New Study Indicates Monsanto’s Roundup Linked to Infertility

July 17, 2024, 10:00AM. By Jane Mundy

A recent study confirms that Monsanto’s Roundup is found in human sperm, meaning the weed killer could contribute to infertility.

Santa Clara, CAA new study has found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, in human sperm: it found that more than 55 percent of sperm samples from a French infertility clinic contained high levels of glyphosate. Researchers warn that glyphosate can contribute to infertility, damage DNA in the sperm, and could cause health problems in the men’s offspring.  

The study is also part of a bigger picture and even more cause for concern. The Lancet in late 2020 published a forecasting analysis of fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenarios for 195 countries and territories from 2017 to 2100 and indicated that global fertility rates are dropping. Many experts suspect exposure to toxic chemicals like glyphosate is a significant driver of the decline.

Published last month in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, this latest study is titled "Glyphosate presence in human sperm: First report and positive correlation with oxidative stress in an infertile French population". French researchers examined data on 128 male partners of infertile couples between the ages of 26 and 57. The study was conducted at the “Pole Santé Léonard de Vinci” medical center, located centrally near Tours -- a region known as the “bread basket” of France, where Roundup is heavily used, particularly for grain and wine production. The study authors note, “This area reflects the common herbicide exposure in France” and the district ranks third highest in terms of pesticide purchases, reported BeyondPesticides. (It also reported earlier this year that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) negatively impacts testicular function and may cause sperm count declines over time.)

The men, who all came from this area, had no physical abnormalities or chronic illnesses. Blood and semen samples were tested for presence of glyphosate. Seventy-three of the 128 men were found to have glyphosate in their seminal plasma – and nearly four times higher than what was detected in the blood.  

The researchers believe that the glyphosate in seminal plasma appears to be linked to an increase in oxidative stress – an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in your body that causes cell damage, which can further cause damage to organs and tissues and result in various diseases. The study’s authors wrote that oxidative stress “is considered to be one of the most important factors in male fertility by regulating the vitality and functionality of mammalian spermatozoa”, and they found a “significant positive correlation” between stress and glyphosate levels. And the researchers indicate that a potential reason is that glyphosate disrupts the Blood-Testis Barrier, which creates an Immunological Barrier – necessary to avoid the production of anti-sperm antibodies and autoimmune disease, which leads to male infertility. The higher the level of glyphosate in blood plasma was a key indicator of higher levels in semen.

Study Conclusions

“Taken together, our results suggest a negative impact of glyphosate on the human reproductive health and possibly on his progeny,” concluded head researcher Claudine Vasseur, of France’s Centre de Fertilité Vasseur. “A precaution principle should be applied at the time of the actual discussion of (glyphosate) and GBHs (glyphosate-based herbicide) formulants uses in Europe by the authorities.”

The French researchers say their study results are “worrying”, and it suggests the chemical is particularly dangerous for reproductive systems. They suggest “it would be wise for regulators to apply a precautionary principle” in regulation. In other words, more caution is needed to protect human health until further research can be done to confirm the problems identified in the study.

Glyphosate

Here are a few Glyphosate facts:

• It is the most commonly used herbicide (weed killer) in the world.
• Oats are frequently sprayed with glyphosate before harvesting to dry them and speed up the harvest process.
• One study determined that 81% of Americans had been exposed to the chemical.3 In another, 87% of children had measurable levels of glyphosate in their urine.
• Humans are exposed to glyphosate through diet, contact, or breathing in particles. Fruits, fruit juices, vegetables and cereals are possible sources of glyphosate. 
• In another study, scientists found traces of glyphosate in every commercial cereal brand they tested.

Here is more about Glyphosate from Beyond Pesticides: Glyphosate works by disrupting a crucial pathway (shikimate pathway) for manufacturing aromatic amino acids in plants—but not animals—and, therefore, many have assumed that it does not harm humans. However, it is lethal to bacteria that inhabit the human digestive tract and are essential for good health. Disturbing the gut’s microbiota can contribute to a whole host of “21st-century diseases,” including diabetes, obesity, food allergies, heart disease, antibiotic-resistant infections, cancer, asthma, autism, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more…

In December 2023, a petition was filed by farmworker organizations and Beyond Pesticides, urging the EPA to remove glyphosate from the market after having won a 2022 court decision forcing the agency to redo its science evaluation Still, EPA pesticide registration rules do not require the agency to account for all ingredients when it evaluates pesticide formula safety, even though the industry labels dangerous substances like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as inert or as contaminants.

In 2015, the WHO’s International Agency on the Research for Cancer said that glyphosate was “potentially carcinogenic to humans,” particularly in regard to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Environmental Protection Agency declared the same in 1985, but reversed it in 1991. Today, the EPA’s official position is “there is no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans” or is an endocrine disruptor.

But thousands of Roundup lawsuits and subsequent settlements indicate otherwise…