by Tony Isaacs
September 20, 2012
from
NaturalNews Website
Tony Isaacs, is a
natural health author, advocate and researcher who hosts
The Best
Years in Life website for those who wish to avoid
prescription drugs and mainstream managed illness and
live longer, healthier and happier lives naturally.
Mr. Isaacs is the
author of books and articles about natural health,
longevity and beating cancer including "Cancer's
Natural Enemy" and is working on a major book
project due to be published later this year.
He is also a
contributing author for the worldwide advocacy group "SANEVax
Inc" which endeavors to uncover the truth about HPV
and other vaccine dangers. |
Herbicide use in the United States continues to grow unabated and
the health consequences are likely to become increasingly dire.
Today, we take a look at three widely
used herbicides which make up an axis of evil poisoning us, our
environment, and our food.
Roundup
Roundup has been around since the
1970s and is the most popular glyphosphate-containing herbicide in
the world.
For the past decade, Roundup has been
the herbicide of choice in the United States and current annual
usage in the US is estimated to be a whopping 100 million pounds.
For many years, we were falsely told that Roundup breaks down into
harmless compounds within only a couple of days after application.
We now know that is untrue. We also know that Roundup use can lead
to Sudden Death Syndrome of plants months and years after it is
applied.
Roundup has been linked to over 25 different diseases including DNA
damage, birth defects, liver dysfunction, and cancer.
Already this year, Natural News has
reported on studies which found that even very tiny levels of
Roundup exposure:
2 4-D
Many farmers who use Roundup are turning to other herbicides after
finding that superweeds are developing which are resistant to
Roundup.
One such alternative is
2 4-D, the
powerful herbicide which was one of the two components of Agent
Orange.
Agent
Orange was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War and its use
resulted in millions of birth defects, cancer, and other health
problems.
According to the New York Times, the
Agriculture Department is likely to soon approve Dow's new
2,4-D-resistant corn and that is just the first of a new wave of
herbicide-tolerant crops being developed by,
-
Dow
-
Monsanto
-
Bayer
-
Sygenta
-
DuPont
According to the EPA, annual domestic
usage of 2,4-D is approximately 46 million pounds, which until now
has been limited mostly to use on ranges for cattle and other
livestock.
Atrazine
Atrazine is also widely used in the U.S. primarily on corn. It is
estimated that up to 85 million pounds of atrazine is used annually
in the US and that up to 85% of all corn crops grown in the U.S. are
sprayed with the herbicide.
Only a tiny amount of atrazine in the water supply can cause
problems. The herbicide has been banned in the European Union since
2004 - with some individual EU countries having banned atrazine as
early as 1991.
A U.S. Geological Survey study found
atrazine in approximately 75 percent of stream water and about 40
percent of groundwater samples in the agricultural areas tested and
it is estimated that 1200 public drinking water systems in the U.S.
are currently contaminated with atrazine.
The chemical is a potent endocrine disruptor that causes
immunosuppression, hermaphroditism, and even complete sex reversal
in male frogs at concentrations as low as 2.5 parts per billion
(ppb) - below the 3.0 ppb that the EPA says is safe.
Researchers are finding an increasing
number of links between atrazine and poor birth outcomes in humans,
including reduced body weight and the associated risks of illness in
infants as well as later health conditions such as cardiovascular
disease and diabetes.
Atrazine is both widely present in the environment and unusually
persistent. The chemical can still be detected fifteen years after
its use was discontinued.
Every year, over half a million pounds
of atrazine caught in the air stream during spraying falls back to
earth in rain and snow, eventually seeping into streams and
groundwater.
Sources
|