What Are The Dangers Of Herbicides In Food?

Herbicides help commercial farmers and amateur gardeners alike by killing weeds that would otherwise threaten a viable crop. In some cases, herbicide residue remains on foods that were exposed to the chemicals. Some foods are even genetically modified to resist herbicides--making it easier to dust commercial fields without harming the crops. Although more research is needed on the effect foods tainted with herbicides have on the human body, some herbicides pose a clear health risk to the public.

Reactivation of Inactive Herbicide

The Organic Consumers Association reports that herbicide toxins can accumulate within plants that scientists have genetically engineered to be herbicide-resistant. Although the plants possess a resistance to the toxin, the human body does not.

Commercial farmers growing genetically altered crops often claim that the herbicides used are rendered inactive by the plant material. While this is true, the toxins have the potential to become "reactivated" by the bacteria within the human intestinal tract. If this occurs, the victims can suffer damaged neurons, respiratory difficulties and convulsions.

Water Contamination

Atrazine, a common chemical found in a variety of herbicides and pesticides in the United States, can make its way from farm foods into the local ecosystem. A 2009 study by the National Resources Defense Council found atrazine in 40 percent of all groundwater and 75 percent of all stream water located in the vicinity of commercial farms using the chemical as either an herbicide or pesticide. Further analysis of 153 public water supply systems revealed that atrazine was present in 80 percent of the samples.

The public health risk of atrazine water contamination is significant, since scientists have linked the chemical to reduced reproductive health and speculate that the chemical could have an adverse effect on the sex organs of unborn children.

Respiratory Distress

According to "Clinical Environmental Health and Toxin Exposure," herbicides that contain bipyridial compounds do not pose a health risk when inhaled by crop dusters or farmers but are highly toxic when ingested. Even small amounts of bipyridial compounds present on food products pose a considerable health risk. This herbicide collects within lung tissue and can cause respiratory distress. Ingesting high amounts of bipyridial compounds can result in death within 48 hours of exposure.

Birth Defects

The Global Post notes that during the Vietnam War, the U.S. government, not realizing the potential health risks, sprayed an herbicide known as Agent Orange across Vietnamese farms. Agent Orange contained a toxic chemical known as dioxin. Vietnamese people in the affected areas both inhaled the toxin and ate food contaminated with dioxin. Over the next few years, approximately 500,000 Vietnamese children were born with birth defects as a result of in vitro dioxin exposure.

The toxicity levels of this particular chemical were so high, that soldiers exposed to the chemical while fighting in Vietnam carried a higher risk of having children with birth defects. Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers benefits for the children of Vietnam veterans that were born with birth defects, such as spina bifida, that the government considers a possible result of Agent Orange exposure.