The herbicide glyphosate was found in more than half of the semen samples

More than 55% of semen samples taken from a French fertility clinic contained high levels of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world. Glyphosate is still allowed for farmers to increase their production, despite major changes indicating that it is extremely harmful to humans and animals. The substance is also strongly suspected of causing Parkinson’s disease.

Fertility rates are declining worldwide and many researchers suspect that exposure to toxic chemicals such as glyphosate is the main cause of this decline. The article supports this suspicion. Agricultural workers had the highest levels of glyphosate.

The substance was found in the semen of 96 percent of the farmers who participated in the study. The researchers write that regulators would be wise to “apply the precautionary principle,” which means choosing to take additional measures to protect health until more research is conducted.