"Roundup Ready"

[neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk]

Mike Griggs wrote:

> Doug while much of your discussion is good I must disagree with your
> assertion that "Glyphosate  is a probable carcinogen"
> read the following lifted from EXTOXNET.
> 
> On all fronts it appears pretty safe--check out how toxic table salt is
> sometime!
> 
> Mike

You are missing something. Roundup is not purely Glyphosate.
You cannot therefore extrapolate data from pure glyphosate and apply it to 
the who product. THere are other constituents too.
I would agree that you are probably right, but you have failed to establish 
this.

There are other problems.
Glyphosate _MUST_ have some effect on the soil it is sprayed on.
No question. Chemically it is N-phosphonomethylglycine.
It blocks the action of a plant enzyme called  5-enolpyruvyl-3 
shikimatephosphate synthase. This is an important  enzyme in the pathway 
for the synthesis of  aromatic amino acids. It doesn't occur in animals so 
there isn't a problem.
It does occur in soil microorganisms so some of these must be affected.
What exactly these effects are is difficult to work out, but they must be 
there.

--
Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve

 
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