ROUNDUP LINKED TO CANCER

    A recent study by Swedish oncologists Dr. Lennart Hardell and Dr. Mikael Eriksson has revealed clear links between one of the world's biggest selling herbicides---glyphosate---to non- Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer. The study was published in the Journal of the American Cancer Society in March but not widely publicized.
    Glyphosate, marketed by Monsanto as Roundup, is the world's most widely used herbicide. It is estimated that for 1998 over a 112,000 tonnes of glyphosate were used worldwide.
    Seventy-one percent of genetically engineered (GE) crops planted in 1998 are designed to be resistant to herbicides such as glyphosate. Companies developing herbicide resistant crops are also increasing their production capacity for the herbicides such as glyphosate, and requesting permits for higher residues of these chemicals in food.
    According to Sadhbh O'Neill of a European organization called Genetic Concern, "This study reinforces concerns by environmentalists and health professional that far from reducing herbicide use, glyphosate resistant crops may result in increased residues to which we as consumers will be exposed in our food. Increased residues of glyphosate and its metabolites are already on sale via genetically engineered soya, common in processed foods. However, no studies of the effects of GE soya sprayed with Roundup on health have been carried out either on animals or humans to date."

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