fetal health

Living near farmland can significantly increase people’s exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup, new research shows. This chemical has been connected to health concerns, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a higher risk of preterm birth. We are environmental health scientists who study pesticide exposures in human populations, including exposures to herbicides. In our newly published research, we tracked glyphosate levels in pregnant women for 10 months. We found that those who were living within about a third of a mile (500 meters) of an agricultural field had significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their urine than those who lived farther away. Importantly, we only saw those differences during the time of year when farmers spray glyphosate on their fields, further suggesting agricultural spray as the source of this exposure. Our research also found that eating organic food, produced without the use of synthetic pesticides,...