We all know glyphosate as RoundUp TM. It has been around for over 50 years and has been in and out of the news for just as long. In this article, we will explore some of the issues around glyphosate and look at what is happening worldwide and at home. But first, let’s understand a little about what glyphosate really is and what it does.
What is it and where did it come from?
“Glyphosate is a broad spectrum herbicide and crop desiccant that is overwhelmingly the most widely used herbicide in agriculture and landscaping. More commonly known as the key ingredient in its commercial name Roundup, glysphosate was first introduced to the market in 1972 and originally used modestly.” (1)
Chemically speaking, Glyphosate is a phosphonic acid resulting from the formal oxidative coupling of the methyl group of methyl phosphonic acid with the amino group of glycine which gives it the name. It is a phosphonic acid and a glycine derivative. It is a conjugate acid of a glyphosate(2-) and a glyphosate(1-). (2)
Having been originally discovered in 1950 by a Swiss chemist working for the pharmaceutical company Cilag, it was quickly shelved as it did not have the pharmaceutical effects hoped for. It was later acquired by the Aldrich Library of Rare Chemicals and a patent was issued in 1964 for the use of glyphosate as a metal chelating and descaling agent (US Patent No. 3,160,632), in order to clean mineral deposits out of pipes and boilers. (3) At the same time, Monsanto was attempting to develop a water-softening agent. Dr Phil Hamm found that these agents when tested on plants had a herbicidal action. Dr John Franz also of Monsanto, is widely credited as the inventor/founder of the herbicidal activity of organophosphates however it was in fact the work that he and Hamm did together that led to the patent (US No. 3,799,758) for glyphosphate in 1971 as a herbicide. (3)
Stay with me here, this is where it really gets interesting. 1974 saw the release of RoundUp as a herbicide product in the US and quickly became the worlds leading herbicide. Original Roundup contained the isopropyl ammonium (IPA) sodium and ammonium salt form of glyphosate. Unnamed “inert ingredients” made up about two-thirds of the herbicide by weight which was duly named in the patent granted in 1983 (U.S. Patent # 4,405,531) for the isopropylamine salts of glyphosate. (4)
Monsanto’s first patent expired in 1991 meaning that glyphosate is now able to be produced by any company. (3) The best way to control a nation is to control its food and Monsanto set about working on genetically modified seeds which were released to the market in 1996 as Roundup Ready. (4) Interestingly, the first glyphosate-resistant weed (Rigid Ryegrass) is found in Australia at the same time. In 1993 sees the US EPA issued a Reregistration Eligibility Decision stating the toxicology study done in 1981 for the reregistration of the patent was flawed and the chronic reference dose is incorrect. Despite this, little attention is paid to the science behind the dietary exposure and risk assessment in the 1993 RED and glyphosate continues to be manufactured using a range of processes in over 30 countries worldwide. Monsanto holds the patent for IPA until 2000 and releases Roundup Ultra in 1994. A product that is 41% (6)by weight of active ingredient IPA Salts compared with the original formulation of <2.5%.(5) This trend continues with Monsanto releasing further product formulations with increasing toxicity. See UltraMax and other recent formulation changes from 2000 – 2016. (7)
With the release in 2015 of the IARC World Health Organisation report that lists Glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, finding “strong” evidence of genotoxicity and a “statistically significant association between non-Hodgkin lymphoma”, Monsanto (now Bayer) went to great lengths to discredit the findings. (1)
Glyphosate has also been registered in the US as an anti-cancer compound (US Patent No. 5665713 A), an anti-parasitic compound (US Patent No. 7771736 B2), and last but not least claimed to be effective against viruses, including rhinovirus, HIV, herpes, and influenza (US Patent No. 5665713 A). (3) Meaning it is also registered for use within humans and animals under the antimicrobial (antibiotic) group of pharmaceutical drugs. This seems somewhat incredulous when we stop to consider the litany of legal cases to date and the attempts to settle out of court by Bayer in relation to non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in particular. With more cases being filled in several countries around the world and some 28-plus countries now banning the sale of products derived from glyphosate, it would seem there is some things to be considered here.
What’s all the fuss about? Well despite the links clearly being made in the case of carcinogenicity, there is more we don’t fully understand about this insidious chemical.
For example, in her 2016 article in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Nancy Swanson “evidence suggests that glyphosate, in the dose equivalent to allowed residues in food ingested over a long period of time, causes a low-grade chronic acidosis as well as mitochondrial dysfunction”. Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles (mitochondrion, singular) that generate most of the chemical energy needed to power the cell’s biochemical reactions. Chemical energy produced by the mitochondria is stored in a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). (9) Further Pubchem (2) lists glyphosate as an enzyme inhibitor and chemical agent that uncouples oxidation making adenosine triphosphate (ATP) inefficient. The known chelating effects of the chemical well documented and referred to above in the history of its development, binds to Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, and Iron in the body making them unavailable to the host. Remember, its original patent was to remove scale in pipes. It is well-reported that this chemical has now infiltrated every aspect of our lives from the air we breathe to the water we drink and the food we eat. In fact, in a recent report published on the Australian Broadcasting Commission website (11) Associate Professor Federico Maggi from the Sydney Institute of Agriculture has developed an environmental glyphosate impact map demonstrating the toxicity around the world.
In conventional agriculture our soils, are sprayed with it prior to seeding the crops all microbial life is killed off (remember its antimicrobial patent). Genetically modified seeds are planted and crops are sprayed up to 4 times (5) during the growing season and then in some areas again to knock down and dry the crop (desiccant) it begs the question, what is this doing to our bodies?
Again I ask the question – What’s all the fuss about?
As we have demonstrated through well-referenced documentation there is a lot to be concerned about and many countries around the world are taking this very seriously. Below is a list of countries that have already banned the use of this damaging chemical.
Which Countries have banned the use and sale of Glyphosate?
The information reproduced and added to here comes from baumhedlundlaw.com, American attorneys involved in litigation around the products.
“The following countries have issued outright bans on glyphosate, imposed restrictions or have issued statements of intention to ban or restrict glyphosate-based herbicides.” (11)
Argentina: In 2015, more than 30,000 health care professionals advocated for a glyphosate ban following the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) report on glyphosate, which concluded the chemical is probably carcinogenic to humans. More than 400 towns and cities in Argentina have passed measures restricting glyphosate use.
Australia: While the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2019 that as many as 8 local councils in the Sydney area were looking at banning or restricting the use of glyphosate, the actual number is much smaller with only 2 having phased out the use completely and the rest stating they would look to the regulator Australian Pesticides and Vetinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to review the chemicals use. In August 2019, Food Standards Australia published a statement saying they were working with the APVMA to determine dietary intake for the chemicals continued use. Read more about it here. (12)
Austria: In June of 2019, Austria announced that it planned to ban glyphosate within the year. Leader of the Social Democrats, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, said she is “pleased” that her party’s long-standing effort to ban glyphosate in Austria would “finally pay off” now that her party’s motion had a majority in the Austrian parliament. The measure to ban glyphosate passed in July of 2019. While the Austria glyphosate ban was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, the country’s caretaker leader announced she would not sign the ban into law, citing a technicality. The ban has now been entered into law in a watered down format stating it is not to be used in sensitive areas or publicaly.
Bahrain: According to Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture, Bahrain and five other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have banned glyphosate.
Barbados: The government announced that people will need a license to purchase glyphosate. The new rule was designed to help manage the use of pesticides considered harmful to human health.
Belgium: Banned the individual use of glyphosate. In 2017, Belgium voted against relicensing glyphosate in the EU. The country was also one of six EU member states to sign a letter to the EU Commission calling for “an exit plan for glyphosate…” The city of Brussels banned the use of glyphosate within its territory as part of its “zero pesticides” policy.
Brazil: In August of 2018, a federal judge in Brasilia ruled that new products containing glyphosate could not be registered in the country. Existing regulations concerning glyphosate were also suspended, pending a reevaluation of toxicological data by Anvisa, the country’s health agency. Anvisa found there was no scientific evidence for the ban and reinstated its use just in time for the 2018 soybean crop planting season.
Canada: Eight out of the 10 provinces in Canada have some form of restriction on the use of non-essential cosmetic pesticides, including glyphosate. Vancouver has banned private and public use of glyphosate, aside from the treatment of invasive weeds. In June of 2019, New Brunswick officials announced that the province would reduce glyphosate spraying in certain areas with the promise that more regulation will follow. In February of 2022, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeals issued a ruling that Health Canada did not follow its own protocols for regulating herbicides like Roundup (glyphosate). The ruling could impact glyphosate’s status in the country.
Colombia: In 2015, Colombia outlawed the use of glyphosate to destroy illegal plantations of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, out of concern that glyphosate causes cancer. In March of 2019, President Ivan Duque asked for the judicial ban on aerial glyphosate spraying to be lifted. However, in July of 2019, the court maintained the judicial ban on glyphosate, ruling that the government has to prove that glyphosate is not harmful to human health and the environment in order for the ban to be lifted.
Costa Rica: In December of 2019, the country’s National System of Conservation Areas issued a guideline prohibiting the use of glyphosate in Costa Rica’s 11 Protected Wild Areas. The glyphosate restriction also applies to the National System of Conservation Areas’ institutions.
Czech Republic: Agriculture Minister Miroslav Toman said the country will limit glyphosate use starting in 2019. Specifically, the Czech Republic will ban glyphosate as a weedkiller and drying agent. Nov 2022 the European Weed Research Society convened a long awaited round table discussion on the ban. Over four sessions, namely “Non-chemical and sustainable weed management practices”, “Management of weeds resistant to MoAs other than glyphosate”, “Management of perennial weed species” and “Economical aspects of a possible glyphosate ban”.
After 16 speeches were presented it was agreed that as an output, a review would be prepared and submitted to Weed Research Journal with the contributions of all participants. (13)
Denmark: The Danish Working Environment Authority declared glyphosate to be carcinogenic and has recommended a change to less toxic chemicals. Aalborg, one of the largest cities in Denmark, issued private-use glyphosate ban in September of 2017. In July of 2018, the Danish government implemented new rules banning the use of glyphosate on all post-emergent crops to avoid residues on foods.
El Salvador: In 2013, the country adapted a law banning glyphosate over links to deadly kidney disease. However, by 2016, the legislation appeared to stall.
Fiji: The government announced in March of 2020 that glyphosate will be banned in the country effective January 2021.
France: French authorities banned the sale, distribution and use of Roundup 360 in early 2019. In May of 2019, French Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume announced that France would eliminate the use of glyphosate by 2021 with limited exceptions.
Some 20 mayors throughout the country have banned glyphosate in their municipalities.
President Macron announced in December of 2020 that the government would offer financial aid to farmers who agree to stop using glyphosate. The French president said in an interview with the media that while he still supports banning glyphosate, he recognizes that he will not be able to initiate the ban by 2021.
In December of 2019, France’s ANCES agency decided that 36 glyphosate-based products will be withdrawn from the market and no longer be permitted for use by the end of 2020.
Germany: Germany’s cabinet passed legislation in February of 2021 to ban glyphosate by 2024. German farmers will need to reduce the use of glyphosate until the ban takes effect in 2024. Certain retail stores in Germany have already pulled glyphosate-based herbicides like Roundup from shelves.
Greece: Greece was one of nine EU countries to vote against relicensing glyphosate in November of 2017. The country was also one of six EU member states to sign a 2018 letter to the European Commission calling for “an exit plan for glyphosate…” According to Greek Minister of Agricultural Development Evangelos Apostolou, “[i]t is our duty to push in the direction of risk management, in the interests of consumers, producers and the environment.” In March of 2018, the Greek government approved a five-year license for Monsanto’s Roundup against the wishes of Greek environmentalists.
India: In October of 2018, the government of Punjab banned the sale of glyphosate in the state. “All pesticide manufacturers, marketers and dealers in the State shall not sell glyphosate formulations-concentrations with immediate effect. The licensing authorities have been asked to take necessary steps for removal of entries for glyphosate from the licenses issued by them,” said State Agriculture Secretary K.S. Pannu. In February of 2019, the Indian state of Kerala issued a ban on the sale, distribution and use of glyphosate.
Italy: Italy’s Ministry of Health placed a number of restrictions on glyphosate use. Italian legislators have also raised concerns about glyphosate safety, and have come out against relicensing the herbicide in the European Union. In 2016, the Italian government banned the use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest treatment and placed restrictions on glyphosate use in areas frequented by the public. In November of 2017, Italy was one of seven EU nations to vote against relicensing glyphosate.
Kuwait: According to Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture, Kuwait and five other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued glyphosate bans.
Luxembourg: The country will become the first in the EU to completely ban all products containing glyphosate. The Luxembourg glyphosate ban will take effect in three phases. On Feb. 1, 2020, market authorization was withdrawn. Stocks of glyphosate may be used until June 30, 2020. On Dec. 31, 2020, the total ban on glyphosate will take effect.
Malawi: In April 2019, Malawi’s Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development told the country’s National newspaper that import licenses for glyphosate-based herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup would be suspended immediately.
Malta: In July of 2019, Malta banned the use of glyphosate in public spaces. The spraying of glyphosate will not be allowed on roadsides or near schools, among other places.
Mexico: In June of 2020, Mexico’s Environment Ministry announced that the country will phase out glyphosate by 2024, citing human health and environmental concerns. In April of 2021, a judge ruled in Bayer’s favor in a court challenge of the government’s glyphosate ban proposal. Bayer’s win was temporary because in October of 2021, Mexico’s Supreme Court denied four appeals of the proposed ban from major agrichemical corporations. The ruling affirmed the country’s glyphosate ban.
Netherlands: Banned all non-commercial use of glyphosate.
New Zealand: The cities of Auckland and Christchurch passed resolutions to reduce the usage of chemicals for weed and pest control in public places. The Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility, a New Zealand charitable trust, called for a glyphosate ban in 2015.
Oman: Eng Saleh al Abri, director general of agricultural development in Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), told a reporter that glyphosate “hasn’t been available in Oman since 2016.” Eng Abri added, “This active ingredient has been banned throughout the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) since last year.” In addition to Oman, the GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Portugal: Prohibits the use of glyphosate in all public spaces. The president of the Portuguese Medical Association has also called for a worldwide ban of glyphosate.
Qatar: According to Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture, Qatar and five other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have banned glyphosate.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Acting on advice from their Pesticides Board, the Caribbean country placed an immediate suspension on the import of glyphosate-based herbicides.
Saudi Arabia: Issued a glyphosate ban along with five other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Scotland: Aberdeen cut back its use of herbicides and Edinburgh’s City Council voted to phase out glyphosate. In November of 2017, five of Scotland’s six EU parliamentarians voted in favor of a motion that would phase out glyphosate by 2022.
Slovenia: Slovenia was one of six EU member states to sign a 2018 letter to the European Commission citing “concerns” about the risks associated with glyphosate. The letter called upon the Commission to introduce “an exit plan for glyphosate…”
Spain: According to Kistiñe Garcia of the Spanish NGO, Ecologistas en Acción, Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza and the region of Extremuda have decided to ban glyphosate. The regions of La Rioja (major Spanish wine region) and Aragon have also approved motions against endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which includes glyphosate.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka was the first country to issue a nationwide ban on glyphosate. In 2018, the government decided to lift the ban due to crop losses and overgrowing weeds. However, in November of 2021, the country’s government reinstalled the Roundup ban.
Sweden: Raised concerns about glyphosate safety and has pushed against relicensing the herbicide in the EU. In 2017, the Swedish Chemicals Agency (SCA) announced it was planning to tighten rules on private use of plant protection products. Under the plan, private users would only be allowed to use products containing “low-risk substances.” According to the SCA, glyphosate is an example of an active substance not expected to be included among low-risk substances, meaning in due time, private consumers may not be permitted to use herbicides containing glyphosate.
Switzerland: Concerned about public well-being, the Swiss supermarket chains Migros and Coop removed glyphosate-based products from their shelves due to health risks. In 2017, the Green party put forth a plan to ban glyphosate in Switzerland. The proposed plan was rejected by the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive.
Thailand: In August 2019, Deputy Agriculture Minister Mananya Thaiseth ceased licensing extensions for three hazardous farm chemicals, including glyphosate. Following the announcement, U.S. government officials pressured Thailand to exempt the three chemicals citing a potential threat to the grain trade. But Thailand’s public health minister Anutin Charvinrakul said during a press conference that “our job is to take care of the people’s health.”
The Thailand glyphosate ban was scheduled to take effect in December of 2019. However, after pressure from industry, the ban was reduced to a restriction.
United Arab Emirates: Issued a glyphosate ban along with five other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
United Kingdom: Following the landmark $289 million Monsanto Roundup verdict on Aug. 10, 2018, Homebase, one of the UK’s largest DIY retailers, announced that it would review the sale of Roundup and Ranger Pro. However, according to the Sun, Homebase and other major retailers still stock the weed killers for sale. The United Kingdom banned Paraquat, another widely-used herbicide, in 2007. A large number of boroughs and townships have banned the use of glyphosate despite the herbicide being widely available.
Vietnam: Following the jury verdict in Hardeman v. Monsanto Co., Vietnam announced that it would ban glyphosate imports. According to Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, “the removal of this substance from the list of pesticides allowed to be used in Vietnam will be done in the near future.”
Finally, In July of 2021, Bayer announced that it will stop selling its glyphosate-based Roundup™ herbicides in the United States Lawn & Garden residential market beginning in 2023. The announcement was a welcomed victory for consumer advocates who have long fought to remove glyphosate from store shelves. This is likely due to a risk management strategy linked to the potential for hundreds of thousands of legal cases rather than an admission of the facts around the carcinogenicity of the product.
As you can see the world is watching and consumer sentiment is driving policy makers to rethink their position. Unfortunately, policy and law makers are not always on the side of consumers with “The White House effectively telling Monsanto/Bayer – we have your back”.
After researching this article and reading the countless websites, scientific papers and political hearings and assorted documents, I personally can completely understand why consumers and farmers the world over are confused about the evidence. Bayer/Monsanto has deliberately acted to discredit, deny and in some cases fabricate documents to hide the facts. Much like the tobacco industry did.
What all the fuss is really about is that as consumers we cannot nor should we believe the spin doctoring and marketing magic these company’s produce. Rather we should take the initiative and check the information being fed to us and make our own decisions. For me personally, the fact that I can taste the chemical residue in the air when my neighbouring farmers are spraying is enough evidence for me that this chemical at the very least should be removed from sale and a ban on its use put into place everywhere. Don’t be fooled just because Bayer has stated they will stop selling to the residential market does not mean they will not continue to market to farmers and industry.
Update 26/6/24: There is more and more research and knowledge coming to light about the impact of this chemical on human and biological health. For example in her book “The Food Solution” Dr Gundula Rhoades discusses the effect of food crops sprayed with glyphosate during their growth on the human microbiome specifically in the gut. Research is now clear that a lot of the illnesses that we as humans suffer are directly related to the lack of microbial diversity in our gut. Dr Michael Mosley is credited with having shown in graphic detail that there are bacteria that live nowhere else on the planet than in our intestinal tract. What is important here is that glyphosate even in minuscule or trace amounts is killing the microbiome and resulting in allergies, disease and more. The more we learn about the effects and impacts of this product the more we seem to ignore it. Globally the market was valued at USD$10B in 2022 and is forecast to reach USD$19B by 2031 with some 22 companies actively marketing the product worldwide.
References:
- https://glyphosatefacts.com/what-is-glyphosate/ accessed 2/1/23.
- National Center for Biotechnology Information (2023). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 3496, Glyphosate. Retrieved January 2, 2023 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Glyphosate.
- Roundup Ready! Glyphosate and the Current Controversy Over the World’s Leading Herbicide, R. Mesnage, M.N. Antoniou, Editor(s): Dominick A. Dellasala, Michael I. Goldstein, Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene, Elsevier,2018,Pages 149-153, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012809665909981X
- The Low Down on Roundup, Part 1 Glyosphate discovery and commercialisation (unknown author) https://hh-ra.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/The-Low-Down-on-Roundup-Part-I-FINAL.pdf#:~:text=Glyphosate%20was%20first%20synthesized%20in,so%20the%20formula%20was%20shelved.&text=Ten%20years%20later%2C%20Aldrich%20Chemical,the%20molecule%20through%20an%20acquisition. Retrieved 2/1/23.
- https://roundup.cdn.prismic.io/roundup/6066a75e-5b8c-479f-b2f1-383fb3598980_2022_SDS_REGULAR+ROUNDUP%C2%AE+G7.2+READY+TO+USE+WEEDKILLER+0622.pdf retrieved 2/1/23
- http://www.cdms.net/ldat/mp178001.pdf retrieved 2/1/23
- https://www.crop.bayer.com.au/products/herbicides/roundup-ultramax-herbicid retrieved 2/1/23
- https://monographs.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono112-10.pdf
- Swanson, Nancy & Hoy, Judy & Seneff, Stephanie. (2016). Evidence that glyphosate is a causative agent in chronic sub-clinical metabolic acidosis and mitochondrial dysfunction. International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine. 4. 9. Accessed 2/1/23
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-03-19/international-glyphosate-roundup-hotspot-map/12063156 accessed 2/1/23
- https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/toxic-tort-law/monsanto-roundup-lawsuit/where-is-glyphosate-banned-/ accessed 2/1/23
- https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/chemicals/Pages/Glyphosate.aspx#:~:text=What%20is%20glyphosate%3F,is%20not%20found%20in%20humans.
- https://www.ewrs.org/en/info/News/23-12-2022/Report-from-the-EWRS-Glyphosate-meeting-in-Prague- accessed 3/1/23