One of the hottest scientific and legal debates that has long been simmering about a potential endocrine disrupting chemical is all about glyphosate. This herbicide is sold under the Roundup brand name. Last month, the journal of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology issued a scathing retraction notice for a landmark glyphosate paper that has played a pivotal role for defending this herbicide in litigation.

The journal found seven major issues. The heart of the problem is that the writing of this paper was guided by Monsanto. That is the company that was defending itself against accusations of harm caused by their product (glyphosate). It has since become part of Bayer. The retraction notice is blunt:

“The paper had a significant impact on regulatory decision-making regarding glyphosate and Roundup for decades. Given its status as a cornerstone in the assessment of glyphosate’s safety, it is imperative that the integrity of this review article and its conclusions are not compromised. The concerns specified here necessitate this retraction to preserve the scientific integrity of the journal.”

The only living author of the retracted paper had no comment on the retraction. But Bayer defended the paper. A spokesman said the company’s involvement did not include authorship and its involvement was “appropriately disclosed.”

Carcinogenicity at Issue

Years of litigation have focused mostly on the carcinogenicity of glyphosate. Bayer has paid out ten billion dollars to settle accusations that glyphosate has caused cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Neither Monsanto nor Bayer have ever admitted any liability or wrongdoing.

But the costs have added up because so many people have been exposed. The litigation involved tens of thousands of plaintiffs.

Endocrine Disruption Is Also a Problem

Beyond the problem of carcinogenicity is the potential for endocrine disruption. Last year in Scientific Reports, Xiaobing Feng and colleagues published an analysis of the relationship between glyphosate exposure and disruption in glucose regulation. The authors concluded:

“In summary, urinary glyphosate level was dose-dependently associated with glucose dyshomeostasis, especially for overweight/obese or central obese individuals.

“Subsequent research is strongly encouraged to validate our findings and delve deeper into the intrinsic mechanisms.”

Endocrine disrupting chemicals such as glyphosate may be playing a role in the rise of obesity prevalence worldwide.

Why This Matters

Glyphosate is ubiquitous all around the world because it is useful to farmers. This retraction tells us we have good reasons to question the transparency of safety assurances that led to this wide use and to our involuntary exposure to this chemical.

Click here for the retraction notice, here and here for further reporting on it. For the paper by Feng et al on glyphosate and glucose regulation, click here.

Spraying Pesticide, photograph by Galeri Ega, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0