Update on long-term toxicity of agricultural GMOs tolerant to roundup

Abstract

Agricultural genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are plants obtained by gene transfer or more recently by geneediting. Their major common phenotypic trait for which 99% have been modified is that these are designed to be grown with pesticides, which may bioaccumulate in the plants and/or the consumer, and/or express insecticides in their cells. Examples of both types are Roundup-tolerant soy and corn and Bt insecticidal plants. Recently, Steinberg et al. concluded that there were no adverse effects in rats from consumption of a GM corn tolerant to Roundup, called NK603, and that no other long-term studies are justified. This contradicts several of our in vivo studies on the short-and long-term toxicological effects of either the same GMO, other GMOs, or the pesticide Roundup itself. Our results were attributed in particular to the long-term in vivo effects of Roundup residues, which also present toxic and endocrine-disrupting effects in vitro. These effects were clearly linked to the formulants of the pesticide, such as petroleum residues and heavy metals, and not to glyphosate alone. In fact, the treated rats in Steinberg et al.

Indirect Effects of the Herbicide Glyphosate on Plant, Animal and Human Health Through its Effects on Microbial Communities

“…1) Truly negative controls due to increasing residues in soil, water, food and feed (Séralini, 2020;Silva et al, 2018;de Araujo et al, 2016), 2) Differences in sensitivity of microorganisms as more and more species are becoming resistant to glyphosate (Grube et al, 2019;Pöppe et al, 2019), and 3) Actual residue levels above the maximum residue limits if the MRLs are raised over time (Benbrook, 2016;(European Commission), 2020).…”

“…Thus, documentation of negative side effects of glyphosate will become more and more difficult (Séralini, 2020). This does not mean that there are no negative side effects now compared to truly negative controls available 25 years ago.…”

Unanswered questions and unquestioned answers: the challenges of crop residue retention and weed control in Conservation Agriculture systems of southern Africa

“…Many products that are now banned in Europe are still in use in Africa such as atrazine (active ingredient 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-13,5-triazine) which stays in the soil for a long time, metabolizes, accumulates and whose residual effects may have detrimental effects on the environment and the succeeding crops (Jablonowski, Schäffer and Burauel, 2011; Liu et al, 2021). Glyphosate is a different example of a common herbicide that has been associated with health concerns in mammals (Seralini, 2020) and has a widespread negative press due to its use and overuse by commercial farmers around the world. Also, the emergence of resistance to the herbicide by certain grass species requires more use of alternative products, thereby increasing the environmental side effects (Green and Siehl, 2021).…”

The Deadlock in European Decision-Making on GMOs as a Wicked Problem by Design: A Need for Repoliticization

“…6 These guidance documents, aiming to provide better science for the authorization process, have not improved decision-making. Similarly, more scientific research on alarming studies have also failed to form a consensus about the scientific validity of these studies, and they are still held up as proof that GMOs pose risks to humans and the environment (Séralini 2020; Testbiotech 2019; European Parliament 2020; Robinson, Fagan, and Antoniou 2016).…”