The widespread adoption of genetically engineered (or “GMO”) crops over the past two decades has led to an explosion in the use of toxic weed killers.
Nearly all corn and soybeans in the U.S. – totaling more than 150 million acres – are genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. But overreliance on glyphosate has led to the growth of “super weeds” that are resistant to the weed killer. Today, more than 60 million acres of U.S. farmland are infested with weeds resistant to glyphosate.
Because of this super weed problem, farmers are turning to a chemical cocktail of glyphosate and 2,4-D, a possibly cancer-causing herbicide linked to Parkinson’s disease and thyroid problems. The leading cancer researchers at the World Health Organization recently classified glyphosate alone as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Concern over the huge increase in these toxic herbicides is one reason nine out of every 10 Americans want GMOs to be labeled.
Learn more about herbicide use and GMO crops below.
- Glyphosate: https://www.ewg.org/search/site/glyphosate
- 2,4-D: https://www.ewg.org/key-issues/24-d
- Read about an article on herbicides and GMO labeling in the New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2015/08/children-s-health-and-pesticide-experts-call-labeling-gmo-food
- Glyphosate is spreading like a cancer: https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2015/04/glyphosate-spreading-cancer-across-us
- GMO weed killer exposure on playing fields and parks: https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2015/07/fields-drift-weed-killer-exposure-playing-fields-and-parks
- Monsanto’s GMO weed killer sprayed on fields close to 12,000 churches: http://ewg.org/gmo-churches
- Monsanto’s glyphosate blankets GMO crops near schools: http://ewg.org/gmo-schools