The widespread use of glyphosate is causing negative impacts on soil and plants as well as possibly animal and human health. These are key findings of Don Huber, emeritus professor of plant pathology, Purdue University.

Compromise agricultural sustainability, animal and human health

In a paper published in the European Journal of Agronomy in October 2009, Huber and co-author G.S. Johal, from Purdue's department of botany and plant pathology, state that the widespread use of glyphosate that we see today in agriculture in the United States can "significantly increase the severity of various plant diseases, impair plant defense to pathogens and diseases, and immobilize soil and plant nutrients rendering them unavailable for plant use." Further, the authors state that glyphosate stimulates the growth of fungi and enhances the virulence of pathogens such as Fusarium and "can have serious consequences for sustainable production of a wide range of susceptible crops." The authors warn "ignoring potential non-target detrimental side effects of any chemical, especially used as heavily as glyphosate, may have dire consequences for agriculture such as rendering soils infertile, crops non-productive, and plants less nutritious. To do otherwise might well compromise not only agricultural sustainability, but also the health and well-being of animals and humans."

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