Glyphosate Found To Contaminate 85 Percent Of Tampons And Other Cotton Personal Care Products
If one were to ask the green community who they believe the number one enemy for the organic movement is, most will probably say it is Monsanto. For many years, the two have fought one another over many of Monsanto’s policies and products. Monsanto wants to incorporate more genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) into the food industry such as GMO apples, pears, and other fruits. The green community on the other hand wants GMO labeling at least, an endeavor that doesn’t remove GMOs from the food supply but gives consumers the right to know and choose if they want to eat them or not.
However, there is another product that Monsanto uses that the green community is fighting against and that is glyphosate. The main ingredient of Roundup Ready has been linked to numerous health issues, found through studies. Now another study has found something more debilitating when it comes to glyphosate. Apparently, 85 percent of all cotton personal care products are contaminated with the chemical, including tampons.
The discovery was made recently at the University of La Plata in Argentina, as reported by Inhabitat. According to their studies, 85 percent of all the cotton hygiene products they tested in a preliminary study tested positive for glyphosate. Also, 62 percent of the same samples tested positive for aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), a derivative of glyphosate. For those who do not know, glyphosate has been linked to cancer by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Study: 90% of cotton products: gauze, swabs, balls, pads, wipes, etc. were found CONTAMINATED WITH GLYPHOSATE! https://t.co/M3adHPuO0x
— Truthstream Media (@truthstreamnews) October 21, 2015
As for the samples, they consist of numerous cotton products including gauze, swabs, wipes, and feminine care products such as tampons and sanitary pads. They were purchased from a number of local supermarkets and pharmacies within the La Plata area.
Nevertheless, the findings from said reports were presented at the third national congress of Doctors and Fumigated Towns in Buenos Aires, as reported by EcoWatch. Damian Marino, the doctor who was the head of the study, gave a public statement on the study.
“Eighty-five percent of all samples tested positive for glyphosate and 62 percent for AMPA, which is the environmental metabolite, but in the case of cotton and sterile cotton gauze the figure was 100 percent.
“In terms of concentrations, what we saw is that in raw cotton AMPA dominates (39 parts per billion, or PPB, and 13 PPB of glyphosate), while the gauze is absent of AMPA, but contained glyphosate at 17 PPB.”
Over the past year, glyphosate has been headlining green news not just because the chemical has been linked to causing cancer, but it has been found in the most unlikely of places such as breast milk and in the liquid used for intravenous therapy. Along with cancer links, glyphosate has also been linked to wheat sensitivity and increased autism rates. Such disdaining details are more serious given the fact that almost all cotton in Argentina is treated with glyphosate.
“Most of the cotton production in the country is GM cotton that is resistant to glyphosate. It is sprayed when the bud is open and the glyphosate is condensed and goes straight into the product.”
[Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images]
