Glyphosate: the most popular herbicide in the world increases the risk of cancer by 40%.

American experts argue that contact with glyphosate, the most common herbicide used to control weeds and accelerate the ripening of crops, increases the risk of lymphomas much more than previously thought, writes “Agro-Center”.

There have been several studies on glyphosate and its dangers. Conclusions of scientists differ, sometimes, to the point of being completely opposite. The University of Washington, DC, has conducted a new meta-analysis of research over the past 18 years and found that there is a link between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and it is very strong.

“Our analysis was supposed to give a definitive answer to the question “Is glyphosate carcinogenic?” Results show that it is,”

says the senior author of the article, Professor Lien Shepard.

Having studied epidemiological work published between 2001 and 2018, Professor Shepard’s team concluded that glyphosate may increase the risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by 41%. The authors primarily considered research in humans but also took into account the data received as a result of experiments on animals, writes Futurity.

In a summary, they processed information about more than 54,000 people who worked with glyphosate. It is the largest study on this topic to date.

The use of glyphosate in agriculture began in 1974. Nowadays, it is the most used herbicide of agrarian biochemistry. Since 2000, when the patent of Monsanto, who discovered the herbicidal properties of this substance, expired, its production has grown even more due to the emergence of analogues around the world.

In 2015, WHO recognized the substance as a “potential carcinogen” for humans by assigning it a category 2A. A year later, in a study, the UN and WHO came to the opposite conclusion.

In 2018, a team of scientists from Finland and the United States proved the connection between pesticides in the body of a pregnant woman and an increased risk of autism development in a child. In particular, the prohibition of DDT insecticide was in question.