The following information is from Children’s Health Defense.
A new study published in journal Cancer links over 20 commonly used agricultural chemicals to increased prostate cancer risk. The research found that chemicals such as glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) and 2,4-D are linked to elevated prostate cancer rates when used on farms. The researchers examined chemical usage in US counties and compared it to prostate cancer rates 14 years later, finding strong correlations with chemicals widely applied in farming and even home gardens.
“Many pesticides have not been sufficiently studied for their potential carcinogenic effects, particularly in relation to prostate cancer,”
– Simon Soerensen, study co-author, Stanford researcher
The study identified 22 chemicals, including herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, as consistently associated with prostate cancer. Notably, herbicide diuron, cloransulam-methyl, diflufenzopyr, and trifluralin were all associated with increased risks of both developing and dying from prostate cancer.
The World Health Organization has classified 2,4-D as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” while the US Environmental Protection Agency labels diuron as a “likely human carcinogen.” These findings add to growing concerns about chronic exposure to pesticides and herbicides, particularly those linked to endocrine disruption and cancer.
Another major finding was that 2,4-D, which has spiked in use as weeds become resistant to glyphosate, is now sprayed on millions of acres of genetically modified crops in the US Researchers noted that this chemical is also common in backyard weed control products, leading to broader exposure risks. One study found that nearly a third of participants had detectable levels of 2,4-D in their urine, raising alarms over potential health implications.
The study reinforces the call for further research into these chemicals’ cancer risks, particularly as prostate cancer is the second-deadliest cancer among men. Researchers emphasized that environmental exposures like these may play a crucial role in the development of aggressive cancers.
The pesticides linked to increased prostate cancer risk include:
- Propiconazole
- Trifluralin
- Cloransulam-Methyl
- Methyl Parathion
- Tribenuron Methyl
- Thifensulfuron
- Pendimethalin
- Linuron
- Acephate
- Carbaryl
- Azoxystrobin
- 2,4-D
- Glyphosate
- Sulfosate
- Cyhalothrin-Lambda
- Diuron
- Diflufenzopyr
- Trifloxystrobin
- Thiamethoxam
- Hexazinone
- Chloropicrin
- Bifenthrin
For further details, read the full article here.
Round Up discontinued the use of glyphosate in the retail version. Will continue providing both new and old until the supply runs out. Each has a different look on the containers. Check instructions , the new version works differently then the one containing glyphosate.
I’ve worked in agronomy for many years, licensed applicator and have personally applied quite a few of these products. This does concern me, as I live it ‘up close and personal’ as they say. I don’t want to give myself cancer. It’s hard to get at the whole truth on this. I’ve talked to many “experts” in the field over the years, including reps from State Agriculture Extension Service to University researchers. Some of active the ingredients of these ‘pesticides’ are used in commonly purchased household products and over the counter medications used for things like athletes foot that in all likelihood you’ve used yourself. I had a (now deceased) teacher admonish his students (I can’t remember the exact quote): Don’t go to a bar and drink copious amounts of alcohol, smoke a cigarette, eat a salty pretzel, get up the next day wash a few aspirin down with a couple cups of coffee to cure your hangover and come to my class and protest the used of pesticides, because you just unwittingly ate five of them (alcohol, nicotine, salt, aspirin, caffeine). This is a real rabbit hole when you get into it, as I said, I’ve lived it; I have to know it and it and can’t possibly all be covered in a short article. I don’t claim any of them are “safe.” And I agree, a lot of what in in processed foods is damaging to our health. There’s an old saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” Lets not act rashly and demand action based on a five paragraph blurb, but rather be educated and make wise, informed choices. The painful fact is we couldn’t feed our population without some of these products.