Roundup Herbicide Linked To Overgrowth of Deadly Bacteria

Roundup Herbicide Linked To Overgrowth of Deadly Bacteria







Sayer Ji, Contributor
Activist Post

Could Monsanto's glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup be leading to the
overgrowth of deadly bacteria in animals and humans consuming
genetically-modified food contaminated with it?

This question follows from a new study published in the journal Current Microbiology
titled, "The Effect of Glyphosate on Potential Pathogens and Beneficial
Members of Poultry Microbiota In Vitro," which found that the active
ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide,
known as glyphosate, negatively impacted the gastrointestinal bacteria
of poultry in vitro. The researchers presented evidence that highly
pathogenic bacteria resisted glyphosate, whereas beneficial bacteria
were moderately to highly susceptible to it.

Some of the beneficial species that were found to be suppressed by
glyphosate were Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus
badius, Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Lactobacillus spp. The
pathogenic species which were found to resist glyphosate toxicity were
Salmonella Entritidis, Salmonella Gallinarum, Salmonella Typhimurium,
Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium botulinum.

The researchers stated that "A reduction of
beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract microbiota by
ingestion of glyphosate could disturb the normal gut bacterial
community." Even more alarming was their observation that the toxicity
of glyphosate to the most prevalent beneficial species, Enterococcus,
"could be a significant predisposing factor that is associated with the
increase in Clostridia botulinum-mediated diseases by suppressing the
antagonistic effect of these bacteria on clostridia." Clostridia are a
class of anaerobic bacteria including some of the most dangerous known
to man, such as C. tetani and C. botulinum, which produce tetanus and
botulin toxin, respectively.


Consider that botulin is the most acutely toxic substance known, and
that despite the fact it is FDA-approved for use "cosmetically," e.g.
Botox injections, it is being looked at as a potential bioweapon because
it only takes 75 billionths of a gram (75 ng) to kill a person weighing
75 kg (165 lbs). It has been estimated that only 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs)
would be enough to kill the entire human population.

The researchers noted that the glyphosate-sensitive beneficial strains
of bifodobacteria, lactobacilli, propionibacteria and enterococci were
found to inhibit the growth of C.botulinum. They also found that
pathogenic Salmonella and E.coli strains, increasingly found
contaminating poultry products, were highly resistant to glyphosate.
Lastly, the researchers pointed out that glyphosate also has the
potential to induce genetic mutations within bacteria, making it
possible for a new level of pathogenicity to emerge following chronic
exposure to this chemical.

What Does This Mean For Our Food?

One of the obvious implications of this research is that poultry fed glyphosate-laced genetically modified corn or soy, for instance, would likely experience unhealthy changes in the make-up of their intestinal flora (known as dysbiosis),
resulting in increasing harm not only to the animals, but to those
consuming them. Factory-farmed chickens are already routinely fed
antibiotics, arsenic and even antidepressants, all of which represent
serious health threats, both by contributing to the generation of
communicable disease vectors, as well as contamination of the meat
itself.

This
new study adds to a growing concern that concentrated animal feeding
operation (CAFO) chickens may becoming a breeding ground for botulism,
and related pathogenic organisms. Deadly botulism outbreaks in cattle,
in fact, have recently been linked to poultry litter contamination in
Ireland. Also, this month the FDA broadened the use of highly controversial food irradiation
by increasing the allowable dose in poultry from 3 to 4.5 Kilograys
(keep in mind a Kilogray is equivalent to 2,500,000 chest x-rays (40
millirems each) or 166 times a human lethal dose (5 Grays)), citing
concerns that lower levels do not eliminate radiation-resistant
spore-forming bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum.[ii]

More Than Just A Food Contamination Problem

Research published earlier this year, also in the journal [i]Current Microbiology, indicated that glyphosate formulations,
at concentrations lower than presently used in agricultural
applications, are capable of destroying food organisms widely used as
starters in traditional and industrial dairy technologies, such as
Geotrichum candidum, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus.[iii]
The study authors concluded that Roundup herbicide's inherent toxicity
to soil organisms may explain what is behind "...the loss of
microbiodiversity and microbial concentration observed in raw milk for
many years."

The reality is that GM farming practices, which are heavily reliant on
glyphosate-based herbicide formulations, are creating a more serious
long-term threat to our food security by drastically altering the
composition of the soil, threatening its very fertility and ability to
produce food for present and future generations.

For more details read our article on the topic: Un-Earthed: Is Monsanto's Glyphosate Destroying The Soil?

Source:-
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/12/roundup-herbicide-linked-to-overgrowth.html