Roger
on 7 hours ago
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Glyphosate is one of the most feared words in the food world. Influencer and activist groups have convinced people that it’s toxic, cancer-causing, or poisoning us. RFK Jr. was one of the lawyers leading the offense decades ago — and made a LOT of money doing it.
Guess what? Those claims are not supported by science.
🌽 All plants (not animals) make essential aromatic amino acids via a biochemical pathway, the shikimate pathway, mediated by an enzyme, EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase).
When EPSPS binds glyphosate, it can’t function. The plant can’t make those amino acids and it withers and dies. That’s why glyphosate is an effective herbicide—it targets something only plants have.
👨‍🌾 Genetically engineered (GE) crops that are glyphosate-tolerant have a bacterial version of EPSPS that doesn’t bind glyphosate. The crop grows even when glyphosate is present, but weeds with regular EPSPS die.
✅ GE crops with bacterial EPSPS let farmers manage weeds & prevent crop loss with fewer herbicides (that are more toxic) and less tilling, reducing erosion & improving soil health. It’s science, not conspiracy.
Humans don’t have EPSPS. We don’t use the shikimate pathway. We don’t make those amino acids, because we aren’t photosynthetic plants.
Glyphosate has no mechanism of action in humans. It literally can’t target anything in our bodies the way it does in plants.
Over 50 years of data and regulatory review CONTINUE TO show no evidence of harm to people at real-world exposure levels.
Glyphosate doesn’t damage DNA, doesn’t cause celiac (sorry Zen Honeycutt & Moms Across America), doesn’t ‘change’ gluten, doesn’t disrupt hormones or microbiome, and doesn’t cause cancer in humans.
Why is glyphosate demonized? Because people conflate it with “GMOs” which are targeted by the same groups: The Environmental Working Group (EWG), Moms Across America, and RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense, who lie to generate outrage, profit, and press—but ignore biochemistry.
Glyphosate is one of the most studied herbicides in history, and trace residues on your food aren’t doing anything.
Graphic: me and @kevinfolta for @center4inquiry
Find global safety assessments here:
🔗 https://www.immunologic.org/references/glyphosate
Additional articles:
1) https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/a-skeptical-guide-to-glyphosate-toolkit-for-ten-common-claims/
2) https://news.immunologic.org/p/ glyphosate-a-low-toxicity-herbicide
3) https://news.immunologic.org/p/ glyphosate-still-doesnt-cause-cancer
4) https://news.immunologic.org/p/foresters-and-farmers-want-to-combat
5) https://news.immunologic.org/p/trust-in-science-dies-when-health
6) https://news.immunologic.org/p/glyphosate-doesnt-cause-celiac-disease
#gmo #glyphosate #biochemistry #factcheck
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