A potentially cancer-causing chemical is sprayed on much of America’s produce. How high is exposure near you?

For many decades now, herbicides, pesticides, and the like have played a big part in conventional agriculture. While they have had their positive effects, such as increased production and decreased crop loss, more evidence comes out every year that proves that they’re “magic” effects might just be too good to be true. One of these toxic herbicides, in particular, has been linked to cancer. Now there is a map showing which states most heavily use that herbicide.

The Map That Shows You Where Toxic Herbicides Are Most Heavily Used

We have been using toxic herbicides with an active ingredient called glyphosate for nearly half a century across the United States. During that time, many groups have debated the safety of glyphosate over and over again. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that it poses no threat to human health based on the way we use it currently and that there is no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer. Other groups, however, have done research and have found that it is “probably carcinogenic to humans”. This was based on “limited evidence of cancer in humans (from real world exposures that actually happened” and “sufficient evidence of cancer in experimental animals”. (1, 2)

Read: Why the Government Controls the Color of Our Food

On What Is Glyphosate Sprayed?

Glyphosate is used specifically in weed killers used primarily in agriculture. The United States has used it on nearly half of all corn, cotton, and soybean crops, as well as they also use them on wheat, oats, beans, and fruits. But the question is, who uses it the most? 

Researchers have found that Lake County, Colorado, had the highest usage in 2019. They sprayed almost 2,000 pounds of glyphosate per square mile. Iowa and Illinois account for 15% of national glyphosate use. This is primarily because they produce the most soy and corn crops in the country. States in the southwest and southeast of the country had the lowest usage of the potentially toxic herbicide.

Monsanto and Glyphosate

The chemical company Monsanto added glyphosate to its weedkiller Roundup in 1974. While they have maintained their safety for decades, more research continues to come out that questions that. The EPA’s limit of safe exposure to the chemical from food is twice as high as the levels allowed in the European Union. The allowable levels of runoff into drinking water that the EPA deems as okay are equivalent to about a gallon of glyphosate in an olympic-sized swimming pool of water.

Read: Vertical Greenhouse to Grow 2M Pounds of Produce

What Does Glyphosate Do In The Body?

Scientists are still studying this chemical to better understand what it does in the human body. One analysis done in 2019 finds a link between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is hard to discredit. Other studies have found that toxic herbicides that have the chemical in them can both disrupt the microbiome of your gastrointestinal system and disrupt your body’s hormones. There have been ongoing lawsuits against the company, however, usage continues to be extremely high across the country. (3)

Usage, in fact, has only increased in the last couple of decades. This was especially noticeable in the late 1990s when Monsanto introduced their genetically modified seeds that could withstand higher amounts of herbicides being sprayed on them. Now, scientists are detecting glyphosate in the air, rainwater, food products such as bread, cookies, and cereals, and even in people’s urine. Though Bayer, the company that bought up Monsanto several years ago, says that this doesn’t indicate toxicity, many experts beg to differ. Many toxicologists are questioning whether or not the current safety thresholds, that is, the amount considered safe for humans, is too high.

King’s College London toxicologist Robin Mesnage in his own research has found that glyphosate can cause DNA damage and changes in liver metabolism at doses 100 times lower than the levels currently permitted for use. This doesn’t include how much more dangerous this chemical can become when combined with other products.

As more information comes out against this and other toxic herbicides, it is becoming increasingly important that consumers are aware of not just their potential dangers, but also where they are used the most. Particularly if you live in an area with heavy usage, you are at greater risk of exposure – both in your food and in your environment. Being aware of where they are using these chemicals can also help you to avoid products grown there. Finally, particularly for those living in heavy-use states, you may want to consider switching as much to organic as possible.

Keep Reading: Agriculture: The Worst Mistake Humans Ever Made?