Investigating glyphosate

THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN MANY HERBICIDES, GLYPHOSATE IS DEADLY TO MOST PLANT LIFE AND PROBABLY NOT MUCH GOOD FOR US, EITHER

Words Steve McGrane

N-phosphonomethylglycine, better known as glyphosate, is a broad-system herbicide marketed since 1974 as a weed killer. Discovered by a Monsanto chemist, it is widely recognised as the herbicide Roundup, a trade name now owned by Bayer after the chemical giant acquired Monsanto in 2018. Specifically, glyphosate is an endocrine communication molecule disruptor, inhibiting the transfer of enzymes essential for life in many plants and micro-organisms — though not in humans, it must be said. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. WHO has three broad categories of carcinogenic assessment, in order of certainty: • Group 1: Known to be a human carcinogen• Group 2: Probably carcinogenic to humans• Group 3: Reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen Glyphosate is listed in Group 2. Others in that group are…

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Good Organic Gardening (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue#10.5 - 2019

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