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Benefits and Safety of Glyphosate

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Benefits and Safety of Glyphosate TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ………………………………………………………………….4 2 BENEFITS OF GLYPHOSATE …………………………………………………………...5 2.1 Benefits to agriculture in glyphosate-tolerant cropping systems …………………………..6 2.1.1 Expansion in agriculture and replacement of other herbicides ……………………. 6 2.1.2 Farm level benefits ………………………………………………………………………7 2.1.3 Impacts on conservation tillage ……………………………………………………….8 2.1.4 Value of U.S. commodity exports of glyphosate-tolerant crops …………………..10 2.2 Benefits to agriculture in non-glyphosate-tolerant crops ………………………………….11 2.2.1 Orchards and vineyards ………………………………………………………………11 2.2.2 Wheat …………………………………………………………………………………..12 2.2.3 Sugarcane ……………………………………………………………………………..12 2.2.4 Cover crops ……………………………………………………………………………13 2.3 Benefits outside of agriculture ……………………………………………………………….14 2.3.1 Highway, railroad and utility right of ways …………………………………………...14 2.3.2 Recreational settings ………………………………………………………………….15 2.3.3 Invasive and noxious weeds ………………………………………………………….16 2.3.4 Aquatic weeds …………………………………………………………………………18 2.4 Managing herbicide resistant weed biotypes ……………………………………………… 19 2.5 Potential impacts of losing access to glyphosate …………………………………………. 20 2.6 Policy considerations …………………………………………………………………………..21 3 SAFETY OF GLYPHOSATE ……………………………………………………………………...23 3.1 Glyphosate environmental fate and toxicology ……………………………………..24 3.2 Glyphosate ecotoxicology …………………………………………………………….24 3.3 Glyphosate and honey bees …………………………………………………………………..25 3.4 Glyphosate and soil biota ……………………………………………………………………..25 3.5 Common claims about glyphosate …………………………………………………………...25 3.5.1 Glyphosate does not cause cancer …………………………………………………..25 3.5.2 Glyphosate is not an endocrine disruptor …………………………………………….29 3.5.3 Detectable glyphosate residues do not indicate a health concern ………………….29 3.5.4 Glyphosate does not accumulate in milk ……………………………………………...29 3.5.5 Glyphosate does not cause kidney disease …………………………………………..30 3.5.6 Glyphosate does not harm digestive system microorganisms ………………………30 3.5.7 Glyphosate does not cause various disorders and diseases ………………………..31 3.5.8 Surfactants from glyphosate herbicides are often mischaracterized ………………..31 3.5.9 Glyphosate does not injure crops by chelating metals ……………………………….32 3.5.10 Glyphosate does not pose health risks to honey bees …………………………….32 3.5.11 Collaborations are underway to support monarch butterflies ……………………...32 3.5.12 Glyphosate is not toxic to larval amphibians ………………………………………...33 4 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………………………34 5 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………………………35 Glyphosate is a versatile herbicide used by farmers, weed control in multiple crops, even when the crop land managers and gardeners to simply, safely and itself is not glyphosate-tolerant. Glyphosate also effectively control unwanted vegetation. Since their simplifies adoption of cover crops by providing a introduction in 1974, glyphosate-based products have simple, non-mechanical means to eliminate the cover become the most commonly used herbicides in the crop prior to planting the cash crop. Outside of U.S. This widespread adoption is the result of agriculture, glyphosate allows low cost weed control glyphosate’s ability to control a broad spectrum of along highway, railroad and utility right of ways. In weeds, its extensive economic and environmental recreational settings, glyphosate provides cost- benefits and its strong safety profile. Glyphosate is effective maintenance of landscape function and currently undergoing registration review by the U.S. aesthetics. It is an indispensible option for land Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) managers needing to control invasive weeds and as and it is essential that farmers, land managers and an aid in restoring native habitats. As an aquatic gardeners retain access to this important tool for herbicide, glyphosate provides a non-mechanical weed control. option for removing weeds that can impede recreation and navigation. Herbicide use on U.S. crops increased steadily between the introduction of synthetic herbicides in the Glyphosate-based herbicides are supported by one of mid-twentieth century until the 1980s, driven by the the most extensive worldwide human health and ability of herbicides to reduce labor, fuel and environmental effects databases ever compiled for a machinery needs. With the adoption of glyphosate- pesticide product. Comprehensive toxicological and tolerant crops beginning in the mid-1990s, glyphosate environmental fate studies conducted over the last 40 began to replace alternative herbicides. In the years have time and again demonstrated the strong absence of a crop tolerant to a specific herbicide, safety profile of this widely used herbicide. growers had to rely on tillage or hand weeding, Glyphosate works by inhibiting an enzyme, 5- complicated herbicide application schemes or accept enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), that some weeds would not be controlled. present in plants and some bacteria that people and Glyphosate-based herbicides coupled with animals do not produce. Glyphosate exhibits low glyphosate-tolerant crops simplified weed control by toxicity to humans and non-plant wildlife over both offering an easy to use, low toxicity, systemically short- and long-term exposures. It is does not cause acting active ingredient that reduced farm household cancer and it is not an endocrine disruptor. In the labor requirements. Glyphosate-based herbicides environment, glyphosate binds tightly to soil, degrades also lowered barriers to the adoption of conservation over time and does not accumulate in the food chain. tillage, helping to conserve soil resources, protect Despite this strong safety profile, there is a great deal water quality and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. of misinformation about glyphosate; a careful Following their widespread adoption, commodities examination of the various claims demonstrates that produced from glyphosate-tolerant crops now they are not supported by reproducible evidence. comprise approximately $33 billion/year in U.S. Maintaining access to glyphosate will promote agricultural exports. environmental and economic sustainability in Distinct from the use of glyphosate in conjunction with agriculture. Its versatility has transformed weed glyphosate-tolerant crops, glyphosate-based control across a wide range of environments. herbicides also provide economical and effective Glyphosate’s ability to effectively control unwanted weed control across many other agricultural and non- vegetation provides benefits that extend from agricultural settings . It allows for simple and effective individual farms to global trade to national parks to golf courses to local governments to gardeners. For all of these reasons, glyphosate earned the title of a “once in a century herbicide”. Continued access to this important technology is essential. Anyone needing to control weeds, from farmers to major U.S. row crops, accounting for over $33 billion land managers, understands the benefits that of annual exports (calculated from GfK SeedService, glyphosate provides, not only in terms of efficacy but 2016; USDA-FAS, 2016). also in terms of reduced labor and ease of use. In agricultural systems where glyphosate-tolerant Within agriculture, the advantages of glyphosate- crops are not available, glyphosate still provides tolerant cropping systems are well-documented, significant benefits by simplifying weed management particularly at the farm level. Glyphosate-tolerant and reducing the need for mechanical tillage. For crops also underpin a significant amount of farm orchards and vineyards, effective weed control is incomes and commodity export markets. The necessary to ensure productivity. In these settings, benefits of glyphosate also extend into systems that glyphosate is an essential tool for controlling do not rely on glyphosate-tolerant crops by reducing vegetation beneath trees or vines. In wheat, the need for mechanical weed control and overall glyphosate has allowed farmers to adopt no-till production costs. Outside of agriculture, glyphosate practices that help them to conserve soil moisture, is a key tool for controlling weeds in rights of way thus enabling rotation with more profitable crops. In alongside highways, near utility lines and near railroad sugarcane, glyphosate improves harvest quality in tracks. It also plays a significant role in turf addition to controlling weeds. Glyphosate also management and in stopping the spread of invasive or enables the adoption of cover crops by providing a noxious weeds in terrestrial and aquatic settings. simple and effective means to eliminate the cover crop Combining glyphosate with crops that could just prior to planting a cash crop without raising withstand applications of this herbicide transformed concerns about plant back restrictions. agriculture. Labor and machinery requirements In non-agricultural settings, glyphosate provides cost- declined and adoption of this technology is associated effective weed control along highways and other rights with increased off-farm income because of labor of way. In an economic analysis of highway median savings. Glyphosate-tolerant crop varieties greatly weed control, for example, glyphosate was 275% less simplified weed control for corn, cotton and soybean expensive than alternative methods that included farmers. It also allowed sugarbeet farmers to increase multiple mowing events and alternative herbicides their yields by both eliminating weed competition and
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