There are causes like glyphosate in chronic kidney disease, says academic

Angelica Enciso L.

Newspaper La Jornada
Thursday March 16, 2023, p. 13

Studies in the rural and urban population of Jalisco revealed the presence of the herbicide glyphosate in public service water and jugs, as well as in people, including those with kidney disease, reported Felipe Lozano, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara.

Glyphosate is used in corn planting to control weeds, in sugar cane, oats, pastures and forest plantations, among 32 different crops.

It is generally associated with transgenic corn, of which a variety resistant to the herbicide was developed, explained Cristina Barros, from the campaign Without Corn there is no Country.

The fight against glyphosate goes hand in hand with the defense of native corn. In the United States, grain is a commodity, but losing a variety in Mexico means a loss for the entire planet and that is why there are international protocols that defend biodiversity, he added, during the virtual forum Glyphosate and transgenics. A danger to health and biodiversity, convened by the University Coordination for Biodiversity of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Barros pointed out that about 60 percent of the corn for tortillas comes from small and medium plots of one to 10 hectares. It has been said that industrial agriculture is what feeds, which is false, he stressed.

political dispute

The dispute is over the course of agri-food policy, said Fernando Bejarano, from the Action Network on Pesticides and Alternatives in Mexico (Rapam), when commenting on the business opposition to the decree of February 13, which prohibits allocating transgenic corn to food and maintains the substitution of glyphosate by 2024.

The point is whether there will be support for the agro-industrial chains controlled by corporations or for the sector where 70 percent of the food rests. The current policy recognizes that corn is a biocultural good, not a commodity (marketable resource), which causes adverse reactions, he added.

Lozano explained that since 2016 there have been studies on the presence of glyphosate in towns in Jalisco. One of the investigations found in 2021 that, of 588 people studied in rural areas and in Guadalajara, 98.5 tested positive for the substance.

The investigations began in 2016 on the shores of Lake Chapala, because there were about 2,000 cases of children with kidney damage, the academic indicated.

Experience indicates that there are causes such as glyphosate, among others, in chronic kidney disease. There is a direct effect of the damage of this chemical with these diseaseshe pointed.

There are studies on the presence of herbicides and glyphosate in Tlaquepaque, Poncintlán and Agua Caliente, among other towns, which are agricultural areas and metropolitan areas of Guadalajara.