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several chronic diseases and conditions that have become common in Roundup. Its usage on food crops has increased
the industrialized world are also strong risk factors for a bad outcome. dramatically over the past two decades. Glypho-
A China-based study involving over forty-four thousand (N=44,672) sate is used both to control weeds (particularly
confirmed cases of Covid-19 found that the overall death rate was 2.3 those growing among genetically engineered
percent. Critical cases—defined as those that developed into respiratory Roundup-Ready crops such as corn, soy, canola
failure, septic shock and/or multiple organ failure—accounted for 5 per- and sugar beets) and also as a desiccant just be-
cent of the cases, and nearly half of them died. A disproportionate number fore harvest on major food crops (such as oats,
of deaths occurred among those with several preconditions, including sugar cane, wheat, legumes and seed crops).
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer (see Table 1). The United States uses more glyphosate
5
In New York City, a report analyzing risk factors for over four per capita than any other country, and we also
thousand confirmed Covid-19 patients (with a median age of fifty-two have an alarmingly high rate of many chronic
years) found that 14 percent suffered from diabetes, 26.8 percent were diseases, including diabetes, obesity, fatty liver
obese and 30.1 percent suffered from cardiovascular disease. Notably, disease, heart disease, celiac disease, inflam-
those who were hospitalized had much higher rates of these conditions matory bowel disease, hypertension, autism
than those who stayed home (see Table 2). and dementia. In a landmark study published in
6
A meta-analysis of seven retrospective cohort studies on Covid-19 2014, Swanson and coauthors showed that many
cases revealed that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was of these chronic diseases are rising in prevalence
a remarkably strong risk factor, with nearly an eighteen-fold increased in the U.S. population exactly in lockstep with
risk of ending up in the intensive care unit (ICU). This is perhaps not the rise in glyphosate usage on core crops.
9
unexpected, given that the disease is centered in the lungs. The increased Knowing that a “p-value” (a statistical measure
risk associated with cardiovascular disease was 4.44-fold—and it was that captures the probability that a given pattern
3.65-fold and 2.72-fold with hypertension and diabetes, respectively. in data could have occurred by chance) of less
7
In an April report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and than 0.05 is generally considered “statistically
Prevention (CDC) that described the prevalence of underlying conditions significant” (and therefore valid), the p-values
in a group of one hundred and seventy-eight confirmed patients, the CDC for the glyphosate-chronic disease correlations
found that nearly half of the patients suffered from hypertension (49.7 were all less than 0.00001—that is, very highly
percent) or were obese (48.3 percent), and over one-third (34.6 percent) significant. The authors wrote in their conclu-
had chronic lung disease. Over one fourth had diabetes (28.3 percent) sion, “Although correlation does not always
and about the same proportion had cardiovascular disease (27.8 percent). mean causation, when correlation coefficients of
In all, nearly 90 percent had at least one underlying condition. 8 over 0.95 (with p-value significance levels less
than 0.00001) are calculated for a list of diseases
GLYPHOSATE’S UNIQUE MECHANISM OF TOXICITY that can be directly linked to glyphosate. . .
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the pervasive herbicide it would be imprudent not to consider causa-

FIGURE 1. Map of active municipal
waste combustion facilities in New
York State, Department of Environ-
mental Conservation.

Source: https://www.dec.ny.gov/
chemical/67804.html.

28 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2020