As the toxicity of our world continues to weaken our immune systems and as the antibiotic resistance of bacteria grows, researchers looking outside the medical clinic are linking glyphosate to these dangerous bacteria. When infection causing bacteria gain the superpower to resist multiple antibiotics, their chance of causing serious illness and death goes up. Medicine has long blamed this situation on overuse of antibiotics for otherwise simple viral illnesses in medical offices, but, if this research is correct, there is likely a lot more to the story.
With over 1 million deaths blamed on drug resistant bacteria each year, we obviously have a problem. Besides blaming unnecessary prescriptions for humans, many have looked to the overuse of antibiotics in the agricultural world. Now we have another suspect, because somebody looked at the drug resistant bacteria’s patterns of resistance to glyphosate. While this herbicide has been removed from home-use products, it continues to be used in commercial settings across the world.
In an intriguing study out of Buenos Aires, scientists compared the antibiotic and glyphosate resistance patterns of bacterial species inside a nature reserve versus those similar species in hospital settings. The bacteria in the nature reserve should have never encountered either glyphosate or antibiotics, in contrast to those bacteria in the hospital.
All of the highly resistant bacteria out of the hospital setting were also resistant to glyphosate. Some of the nature reserve bacteria were resistant to glyphosate despite no known exposure prior to the experiment. When they compared the genetics of the bacteria from different sources, those with glyphosate or antibiotic resistance shared common genetic traits.
While not directly implicating glyphosate as the immediate cause of someone’s hospital acquired resistant bacteria, we need to ask whether we are contributing to the drug resistance problem by spraying glyphosate everywhere. In working towards a healthier, more abundant life for everyone, we should implement policies that look at the impact of herbicides and pesticides on drug resistance before releasing them for widespread use.
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Original Article:
Camila A. Knecht, Barbara Prack McCormick, Verónica E. Álvarez, Adrián Gonzales Machuca, Fernanda Buzzola, Julio Fuchs, Pablo Salgado, Josefina Campos, Jochen A. Müller, María Paula Quiroga, Daniela Centrón. Glyphosate resistance as a potential driver for the dissemination of multidrug-resistant clinical strains. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2026; 17 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1740431
Thanks to Science Daily:
Frontiers. “One of the world’s most popular weedkillers may be fueling deadly superbugs.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 June 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260620100434.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Dr. Eric Potter graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School and then went on to specialize in internal medicine (adult) and pediatric care, spending significant time and effort in growing his medical understanding while caring for patients from all walks of life.
