Contributed by IHC’s Health and Wellness Coach
Kelley Gilbert
Lucky Charms, Cheerios, and Quaker Oats have all been all over the news this year and not for reasons you might hope. The Environmental Working Group recently released the results testing for glyphosate, the active chemical in Monsanto’s Roundup, and the results were rather shocking. The test showed that glyphosate was found in 43 out of 45 conventional oat products and in 31 of the products the levels were over the group’s benchmark (160 count out of 1 billion). It tested 16 organic products and only 5 contained glyphosate and none were over the organization’s benchmark.
What’s the Big Deal:
People are up in arms over this because the Superior Court of California recently awarded $289 million to a groundskeeper who’s lawyer successfully argued that exposure to Roundup caused his terminal cancer. For years, people have been on Monsanto (recently bought by Bayer), the largest seed company in the world, for a myriad of ethical issues including the questionable chemicals such as Roundup it uses on crops. It is estimated that about 250 million pounds of Roundup are used on American crops each year. People are particularly outraged that the chemical glyphosate was found in so many products marketed toward children. The benchmark for glyphosate is 160ppb and Quaker Old Fashioned Oats had 1,000 ppb, Cheerios had 530 ppb, and Lucky Charms had 400 ppb. Children, especially those between the age of one and two, have a much higher exposure to glyphosate than adults intaking it 230 times the 160ppb benchmark.
What it means for you:
While these results are alarming, there is no need to go running to the doctor’s office because you think you or your child have been exposed to glyphosate. The amount of glyphosate one needs to consume to have health problems is extremely high. However, this should be a wake up call to us all about the chemicals found in our food. This particular study only tested for glyphosate but there are tons of other chemicals being sprayed on our food that are also questionable. Many people might wonder why chemicals such as glyphosate are even allowed in our food to begin with. The answer is money. Bayer bought Monsanto in 2016 for 66 billion US dollars. This kind of money makes these companies extremely powerful in Washington regardless of who the GOP is and unfortunately makes them not always act in our best interest. So for now, the best answer for you and your family is to buy organic or from local farmers when possible. While it is undoubtedly more expensive, companies such as Aldi and Trader Joe’s are offering more and more organic items at a reasonable price. Also, check out your local farmer’s market. Local farmers tend to use less potent chemicals on their crops (ask them what they use) and you won’t believe the money you will save.
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Try Dr. Temple’s Homemade Weed Killer
