In today’s post I would like to touch upon 2 points:

1. Review what Roundup is and how it is used in agriculture.
2. How this product affects our health which is a complicated subject. So I will break up the health issues over a couple of posts. I hope you will bear with me.

Stephanie Seneff, Ph.D, is a senior research scientist at MIT. She, too, was a part of the mini GMO summit sponsored by Ocean Robbins, John Robbins and Jeffrey Smith. As a health professional and former health food store owner I observed the disturbing rise in breast and prostate cancer, autism and Alzheimer’s, for example. I and many others saw the contamination of our food supply as probable cause. Dr. Seneff’s extensive peer reviewed studies are impressive and alarming. In a nutshell the widespread prevalence of Roundup in and on our crops which ends up in our food is causing serious damage.

For the sake of these discussions please note:

Roundup, produced by Monsanto, has glyphosate as its main ingredient. But in order for glyphosate to be effective, other adjuvant ingredients are added to the mix so glyphosate can penetrate the cell wall. Once inside the cell, glyphosate can cause damage to the cell by disrupting a specific pathway known as the shikimate pathway which basically causes the plant to die. The adjuvants can cause problems as well as research scientists are finding out.

Roundup is sprayed on planting fields to kill weeds.

Roundup is genetically engineered into the plant’s DNA. The theory behind this is: if we put pesticide into the seed the plant will survive the spraying of pesticide onto the fields which will help to control weeds. The corn or soy seed will grow and its neighbor, the weed, will die.

Therefore, we are ingesting Roundup in two ways and so are other species. And what this summit points out too, is that water and air samples show contamination as well as surface water runoff. Glyphosate in air and water samples is present in high amounts.

Going forward I will refer to glyphosate, but remember it’s delivered into the cell’s DNA in combination with other adjuvants. These adjuvants can be increasing antibiotic resistance, helping create toxins and even allergens.

Why is this shikimate pathway important if plants have it in their genes and we do not? Well, we have gut bacteria. I find it fascinating that we are about 10:1 ratio of bacteria to cells in the human body. Bacteria especially in our gut play an incredibly important role in our digestion which impacts overall foundational health. Here’s the catch: they are shikimate paths. So when we ingest glyphosate from food, and water, they disrupt our gut bacteria especially the beneficial ones. This allows toxins to be formed which can lead to leaky gut, inflammation, decreased immune function, and more. The ratios of beneficial to harmful is changed and these changes are not in our favor.

Toxins that would normally be handled by the amazing beneficial bacteria in our gut are on the loose. Dr Seneff among others are showing in well thought out and peer reviewed studies that the information given by the companies that produce these GMO seeds and pesticides is not proven to be safe or effective.

In my next post I will look at Dr. Seneff’s research on autism and Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Seneff’s extensive research can be read at: http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/

“Knowledge is power.” Remember buy organic as much as possible. I like to support local, but last summer I questioned a farmer at his local farm stand about his corn in particular. Yes, he responded, we use Roundup ready seed. He did not seem to know much about the new research out on its harmful effects. I suggested he go to Organicconsumers.org. I hope you will too.

Judith

Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN, Writer, Speaker, and Workshop Presenter, Master Gardener.

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