Soybeans are harvested at a farm in Luziania, state of Goias, Brazil, February 9, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo) |
The peer-reviewed study published on Monday in PNAS, the journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, found that as soy cultivation expanded in Brazil, “agricultural pesticide exposure was associated with increased childhood cancer mortality among the broader population indirectly exposed to these chemicals.”
The US researchers found a relationship between soy production and related community exposure to agrochemicals including glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller that some genetically modified soybean seeds are designed to tolerate.
Greater pesticide use is likely contaminating water supplies near soy farms, the researchers speculated.