Barbara H. Peterson

Farm Wars

The state of Washington is in a quandary. Reportedly, “A high rate of birth defects has confounded Washington health officials, who have been unable to identify a cause.”

AnencephalyA report released Tuesday by the Washington State Department of Health said that, since 2010, the neighboring counties of Yakima, Benton and Franklin have an unusually high number pregnancies affected by the birth defect anencephaly, which results in a newborns’ brains being severely underdeveloped.

In the U.S., there are approximately one or two expected cases of anencephaly for every 10,000 annual births. However, in the three named Washington counties, with a total population of approximately 515,000, the health department found that there was an abnormally high number of cases reported from January 2010 to January 2013 with approximately eight cases of anencephaly for every 10,000 births.

Anencephaly is a birth defect, almost always fatal, where the neural tubes in the fetus do not close properly. As a result, the forward part the fetus’ brain is not developed and the other part of the brain is exposed to amniotic fluid, causing further damage. Most fetuses that develop the defect are stillborn. Those who survive to birth usually die shortly after being born.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/washington-state-health-officials-stumped-high-rate-birth/story?id=19687592

The Yakima River

convergence

Interestingly enough, the Yakima river runs through Yakima and Benton counties, and ends at the “Tri-Cities Area” at Bateman Island, in a confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia rivers at the edge of Benton and Franklin counties. In other words, the same water runs through all three counties. And this water serves as the main irrigation source for the Yakima Valley.

The Yakima River and its tributaries have been heavily altered for the purpose of irrigated agriculture. There are numerous dams and irrigation canals. Irrigation runoff is in places returned to the river through canal drains

The Yakima River provides irrigation for the dry but fertile land in the valley, and irrigated agriculture is the economic base. Agricultural land totals 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2), including irrigated pastures, orchards, grapes, hops, and field crops. A significant portion of Washington apples and cherries are grown in the valley, as well as most (75%) of the United States’s hops. Since the late 20th century, the wine industry has grown rapidly in the area. It is the location of the Yakima Valley AVA, a designated American Viticultural Area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakima_River

Monsanto, Glyphosate and Weed Control

Enter the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB):

NWCBIn the late 1960s, the state legislature established the state’s Noxious Weed Control Board, and authorized counties to establish County Weed Boards. Thirty-eight of Washington’s 39 counties have such boards. There are also a handful of Weed Districts that are contiguous with Irrigation Districts.

http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/ab_weedlaws.htm

Yes, the state of Washington is waging a war against what it determines are noxious weeds, and Glyphosate is its main weapon. In fact, it is the only chemical weapon that is allowed near irrigation outtakes.

Page 59: Glyphosate – a 5% solution of Glyphosate with a suitable surfactant provides fairly good control in some areas and is the only chemical option available for use near irrigation water outtakes.

http://agr.wa.gov/plantsinsects/weeds/npdespermits/docs/IPMFreshwaterEmergentNoxiousQuarantineListedWeeds.pdf

Glyphosate is also the main herbicide recommended for noxious weed eradication. Why? Because the FDA has declared that it is safe. And not only is the state of Washington using it on land and near irrigation outtakes, it is also entering the Yakima River through direct application because a lot of those pesky noxious weeds just love the water.

Water herbicides

The following herbicide active ingredients are allowed for use in Washington lakes and rivers under the Noxious Weed NPDES permit: 2,4-D: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, dimethylamine salt 2,4-D: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, butoxyethyl ester Fluridone: 1-methyl-3-phenyl-5-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4(1H)-pyridinone Glyphosate: N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, isopropylamine salt Endothall: Dipotassium salt of 7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid Diquat: Dibromide 1,1′-ethylene-2,2′-bipyridyldiylium dibromide salt Triclopyr TEA ((3,5,6-tricholoro-2-pyridinyl) oxyacetic acid) Imazapyr (2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H- imidazol-2-yl]-3pyridinecarboxylic acid) Recommended Analysis Methods for Herbicide Residue Water Samples

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/pesticides/final_pesticide_permits/noxious/monitoring_data/lakesmonitoring_plan.html

Benton County Herbicide Treatments:

2010 – 100% of the plants were treated in the Yakima River by staff from the Benton County Noxious Weed Control Board (BCNWCB). BCNWB started with a 2% solution of glyphosate and a suitable surfactant and later switched to a 5% solution of glyphosate with a suitable surfactant. Treatments were conducted from mid – July to mid-August.

2011 –The BCNWCB treated plants from Benton City to the Columbia River with a 5% solution of glyphosate. This resulted in very little control, estimated at less than 50%. Fewer plants produced flowers than in 2010 however it should be noted that plants do not tend to flower annually anyway.

2012 –The BCNWCB plans to implement control measures behind all irrigation district diversion dams using a 5% solution of glyphosate starting in July when the water level in the river decreases

http://agr.wa.gov/plantsinsects/weeds/npdespermits/docs/IPMFreshwaterEmergentNoxiousQuarantineListedWeeds.pdf

So, with a directive from the state of Washington to eradicate noxious weeds with Glyphosate being the main herbicide recommended for that eradication both on land and in the water, one would think that the level of Glyphosate in the Yakima waterways would be monitored since this has been several years in the making. Think again.

The following reference refers to Glyphosate as a pesticide, although it is technically an herbicide – Regulatory Status: Glyphosate acid and its salts are moderately toxic compounds in EPA toxicity class II. Labels for products containing these compounds must bear the Signal Word WARNING. Glyphosate is a General Use Pesticide (GUP). This is also the most recent study that I could find:

Pesticide Occurrence and Distribution

An estimated 146 organic pesticides2 were applied to crops in the Yakima River Basin during the 2000 growing season (table 3). Estimates were based on county-level agricultural statistics from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and were verified and corrected in interviews with private crop chemical consultants and agriculture-extension agents in Kittitas, Yakima, and Benton Counties. Data on right-of-way applications were obtained from State and local transportation departments and irrigation districts. Details of the pesticide compilation are provided by Ebbert and Embrey (2002). Seventy-five of the 146 applied pesticides (51 percent) were analyzed for this study, and of these 75 pesticides, 47 were detected (63 percent). Only glyphosate (Roundup®, Rodeo®) was applied in large amounts, but not analyzed in this study.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5180/section3.html

Anencephaly and Glyphosate

This is the smoking gun. Glyphosate has been linked to the same birth defect that the Washington State Department of Health reported to have found a high incidence of – anencephaly.

Rull et al. provided evidence of an association between maternal exposure to glyphosate herbicides and anencephaly, a type of neural tube defect, as well as with neural tube defects (NTDs) in general [71,72]–consistent with retinoic acid-linked teratogenicity.

http://earthopensource.org/files/pdfs/Roundup-and-birth-defects/Antoniou-Teratogenic-Effects-of-Glyphosate-Based-Herbicides.pdf

Connecting the Dots

Now let’s connect the dots, shall we? Three Washington counties – Yakima, Benton, and Franklin – experienced an unusually high number of birth defects at around the same time as Glyphosate was being used extensively for several years to eradicate noxious weeds on land and in the water. That birth defect is called anencephaly. Could there be a connection?

It appears that Yakima, Benton, and Franklin counties just happen to have three things in common – the Yakima River, a noxious weed eradication program using copious amounts of Glyphosate for years on both land and in the river, and an increase in anencephaly, which Glyphosate just happens to be suspected of causing.

Considering the government’s propensity to ignore any connection between Monsanto’s Glyphosate and health effects, and the fact that the EPA  just raised allowable Glyphosate levels, I think we can safely assume that the correlation between increased usage and these brain damaged babies will not be adequately investigated.

©2013 Barbara H. Peterson

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15 Responses to “Glyphosate, Brain Damaged Babies, and Yakima Valley – A River Runs Through It”

  1. L Dunham says:

    Thanks Barbara – Folate, zinc, cobalt, manganese…Glyphosate chelates a wide range of chemical ions necessary for proper metabolism, hormone regulation and development. The negative effects of which can be linked to various problems in animal populations as documented in America’s Two-Headed Pig (www.americastwoheadedpig.com). Thanks for drawing more attention to these issues. I hope that both the radioactive discharge situation and the poorly regulated use of glyphosate are brought under control.

  2. Dean says:

    –Round Up (glyphosate) chelates zinc (binds in up).
    –Neural tube defects are mainly due to lack of Zinc and folate during pregancy.
    –Lots of Round Up = no zinc in the water = 4 – 8 times more anencephaly. These defects do not occur in farm animal anymore because nutrients like folate and zinc are always in the feed before conception/early animal husbandry phase. Check out Dr. Joel Wallach’s books and videos.

  3. About Hanford: State officials just last week announced one of Hanford’s 177 underground tanks was leaking in the range of 150 to 300 gallons a year, posing a risk to groundwater and rivers. So far, nearby wells haven’t detected higher radioactivity levels. http://www.dailyherald.com/art.....702229627/

    About anencephaly: Researchers have also examined environmental factors that could contribute to the risk of anencephaly. A shortage (deficiency) of folate appears to play a significant role. Studies have shown that women who take supplements containing this vitamin before they get pregnant and very early in their pregnancy are significantly less likely to have a baby with anencephaly or a related neural tube defect. Other possible risk factors for anencephaly include diabetes mellitus, obesity, exposure to high heat (such as a fever or use of a hot tub or sauna) in early pregnancy, and the use of certain anti-seizure medications during pregnancy. However, it is unclear how these factors may influence the risk of anencephaly. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/anencephaly

    Glyphosate and folic acid [folate]: Glyphosate kills plants by inhibiting 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate ynthase(EPSPS). EPSPS is a key enzyme in the shikimate biosynthetic pathway which is necessary for the production of the aromatic amino acids, auxin, phytoalexins, folic acid, lignin, plastoquinones and many other secondary products. http://www.ncwss.org/proceed/2006/abstracts/94.pdf

    Therefore, there appears to be a direct causal link to the ability of glyphosate to inhibit folic acid [folate] production, and a deficiency of folic acid [folate] in contributing to the risk of anencephaly.

  4. Lisa Anne says:

    I agree that people are being outright poisoned by glyphospate. But that is probably not the biggest factor in this area. The Hanford nuclear site is located right in the center of these three counties, and its contamination is so far out of control that apparently no one knows what to do about it.

  5. Thanks, Stephanie. Love your work ;)

  6. Hi John, I was just trying to clarify exactly what you said so that the terminology would be understood ;)

  7. John says:

    The only quibble I have is when the author tripped over the word “pesticide.” All herbicides and insecticides are lumped together into what are known as “pesticides.” Unwanted or deleterious weeds or insects are “pests” and therefore the word “pesticide” covers both groups of chemicals.

    Oft times the “cure” is worse than the disease …

  8. molecule says:

    Barbara — Related to glyphosate banning is the issue of GMO labeling. I’ve been forced to conclude that Jeffery Smith is not a good guy. GMOs need to be banned, not labeled. They are much more dangerous than crack cocaine. It’s simply not true, as Mr. Smith would have us believe, that market forces, aka “the street” will fix it. Labeling will bankrupt the family farmer. Vegie stands at farmer’s markets will be unable to afford the attorneys and the lab work. Smith knows that costs of compliance with GMO labeling laws will bankrupt the family farmer and shutdown the farmer’s markets. He knows that, due to costs of testing labeling, either non-GMO or GMO, corporate farming (and Monsanto) will win. One farmer in MO tested his store-bought corn seed, labeled non-GMO, and it tested out at … 50% GMO.

    Smith knows that costs of compliance with a GMO labeling law will bankrupt only the small non-Wall St. farmers. Crooked FDA inspectors, costs of GMO lab testing to prove non-existence of GMO in crops, lawyers, lawyers and lawyers … delays, delays, and delays, … because of the reality of the way the street works, costs of compliance with a labeling law will be inconsequential to corporate farmers … but those same costs and delays will bankrupt the family farmers and shut down local farmer’s markets.

    The solution “let the street fix it” will be 100% disaster for the family farmer, and 200% benefit for the corporate farmers. GMOs need to be BANNED. The belief that after labeling, “the street will fix it” is pure bull. Wall St. does not finance the Ag monopoly of corporate farms for purposes of “showing” profit. The Pfizer-Monsanto monopoly is financed for depopulation … It’s square-D: deceipt, debt, divorce, and then death, for “the stranger.”

    Sorry to bring in a related topic, and sorry to bring up a contrary point of view.

  9. Gary says:

    I have been saying this for over 3-years that “Agent Orange”,I mean Glyphospate is some nasty stuff!,my cat lost it’s hair because of that stuff.,and I got really dizzy and almost past out from my landlord spraying everything.,eventually I had to move due to all that.bottom line,I really think there trying to kill us all!,just my opinion.

  10. Dan says:

    Jerry – I think it’s partly because those big box stores that are the primary purveyors of glyphosate products are surround by a moat of concrete (their massive parking lots), which are, of course, privately owned and not subject to public demonstration freedom (whatever is left of that these days).

    It’s a consumer education issue rather than an enforcement issue. Enforcement doesn’t work when Monsanto basically owns all the agencies of enforcement.

  11. Faith says:

    All scientific proof starts as theory based on observation. To not follow through on these observations to test the theory in an open and honest way would be evildoing, IMO.

  12. Randi says:

    It would be interesting to also know if their incidence of autism is higher than elsewhere in the same period.

  13. Lisa says:

    Very strong correlation, but the pro glyphospate goons always say correlation isnt proof.. give us the proof…. asshats

  14. Jerry Alexander says:

    Why is it that we never see anyone standing in front of Wall Mart,Home Depo..Lowes,and other distributors of these chem`s?