Huber’s Bombshell
Dr Huber is a microbiologist who decided to look a little deeper at how glyphosate affects soil-life. He was the first researcher to discover that this popular herbicide has a major impact upon two specific groups of organisms.
He found that glyphosate kills the sub groups within the soil responsible for the delivery of iron and manganese into the plant. In fact, in one study he found that if a mere 2.5% of the spray solution made direct contact with the soil, it served to reduce manganese uptake by 80% and iron uptake by 60%.
The loss of manganese-reducing organisms obviously lowers the levels of manganese in our food and may have health implications for humans (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and livestock (reproductive issues). Iron is already the most serious mineral deficiency in the developing world. Dr Huber also found that glyphosate could tie up other soil minerals including copper, magnesium, and zinc. He found that the herbicide could lock up nickel in the soil. Nickel is required to activate the urease enzyme that allows utilisation of urea. Dr Huber’s research revealed that residues of this “safe” herbicide could remain inactive in the soil indefinitely and that the addition of soluble phosphate can reactivate the inert form. He also found that these residues could bond with gypsum in the soil.