Long-term Study Finds That the Pesticide Glyphosate Does Not Cause Cancer

The report provides evidence that goes against concerns that Monsanto’s popular herbicide, Roundup, is carcinogenic.

Written byKatarina Zimmer
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ISTOCK, MIKEDABELLA new study has found no conclusive link between exposure to glyphosate—the main ingredient in a popular weedkiller—and cancer.

The new study, which was seen by Reuters, draws on long-term data collected through the Agricultural Health Study. This has monitored the health of nearly 90,000 people in Iowa and North Carolina from 1993 to 2010, including farmers licensed to apply pesticides to their crops, and their spouses. The researchers tell Reuters that among more than 54,000 pesticide applications taken into account in the study, 83 percent contained glyphosate. Yet they found no significant increase in cancers among those exposed to the chemical.

The widespread use of glyphosate, which is the main ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, has become increasingly controversial as studies have produced mixed results on the hazards it poses to humans.

For instance, a 2015 study by the European Food Safety Authority ...

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  • katya katarina zimmer

    After a year teaching an algorithm to differentiate between the echolocation calls of different bat species, Katarina decided she was simply too greedy to focus on one field of science and wanted to write about all of them. Following an internship with The Scientist in 2017, she’s been happily freelancing for a number of publications, covering everything from climate change to oncology. Katarina is a news correspondent for The Scientist and contributes occasional features to the magazine. Find her on Twitter @katarinazimmer and read her work on her website.

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