Correlation between increase in celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and increase in use of the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup ® ) on genetically modified grain (Samsel &Seneff, 2013). 

Context in source publication

Context 1

... autoimmune illnesses, and Type 2 diabetes have become so common that we forget that they may be markers of immune incompetence that may affect the ability of the body to optimize health. The increase in allergies is an early indicator that something harmful is affecting the body. People who have allergies, autoimmune illnesses, diabetes, or other disorders are possibly the “canaries in the mine” for the rest of the population. In earlier times before carbon monoxide and other poisonous gases could be measured with instruments, miners used a canary as a poisonous gas meter. If the canary died, the miners would exit the mine before they would die of the poisonous gases. There are many factors that contribute to the radical increase in asthma, rhinitis, allergies, Type 2 diabetes, and autoimmune disorders such as excessive hygiene; lack of breast feeding and introducing foreign foods too early in the first year of a baby’s life; ingestion of acetaminophen (Tylenol) by a pregnant mother during the first year of a baby's life; low Omega-3 levels during pregnancy; increased exposure to plastics and other endocrine disruptors; stress, etc. Many of these factors are outside of our control. However, diet and the ingestion of residual herbicides and pesticides in food appear to be a major risk factor. In the last 30 years there has been a radical change in our diet. The food may look and even taste the same, but it is totally different. Almost all grains, corn, soy, cotton, processed foods, and meats contain low levels of Monsanto-produced herbicide Roundup ® and other herbicides and pesticides, and are genetically modified to be herbicide tolerant to Roundup ® . Roundup ® was first introduced in 1974 by Monsanto and is the most widely used herbicide for farm and urban use. The active ingredient is glyphosate with numerous other inert ingredients. The inert ingredients may not inhibit the growth of weeds; however, they may be harmful to humans. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 99% of durum wheat and 97% of spring wheat have been treated with herbicides as more and more crops are genetically modified to be herbicide tolerant. It is now used on grain crops, rice, seeds, alfalfa, dried beans, peas, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes (Swanson et al., 2014). As Roundup ® and equivalent herbicides are used, more and more illnesses—including food allergies such as gluten intolerance—have increased as shown in Figure 1. In addition, the common wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup ® several days to allow crops to dry down for a uniformity of plant material at harvest before the combine harvesters work through the fields, as the practice allows for an earlier, easier, and bigger In the USA glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide, with about 250 million pounds applied to U.S. farms and even lawns every year. Glyphosate and many other herbicides and pesticides are in our food, animal fodder, and thus in the meat, clothing, water supply, and even air. Almost all human and animal food now contains low levels of glyphosate and its inert but poisonous additional ingredients. When plotting the increased application of glyphosate with the occurrence of chronic diseases harvest (Sarah, 2014; Swanson et al., 2014). This means that almost all of the grain and grain products contain residue of Roundup ® . Presently, more than 95% of all grain, corn, and soy are genetically modified to be herbicide tolerant to Roundup ® as shown in Figure 2. over the last 35 years, Swanson et al. (2014) showed that the correlation is greater than 0.9 and highly significant for obesity ( R = 0.96), diabetes ( R = 0.98), end stage renal disease death ( R = 0.97), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis ( R = 0.94), death due to intestinal infection ( R = 0.97), autism in children (6–21 years; R = 0.99), deaths from senile dementia ( R = 0.99), and death from Alzheimer’s ( R = 0.93). Figures 3 and 4 shows the correlation of diabetes and autism and increased application of ...