low level of exposure.
- More than 4000 of the genes in the rats studied were found to have either increased or decreased function, and over 1300 of these affected both organs.
- The changes were highly statistically significant. This was not a small sample size that was affected.
- The gene changes affected important biological functions like respiration and metabolism.
- The gene changes caused health issues such as fibrosis (scarring), necrosis (the creation of areas of dead tissue), phospholipidosis (disturbed fat metabolism) and damage to mitochondria (the center of respiration in cells).
- These changes in pathology were confirmed at multiple levels: histological (through a microscope), and biochemical (by testing blood and urine samples.)
Considering that the European Union and Australia have water which is 14,000 times lower in glyphosate levels than that permitted in drinking water in the USA, we can expect to see greater liver and kidney pathologies, as did the rats.
The researchers noted that the observed liver and kidney pathologies may have arisen from glyphosate, the adjuvants present in the Roundup formulation, or a combination of the two. They also still do not understand how Roundup caused this increased pathology specifically, but given the extremely low doses at which pathology occurred, it is likely the upset happens through the endocrine system, and hormonal interference.
With both Seralini and Antoniou’s work we now have more evidence that Roundup causes damage to the liver and kidneys. Despite this, and the numerous other findings, such as the recent news from Argentina that children are suffering from genetic damage at heavily sprayed GM soy sites in the country, there has been no international move to heavily examine Roundup, and hold Monsanto accountable for its poisoning of the people.
Will we have to wait decades, as we did with lawsuits surrounding Monsanto-made Agent Orange or PCBs to finally receive partial restitution for the insidious actions of a corporation with no soul?
“The backlog of Agent Orange cases needing attention at the Veterans Administration has been placed at half a million. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has declined to find the chemical companies responsible for Agent Orange health problems, in the US or Vietnam.”
Will Monsanto and its best-selling herbicide, Roundup, have its way with the population to such a large degree that we will have to stand by idly and watch as multiple generations suffer physical and mental damage?
The results rest largely on our shoulders, as we have seen our elected officials care little about the damage that Big Biotech unleashes on the world. I urge you to ask that farmers in your area stop spraying Roundup, tell that stores to stop selling it, only eat organic food (also demanding that grocery stores stop selling chemically covered GM foods) and of course, when you can, grow your own organic food.
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About Christina Sarich:
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Christina Sarich is a humanitarian and freelance writer helping you to Wake up Your Sleepy Little Head, and See the Big Picture. Her blog is Yoga for the New World. Her latest book is Pharma Sutra: Healing the Body And Mind Through the Art of Yoga.
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