Scientists reveal negative impact of Roundup Ready GM crops

Five studies published in the October 2009 issue of The European Journal of Agronomy reveal the negative impacts of using Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a formula developed specifically for the company’s line of genetically modified (GM) “Roundup Ready” crops. The papers, which were not released in the United States, offer a solid indictment against GM crops and the plight of using the Roundup herbicide.

Robert Kremer, a microbiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, co-authored one of the five papers and offered insight into their premise during an interview with The Organic & Non-GMO Report, a monthly newsletter that offers recourse in addressing the challenges of fighting GM foods.

Kremer and his colleagues began studying the effects of Roundup on soil back in 1997. They found that the herbicide was causing an increase in parasitic colonization at the roots of Roundup Ready soybeans and corn. They also observed an increase in fungal growth that leads to sudden death syndrome (SDS) in the plants.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is systemically changing the soil composition in the fields where it is used, leeching from plant roots into the ground. It is also disrupting the normal microorganism balance on plants and in soil, spurring the growth of harmful bacterial colonies that are destroying the beneficial ones.

According to Kremer, the most apparent disruption by glyphosate is observed in rhizobia, a type of bacterium that fixes nitrogen in the soil. Glyphosate’s toxicity inhibits rhizobia from enriching soil with nitrogen, preventing plants from receiving this necessary element.  Read Article

By E. Huff