We, the undersigned residents of Florida, demand a moratorium on Glyphosate in the State of Florida citing the following:

Glyphosate is the active chemical ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup; a broad spectrum nutrient and mineral chelator; an endocrine and hormone disruptor; a patented antibiotic that is sprayed on GMO food crops; used as a ripening/drying agent on non-organic crops such as wheat, legumes, sugar, nuts, seeds; sprayed on lawns, sidewalks, children’s parks and schools; and is found in our waterways, rainwater, soil & air.

Deemed by The W.H.O as a “Probable Human Carcinogen” and most recently, “Roundup causes Liver Disease in Low Doses” there are hundreds of studies that show harm from glyphosate. It is important to practice Precautionary Principle. There is no acceptable level of glyphosate in our bodies or the environment and for this reason we are calling for a moratorium on glyphosate in the State of Florida. Glyphosate is found in over 750 products and around 650 million tons have been used in 2013 alone.

Glyphosate based herbicides are the most widely used in the world and their use has increased exponentially over the last 20 years (Benbrook 2016).

In March, 2015, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that there is sufficient evidence of glyphosate’s carcinogenicity in experimental animals and classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. (The International Agency for Research on Cancer 2015)

Studies suggest glyphosate based herbicides at realistic doses may be an endocrine disruptor (Thongprakaisang 2013, Gasnier 2009) which may reduce testosterone levels (Clair 2012, Abarikwu 2015), impair sperm quality (Abarikwu 2015), or could cause disturbances in the reproductive development of experimental animals when the exposure was performed during puberty (Romano 2010) which may occur in humans as well.

According to The President’s Cancer Panel:

It is vitally important to recognize that children are far more susceptible to damage from environmental carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting compounds than adults. To the extent possible, parents and child care providers should choose foods, house and garden products, play spaces, toys, medicines, and medical tests that will minimize children’s exposure to toxics. Ideally, both women and men should avoid exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and known or suspected carcinogens prior to a child’s conception and throughout pregnancy and early life, when risk of damage is greatest (The President’s Cancer Panel 2010).

Other studies have reported kidney damage and liver damage including the potential for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (Abarikwu 2015, Benedetti 2004, Séralini 2014, Mesnage 2015, Mesnage 2017) and observed intestine smooth muscle activity disturbances in experimental animals all at realistic doses. (Chłopecka 2014).

Since glyphosate and its metabolites have been detected in air, rain, and water (Majewski 2007, Battaglin 2014), and may be sprayed in parks or schools where children will be exposed, it is virtually impossible to minimize children’s exposure to these toxins.

Therefore, we call on legislators in Florida to take the precautionary principle to impose a moratorium on glyphosate based herbicides used in Florida to protect our children and prevent our people, pets, wildlife and endangered species from being exposed and our waterways and ecosystems from being contaminated.   Glyphosate is a probable endocrine disruptor and probable human carcinogen that has already been banned in many Cities, Counties and Countries around the world.

Sources:

Abarikwu SO, Akiri OF, Durojaiye MA, Adenike A.(2015) Combined effects of repeated administration of Bretmont Wipeout (glyphosate) and Ultrazin (atrazine) on testosterone, oxidative stress and sperm quality of Wistar rats. Toxicol Mech Methods. 2015 Jan;25(1):70-80. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25403740

Battaglin, W.A., M.T. Meyer, K.M. Kuivila, and J.E. Dietze, 2014. Glyphosate and Its Degradation Product AMPA Occur Frequently and Widely in U.S. Soils, Surface Water, Groundwater, and Precipitation. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 50(2): 275-290. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/jawr.12159/full

Benbrook, C. M. (2016). Trends in glyphosate herbicide use in the United States and globally. Environmental Sciences Europe, 28(1), 1. http://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-016-0070-0

Benedetti AL, Vituri CdL, Trentin AG, Domingues MA, Alvarez- Silva M. (2004) The effects of sub-chronic exposure of Wistar rats to the herbicide Glyphosate-Biocarb. Toxicol Lett. 153(2): 227–232. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427404002188

Magdalena Chłopecka, Marta Mendel, Natalia Dziekan, Wojciech Karlik (2014) Glyphosate affects the spontaneous motoric activity of intestine at very low doses – In vitro study. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, June 2014 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048357514000947

Clair E, Mesnage R, Travert C, Séralini GÉ. (2012) A glyphosate-based herbicide induces necrosis and apoptosis in mature rat testicular cells in vitro, and testosterone decrease at lower levels. Toxicol In Vitro. Mar;26(2):269-79. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22200534

Gasnier C, Dumont C, Benachour N, Clair E, Chagnon MC, Séralini GE (2009) Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology. Aug 21;262(3):184-91. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19539684

Majewski, M. S., Coupe, R. H., Foreman, W. T., & Capel, P. D. (2014). Pesticides in Mississippi air and rain: a comparison between 1995 and 2007.Environmental toxicology and chemistry, 33(6), 1283-1293. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24549493

Mesnage, R., Arno, M., Costanzo, M., Malatesta, M., Séralini, G. E., & Antoniou, M. N. (2015). Transcriptome profile analysis reflects rat liver and kidney damage following chronic ultra-low dose Roundup exposure. Environmental Health, 14(1), 1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4549093/

Mesnage, R. et al. Multiomics reveal non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats following chronic exposure to an ultra-low dose of Roundup herbicide. Sci. Rep. 7, 39328; doi: 10.1038/srep39328 (2017). http://www.nature.com/articles/srep39328

Romano RM, Romano MA, Bernardi MM, Furtado PV, Oliveira CA. (2010) Prepubertal exposure to commercial formulation of the herbicide glyphosate alters testosterone levels and testicular morphology. Arch Toxicol. Apr;84(4):309-17. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20012598

Gilles-Eric Séralini, Emilie Clair, Robin Mesnage, Steeve Gress, Nicolas Defarge, Manuela Malatesta, Didier Hennequin and Joël Spiroux de Vendômois (2014) Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Environmental Sciences Europe , 26:14 http://www.enveurope.com/content/26/1/14

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (2015) IARC Monographs Volume 112: evaluation of five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides. http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf and http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol112/mono112-02.pdf

The President’s Cancer Panel (2010) REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL CANCER RISK What We Can Do Now. 2008–2009 Annual Report. http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf

Thongprakaisang S, Thiantanawat A, Rangkadilok N, Suriyo T, Satayavivad J. (2013) Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors. Food Chem Toxicol. Sep;59:129-36. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23756170