The herbicide glyphosate, used in Argentina to eliminate weeds in soybean fields, takes time to degrade and is not innocuous, says a study by researchers from various Argentine institutions. “Its toxicity was known, but it was thought to degrade much more quickly than it does and that its residues were absorbed without effect; but we found that such is not the case,” Horacio Zagarese, of the Chascomús Technological Institute, told Tierramérica.

Along with researchers at the universities of Buenos Aires and La Plata, Zagarese's team found that glyphosate, also used to destroy illegal coca plantations in Colombia, drives up the concentration of phosphorous in lakes and ponds, and alters the presence of algae that are the basis of the aquatic food chain.

“With soy being the most extensive crop in Argentina and if tons of glyphosate are used, it's evident that in the long term this will have an impact,” he said.