The Monsanto-produced chemicals have long been linked to dwindling insect and plant populations and illness. However, new research links the dangerous products to deadly diseases that have run rampant in Latin America and other countries, reported TruthOut.
Across many Latin and Asian countries, chemical-laden products produced by Monsanto are causing an epidemic of varying health issues. In Central America, Sri Lanka, and India, farmers exposed to herbicides and metals have contracted cases of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu). This means that the cause of these cases is still not known.
However, Sri Lankan scientists Dr. Channa Jayasumana, Dr. Srath Gunatilake, and Dr. Priyantha Senanayake believe they have cracked the mystery behind these CKDu cases. It wasn’t until the 1990s when these cases began occurring. They believed that the cause couldn’t have been around more than 30 years. Knowing that agrochemicals were introduced in the 1970s, they investigated.
Upon their research, they noticed the presence of glyphosate, used in Roundup weed killer, an herbicide used heavily in the region. Glyphosate binds with metals and lingers in soil for long periods of time. Naturally, its placement in the soil can cause the chemical to seep into the groundwater for those nearby to drink.
Upon entering the body, the chemical, while carrying heavy metals, goes through the liver and leaves the metals inside of the kidneys. High enough concentrations can cause kidney failure and death. This discovery led to the expanding research of chemical herbicides and how they end up getting consumed by humans. Last September, El Salvador banned the use of glyphosate.
In April, researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer released a study of 25 years worth of research concerning herbicides and illness. They were able to link glyphosate and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Roundup also causes brain cancer in children.
In a sample of children with brain cancer from Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, it was found that either parent was exposed to glyphosate within two years of the child’s birth. That exposure doubled the child’s chance to develop brain cancer. The results are surely the same in other countries that have heavily relied on glyphosate during farming.
“We’ve gone from a pretty healthy population to one with a high rate of cancer, birth defects and illnesses seldom seen before,” said Dr. Medardo Avila-Vazquez, an Argentinian pediatrician. “What we have complained about for years was confirmed and especially what doctors say about the sprayed towns and areas affected by industrial agriculture.”
