(NaturalHealth365) Much of the scrutiny of the Monsanto weed killer Roundup has focused on its content of the herbicide glyphosate, dismissing its other ingredients as “inert.” However, a recent lawsuit claims there is something about the chemical cocktail comprising Roundup that is more toxic than just the glyphosate on its own.

The truth is that no additive is inert, and something about the mixture of glyphosate with the other ingredients in Roundup is what contributes to it becoming carcinogenic to humans.

Roundup warning: Adjuvants in herbicides increase the toxicity of active ingredients

Alarmingly, the Roundup product has never been tested for its long-term effects and safety. The only testing done related to the herbicide was on glyphosate alone. The glaring omission here is that all glyphosate weed killers contain many other chemicals and ingredients called adjuvants.  Many of these adjuvants are toxic in and of themselves, but their innate toxicity can increase exponentially when glyphosate is added.

The adjuvants increase the toxicity of glyphosate through allowing it to penetrate animal, plant and human cells more easily. The half-life of many Roundup adjuvants are also much longer than that of glyphosate on its own.

The testing of so-called active ingredients apart from the witch’s brew potions they end up in is effectively pointless. No one is exposed to “just glyphosate;” it is always within a product that contains numerous other chemicals and components, and these ingredients can affect one another in profound ways.

Up to 1,000 times more toxic

An in vitro study looked at eight major pesticides in terms of their complete formulations, including Roundup. In a staggering finding, the products were all many times more toxic to human cells than when just their isolated adjuvants or active ingredients were tested – some as much as 1,000 times.

Another in vivo study of pigs showed glyphosate and the adjuvant POEA combined in herbicide formulations were toxic to the pigs and lethal in high doses. However, glyphosate alone was not. A similar study of rats showed Roundup formulations were far more toxic than just glyphosate on its own.

Back in 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared glyphosate to be a “probable carcinogen,” and the state of California did the same. The maker of Roundup, Monsanto, promptly sued California.

At this time, herbicides and pesticides not accurately tested and regulated

The dangers of these herbicides and pesticides have been effectively hidden from public awareness for two main reasons. First, the safety of these products are decided mainly by testing its active ingredient – not by testing the entire chemical cocktail. Second, corporate-friendly lawyers and judges protect big companies like Monsanto from adhering to safety regulations and facing justice when warranted.

The additives in weed killers and pesticides can comprise as much as 95 percent of the product. However, at this time, Roundup and other such products have largely gone untested or adequately regulated by the EPA. When will Monsanto and the EPA finally take steps to stop poisoning the public and potentially damaging the human genome for generations to come?

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1764160

/naturalnewslinks/054507_inert_ingredients_EPA_pesticide_labeling.html

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/05/31/roundup-inert-ingredients.aspx

https://theintercept.com/2016/05/17/new-evidence-about-the-dangers-of-monsantos-roundup