Roundup & GMO foods more toxic with lower yields

[Maria]

http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option ... -new-study

• In a new research(1) published in the highly ranked scientific journal Toxicology, Robin Mesnage, Benoit Bernay and Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, from the University of Caen, France, have proven (from a study of nine Roundup-like herbicides) that the most toxic compound is not glyphosate, which is the substance the most assessed by regulatory authorities, but a compound that is not always listed on the label, called POE-15. Modern methods were applied at the cellular level (on three human cell lines), and mass spectrometry (studies on the nature of molecules). ....

  Adjuvants of the POE-15 family (polyethoxylated tallowamine) have now been revealed as actively toxic to human cells, and must be regulated as such.

Many years ago, I used Roundup once. I became very dizzy and nauseated. My husband read the label and said that it could not possibly be the Roundup. Then he used it and experienced flu like symptoms for a couple of days. It still sits on our garage shelf. We must dispose of it soon. Should that stuff catch on fire, if we should we have another forest fire like we did with the 2009 Station Fire, the chemical toxins released could be deadly. The fire department has warned people about storing chemicals, pesticides, and insecticides in their garages and kitchens.

[Maria]

In this second article, researchers have discovered that not only do GMO crops have a lower yield than officially disclosed, but also more Roundup must be used on the Roundup Ready GMO crop. These facts are not being told to farmers who suffer from a lower effective yield but have to pay extremely higher costs for these seeds and the herbicides, both of which are proprietary. The lower yield is due to "stacked genes" whereby more than one genetic modification can cause gene interaction since the biotechnology used by Monsanto is still rather primitive.

• Washington State University researcher Charles Benbrook has demonstrated that the net effect of GMOs in the United States has been an increase in use of toxic chemical inputs. Benbrook found that while the Bt trait has indeed allowed farmers to spray dramatically lower levels of insecticides, that effect has been more than outweighed the gusher of herbicides uncorked by Monsanto's Roundup Ready technology, as weeds have rapidly adapted resistance to regular doses of Monsanto's Rounup herbicide.

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott ... wer-yields

[Barbara]

For me, this is breathtaking news.

The part about both Maria AND her husband getting terribly ill from using the Roundup is alarming !

I, too, have kept OLD Roundup containers for ages, just in case. I have had a problem with that Morning Glory stuff,
but spraying Roundup didn't even help the spread of this pretty but stubborn weed which invaded from a neighbor's yard.

Nonetheless, I keep it on hand because nothing else seems to make any dent.

I had no idea about the problems of a forest fire igniting the chemicals in Roundup.

Maybe you should wear a filter over your nose when disposing of that old Roundup, Maria ?

I figured Roundup was really awful, but did not guess about the hidden chemical. So tricky and mean of these companies !

Usually, I try to pull out weeds the natural way : with a shovel ! It gets rid of the roots.
Only in the case of the Morning Glory which was UNDERNEATH a shed, hence inaccesssible by shovel, did I reluctantly employ
Roundup.

[Maria]

In our area, we have special days where we can dispose of oil and chemicals, which are handled by HazMat people who are trained in how to dispose of dangerous chemicals. Any paints that are donated are mixed and then used to apply to buildings that have been criminally defaced by juvenile artists.