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increased risk of genetic mutations due to im- for porcine trypsin, pepsin and lipase (from Glyphosate
paired repair mechanisms. Over time, these ge- the glyphosate-contaminated feed given to sets up a
netic mutations, along with alterations in DNA pigs). These digestive enzymes are produced
methylation status, can cause a cell to revert to by the pancreas and are essential for digesting perfect storm
an immortal stem-cell-like phenotype called a proteins (trypsin and pepsin) and fats (lipase). in the gut
“cancer stem cell.” These cells become more Another enzyme that is essential for digesting to induce
mobile and are obsessed with cloning them- gluten is called prolyl aminopeptidase, and it,
selves endlessly, leading to tumor growth and too, is likely to be disrupted by glyphosate. As autoimmune
metastasis. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma tumor proposed in our paper (and in later sections of disease.
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cells emerge out of an original population of B this article), we can expect glyphosate to sup-
cells in the immune system. press the activity of all of these enzymes, due
The increased risk of cancer that is the to glyphosate’s insidious ability to get inserted
main factor leading to a statistically shortened into proteins by mistake in place of the coding
life span for people with celiac disease is not amino acid glycine. 22
limited to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but also Anthony and I proposed that glyphosate
includes adenocarcinoma of the small intestine sets up a perfect storm in the gut to induce au-
and squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus, toimmune disease. Glyphosate’s disruption of
mouth and pharynx, as well as melanoma. It digestive enzymes leaves proteins undigested,
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seems likely that both the celiac disease and the and this induces a leaky gut, which allows
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increased cancer risk could be directly due to the foreign (undigested) proteins to enter the
glyphosate poisoning. gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and
In the sixth paper in our series on glypho- induce an intense B-cell antibody response. A
sate pathways to modern diseases, Anthony process called “molecular mimicry” can cause
Samsel and I described how glyphosate could these antibodies to attack native proteins that
cause autoimmune disease through its severe have peptide sequences resembling those in
disruption of the gut microbiome and the di- the foreign proteins. This can lead to a long list
gestive system. In that paper, we reported of autoimmune diseases besides celiac disease,
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on high levels of glyphosate contamination including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, multiple scle-

FIGURE 1: Correlations between the rise in celiac disease and the rise
in glyphosate use on wheat over time in the United States.

WINTER 2018 Wise Traditions 15