What’s this all about Glyphosates AKA Round Up

If you are unfamiliar with this word glyphosates, it is a common weed killer that is found in many homes across the US.  Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the Monsanto's / Bayer Roundup herbicide. It is now the world's most widely used weed-killer. Nearly all the corn and soy grown in the United States is now glyphosate-tolerant and treated with the herbicide. 

A growing body of research is documenting health concerns of glyphosate as an endocrine disruptor and that it kills beneficial gut bacteria, damages the DNA in human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells and is linked to birth defects and reproductive problems in laboratory animals.

California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment filing its “notice of intent to list” for glyphosate as a known cancer agent.

Here are links to articles if you wish to read more.

This article is from from Truth Out and the outdated research on the dangers of glyphosates.

This article in The New York Times  explains the negative effects glyphosate has on soil, effects that include compaction and resultant runoff, the killing of beneficial microbes and bacteria, and the exhaustion of necessary minerals and other nutrients that plants require.

More than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are used each year in the United States. More that 18.9 billion pounds have been used globally since its introduction in 1974.

Glyphosates are now found in most cereals and common foods in our pantry. 

Check out the test results for the Environmental Working Groups where they tested and found glyphosate in every sample of popular oat-based cereal and other oat-based food marketed to children that was tested.  And  if it wasn’t bad enough that this herbicide was applied to the spoil, it is now being applied to plants, mostly beans, corn, soy and wheat as a desiccant ( a drying agent ) right before harvest, raising concerns that the herbicide is in now found in most food products.

Check out this podcast on Glyphosates 

So, it’s pretty scary when you realize you are most likely consuming this herbicide everyday in breads and beans and cereals!

What can you do?

Choose certified organic food. Roundup is prohibited on organic crops. Although contamination happens when glyphosates are being used as a drying agent. The organic food table will have less glyphosate. There are several labels you can look for that specifically state “glyphosate tested”.

Eat locally grown whole foods. 

Many ingredients that go into processed foods (cereals, crackers, bread, etc.) have a huge travel log, meaning that these foods are coming from great distances. Much of these come into contact with conventional ingredients along the supply chain, which can then contaminate those organic ingredients. Simply put, the greater amount of distance and processing those ingredients go through, the greater the risk of contamination. There are many farmers growing grains without herbicide or pesticide and you can find them in your local community. Many bakers are using local grains and organic ingredients in the products they sell. Ask them and support them in their efforts to make the world a better place!

Just the idea that an herbicide is on our food is outrageous. The more we know, the better we can all be in promoting local food and thinking twice when we reach for a box of cherries or bag of bread!