Pesticide and Environmental Update
Bayer's
GE Crop Herbicide, Glufosinate, Causes Brain Damage
By YUMI WIJERS-HASEGAWA
Glufosinate, a pesticide used widely in the U.S. and whose residues
have been found in the food and water supply, has been verified to cause
brain and hormonal damage. Japanese government studies have confirmed
previous research that glufosinate sets off violent behavior in lab
animals. Glufosinate, which is used as an herbicide on several varieties
of genetically modified canola and corn, is also linked to neurological
defects that increase the rate of hyperactivity and decrease IQs.
Yoichiro Kuroda, the principal investigator in a project titled the
Effects of Endocrine Disrupters on the Developing Brain, under the
government's CREST (Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology)
program, believes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and glufosinate can
hamper the development and activity of the brain.
PCBs are "mock hormones" -- endocrine disrupters that cause
neural development defects by disrupting gene functions and neural-network
formation in kids -- resulting in lower IQ scores and hyperactive
tendencies, he said.
Glufosinate, widely used in the U.S. as a super herbicide for
herbicide-resistant genetically modified crops, is like a "mock
neurotransmitter" that has an aggressive effect on brains, he said.
If an embryo or a baby is exposed to the chemical, it can affect
behavior, as it disturbs gene functions that regulate the developing
brain, he said.
A decade ago, the late Toshiko Fujii, a one-time professor of medicine
at Teikyo University, conducted research in which she found that the main
component of this GMO-compatible herbicide had adverse effects on the
brains of baby rats.
"Male rats often fight one another, but female rats are
peaceful," Kuroda said in explaining Fujii's research.
"But female rats born from mothers that were given high doses of
glufosinate became aggressive and started to bite each other -- in some
cases until one died. That report sent a chill through me."
He said there is a considerable possibility that fetuses and babies are
also affected by the substance, and since it is widely assumed that males
are more aggressive to begin with, it is possible they are more affected
than females.
"The chemical industry has not been considering this kind of risk
on the developing human brain, which is a fragile, fine chemical
machine," he said.
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