OOooooooo! MonSAAANNNTTOooo!
BOOGA-BOOGA-BOOGA!
I’ve just met ONE TOO MANY individuals who — when you say “Monsanto” — totally wig out and their head twists around like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist.”
Glyphosate is a glycine mimic that absorbs through plant leaves and stems and binds to the active site of the critical enzyme EPSP synthase inhibitng its function in the production of other amino acids that plants and bacteria require to survive. Rendered unable to produce these vital amino acids, the plant cannot sustain the cellular mechanisms that transport nutrients and water to the stem and leaves, so the plant wilts, dehydrates, and dies. Because EPSP synthase is present in highest concentration in the growth areas of plants, glyphosate accumulates in these aeras, and does not break down until the plant has died and begins to decay.
Once in the soil, glyphosate adsorbs onto the soil particles, and remains immobile unless the soil itself is transported by some means, which would include surface erosion by wind or water. Glphosate is broken down by microbes in the soil into inert organic compaunds: nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. How long that takes depends on the soil and the amound of glyphosate, but the half-life of glyphosate in soil has been observed to be anywhere from 1 to 174 days. Glyphosate in soil is not absorbed by other plants, which is why you can plant a treated area mere days after treating the weeds in that same area. Because of this, glyphosate in the soil is bound TO the soil, it is unavailable for uptake into plants subsequently grown on treated land, and is thus not present to be ingested by consumers of those plants.
More detail here:
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/glyphosate-ext.html
That’s an exceptional post .. thanks !
To be fair, I think the bigger concern for most people isn't uptake into subsequent plantings, it is the residue finding it's way into the consumed seeds of the plants it was deliberately sprayed on.
That said though, the body has the ability to clean itself of toxins, as long as they are not consumed in amounts beyond the body's capacity to handle. With the amount of toxins the general population exposes themselves to on a 24/365 basis, to point the blame for general health problems on glyphosate from foods consumed is no different than placing the entire blame for a camel's back breaking on that final straw that pushed it over the edge.
In terms of direct toxicity, that seems to be true. However, from the article I posted here:
The herbicide glyphosate is expected to be innocuous to animals, including bees, because it targets an enzyme only found in plants and microorganisms. However, bees rely on a specialized gut microbiota that benefits growth and provides defense against pathogens. Most bee gut bacteria contain the enzyme targeted by glyphosate, but vary in whether they possess susceptible versions and, correspondingly, in tolerance to glyphosate. Exposing bees to glyphosate alters the bee gut community and increases susceptibility to infection by opportunistic pathogens. Understanding how glyphosate impacts bee gut symbionts and bee health will help elucidate a possible role of this chemical in colony decline.
Note that it states that glyphosphate "has a possible role" in "colony decline," but does not conclude that that it is the main cause.