Does the food produced by Roundup Ready corn seen produce lymphoma?

Expert response from Dan Goldstein

Former Senior Science Fellow and Lead, Medical Sciences and Outreach, Monsanto Company

Wednesday, 13/01/2016 14:30

No.

Assessments by regulatory agencies around the world, recently reiterated by Canada and the European Union, have concluded that glyphosate presents no risk of cancer. An association between reported glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was suggested in some small retrospective studies, which ask individuals or their surviving family members to recall use of chemicals historically. Other, similar studies have failed to demonstrate an association. More importantly, the largest study of farmers and farm spouses performed to date- with over 80 thousand participants and now going on for some 22 years with a prospective design (following farmers and assessing chemical use throughout the study) has failed to find even a suggestion of any relationship between glyphosate and cancer. 

Because glyphosate has been produced by many different suppliers, each of which provide their own data, glyphosate has a uniquely large database with no less than 14 animal cancer studies. While occasional tumors arise in these studies, as they do in all animal studies, there is no apparent dose-response relationship and the findings in one study are not replicable in other studies. Tumors occur in both test animals dosed with glyphosate and in control animals not exposed to test material. In short, there is no evidence suggesting glyphosate causes cancer in animals either.

Consumer exposure to glyphosate is far below allowable daily intakes based on a no-effect level in animals and a 100-fold safety factor. In the U.S. for example, bio-monitoring data indicate exposures more than 1000 times less than allowable intakes and thus more than 100,000 fold less than a no-adverse effect in animals.   

Expert response from Dan Goldstein

Former Senior Science Fellow and Lead, Medical Sciences and Outreach, Monsanto Company

Wednesday, 13/01/2016 14:30

No.

Assessments by regulatory agencies around the world, recently reiterated by Canada and the European Union, have concluded that glyphosate presents no risk of cancer. An association between reported glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was suggested in some small retrospective studies, which ask individuals or their surviving family members to recall use of chemicals historically. Other, similar studies have failed to demonstrate an association. More importantly, the largest study of farmers and farm spouses performed to date- with over 80 thousand participants and now going on for some 22 years with a prospective design (following farmers and assessing chemical use throughout the study) has failed to find even a suggestion of any relationship between glyphosate and cancer. 

Because glyphosate has been produced by many different suppliers, each of which provide their own data, glyphosate has a uniquely large database with no less than 14 animal cancer studies. While occasional tumors arise in these studies, as they do in all animal studies, there is no apparent dose-response relationship and the findings in one study are not replicable in other studies. Tumors occur in both test animals dosed with glyphosate and in control animals not exposed to test material. In short, there is no evidence suggesting glyphosate causes cancer in animals either.

Consumer exposure to glyphosate is far below allowable daily intakes based on a no-effect level in animals and a 100-fold safety factor. In the U.S. for example, bio-monitoring data indicate exposures more than 1000 times less than allowable intakes and thus more than 100,000 fold less than a no-adverse effect in animals.