What Does glyphosate Mean
It is called glyphosate to a herbicide widely used, according to various studies, it could be carcinogenic to humans . For this reason, its use is often the subject of debate and controversy in different areas.
This substance, called N-phosphonomethylglycine according to the nomenclature of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (whose acronym in English is IUPAC ), is specifically the active ingredient of several herbicides. It works by inhibiting an enzyme that plays a key role in the development and subsistence of plants.
Glyphosate can be injected into stems or trunks or applied to leaves. By inhibiting the enzyme and affecting the synthesis of amino acids , the growth of the plant is interrupted and the specimen ends up dying after wilting.
The commercialization of glyphosate began in 1970 , when the Monsanto company began selling the herbicide Roundup . Since then, more than 8.6 billion kilograms of glyphosate have been spread in fields around the world , according to Greenpeace figures . At present, more than a hundred of the commercial herbicides for commercial use in Spain officially authorized for gardening, forestry and agriculture contain glyphosate.
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) called glyphosate "probably carcinogenic" to people. Farmers and their families, therefore, could be at risk. But glyphosate also affects the rest of the population and the environment, since the substance penetrates the soil and reaches the water, so that it is present in many of the foods we consume every day.
Despite the WHO warnings , Monsanto maintains that glyphosate has a "low risk" to health since the enzyme it inhibits is not present in humans or animals. It also states that there is research that defines it as a "practically non-toxic" product .
In short, millions of hectares of farmland and parks are sprayed with glyphosate each year. When it penetrates the soil, it reaches not only our food but also the water we drink. Despite the dozens of complaints that have tried to ban its use in agriculture with real stories of deaths or poisoning, the product continues in force around the world.
As mentioned in a previous paragraph, the WHO came to consider the potential carcinogenic effects of glyphosate for animals, but this has never resulted in a final measure, that is, in its prohibition. Another of the supposed harmful effects on health is the alteration of the endocrine system , which negatively affects reproduction.
The main risk groups for glyphosate are the individuals who use it in their workplace and their families, especially children. Regardless of the type of diet we have, almost all human beings are exposed to the risks of this herbicide, since its contamination has a considerable scope, affecting animal and plant species, terrestrial and aquatic.
Greenpeace proposes solving the glyphosate problem through organic farming , the most appropriate option to protect health while respecting the environment. In both organic farming, gardening and forestry, various control techniques exist to prevent weed growth and the proliferation of insect pests.
For example, instead of using synthetic herbicides, we resort to elimination, both mechanical and manual, to crop rotation and even grazing. In addition, when the spontaneous plants are in the adjacent areas of the crops they have a great utility: to feed the bees and other pollinating species and also to give shelter to those that collaborate with the control of pests in a natural way, since they feed on insects that affect crops.