First cancer – now liver disease – urgent review of Roundup safety needed
Members of the GM Free Australia Alliance are calling for an urgent review of the safety of glyphosate – the primary ingredient in Roundup – following the release of a new study linking the common herbicide to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). The study, led by Dr Michael Antoniou from King’s College, London, found that glyphosate caused NAFLD in experimental rats, at doses far below what is allowed as residues in our food.
Dr Antoniou said: “The findings of our study are very worrying as they demonstrate for the first time a causative link between an environmentally relevant level of Roundup consumption over the long-term and a serious disease – namely non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
“Our results also suggest that regulators should reconsider the safety evaluation of glyphosate-based herbicides.”
NAFLD is the most common form of liver disease and afflicts 5.5 million Australians. Liver disease may progress to permanent scarring, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The new evidence suggests that exposure to Roundup should be considered a risk factor for NAFLD.
Our pesticides regulator – the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) – recently proposed not reconsidering the safety of glyphosate in response to the findings of the World Health Organisation that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen.
The agency has classified the chemical as having a “low potential for causing harm” and says it does not require review or reassessment.
Jeremy Tager from Friends of the Earth said “that classification is completely out of step with the best available science. The APVMA and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) should immediately commission an independent review of the health and environmental impacts of all glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH). They should also restrict the spraying of GBHs in Australia until the questions over Roundup’s risks and hazards are resolved.”
Roundup is the most used agricultural chemical in Australia. Levels of human exposure to Roundup have increased dramatically in recent years, due to its use on food crops, by councils on roadsides, parks, playgrounds and golf courses, and in home gardens.
Since November 2016 the APVMA has allowed farmers to spray GBHs onto barley crops one week before harvest, further increasing levels of human exposure. The chemical is already used just prior to harvest on wheat, canola and pulses such as lentils and chickpeas.
Australian drinking water guidelines allow levels of glyphosate 10,000 times higher than those approved in Europe and water authorities here rarely test for glyphosate. Glyphosate has been detected in Australian water at levels up to 114,200 times the EU limit.
“Both the APVMA and FSANZ appear to be deeply compromised by their relationships with the chemical industry. The mounting evidence of the health risks associated with glyphosate is a serious test of the integrity of these agencies. They are failing badly in their duty to protect public health, safety and the environment,” concluded Jeremy Tager.
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