On August 20, 2015, Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., and Charles Benbrook, Ph.D. published a paper^1,2 in the one of the most prestigious medical journals, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on the topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), herbicides, and public health, noting that:

“… [T]he application of biotechnology to agriculture has been rapid and aggressive. The vast majority of the corn and soybeans grown in the United States are now genetically engineered.

Foods produced from GM crops have become ubiquitous…Two recent developments are dramatically changing the GMO landscape.

First, there have been sharp increases in the amounts and numbers of chemical herbicides applied to GM crops, and still further increases — the largest in a generation — are scheduled to occur in the next few years.

Second, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate, the herbicide most widely used on GM crops, as a ‘probable human carcinogen’ and classified a second herbicide, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), as a ‘possible human carcinogen.’”

The ‘Answer’ to Herbicide Resistance Is Bound to Make Food Increasingly Toxic

The authors recount how genetically engineered (GE) herbicide-resistant crops have led to a dramatic increase in herbicide application due to mounting resistance among weeds.

They then go on to argue that the science and risk assessment of the next-generation of GE crops — touted as the “answer” to growing resistance — is seriously flawed.

These next-gen crops are designed to be resistant to combinations of herbicides. Enlist Duo, which was recently green lighted, is resistant to both glyphosate and 2,4-D; the latter of which was a major ingredient in Agent Orange, used with devastating effect during the Vietnam War.

As a result of this approval, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expects use of 2,4-D to increase anywhere from three to seven times in coming years.

Benbrook and Landrigan note that the science supporting Enlist Duo consists solely of unpublished toxicology studies done by the herbicide manufacturer in the 1980s and ‘90s.

These studies predate more recent scientific discoveries of how chemicals create adverse health effects even at very low doses, including endocrine and epigenetic effects.

They also criticize the risk assessment of Enlist Duo, saying it “gave little consideration to potential health effects in infants and children, thus contravening federal pesticide law.”

The risk assessment also did not adequately account for ecological impact on pollinators, including the monarch butterfly, which is being decimated by massive glyphosate applications on vast fields of GE crops.

Last but not least, the assessment only considered glyphosate in isolation, despite studies showing that glyphosate in combination with surfactants and other chemicals tend to synergistically increase their toxic potential.