While we are living longer, the burden of diseases, food sensitivities and allergies is certainly on the rise. According to a paper published in Interdisciplinary Toxicology in 2013, Celiac disease, and, more generally, gluten intolerance, is a growing problem worldwide, but especially in North America and Europe, where an estimated 5 per cent of the population now suffers from it.

Symptoms include nausea, diarrhoea, skin rashes, iron & Vitamin B12 deficiency, and depression. It is a multi-factorial disease associated with numerous nutritional deficiencies, and with increased risk of thyroid disease, kidney failure and cancer.

It suggested that glyphosate, the active ingredient in a herbicide, is the most important causal factor in this problem. Glyphosate  applied to the leaves of plants to kill both broadleaf plants and grasses. Since the late 1970s, the volume of glyphosate-based herbicides application has increased approximately 100-fold. Glyphosate has made its way into our food supply, as about 90 per cent of all corn and soy, as well as a significant amount of wheat,  treated with this toxic chemical. Glyphosate applied heavily in GM crops.

Other diseases

It estimated to the most widely produced herbicide in the world. Other diseases associated with glyphosates include diabetes, obesity, asthma, Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease. Clearly, no one knows the exact causes and effects of the disease burden afflicting us today and they may be multi-factorial, but the fact is that there has been an exponential rise in diseases since the emergence of GMOs and use of glyphosates.

A call to action against their use is urgent. Governments and regulatory bodies need to be urged to reconsider policies regarding the safety of glyphosate residues in our food supply and treat glyphosates as an important health threat.