By now, most of us have heard about glyphosate in one way or another. Glyphosate has been found in the majority of our environment and food: rain, tap water, air, streams and even in our cereal, honey, breast milk and cotton products. It is almost impossible to avoid.
Monsanto corporation – now a part of Bayer – lost the trial of the century against a man dying of cancer, his cancer alleged to be caused by Roundup herbicide. The corporation was found by a jury to be responsible for all claims and ordered to pay $289 million dollars in punitive damages to school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson, whose life and limb are stricken with deadly lymphoma after years of using Roundup Pro and Ranger Pro.
Moreover, the jury found that Monsanto “acted with malice, oppression and fraud.”
Monsanto internal documents depict a “rampant corporate culture that has no interest in looking at whether or not their product is safe,” says Brent Wisner, lead trial counsel for Dewayne Lee Johnson in his lawsuit against the company.
See the internal Monsanto papers and documents now unclassified that the jury saw that lead them to that conclusion.
Our children are the sickest generation – 54% have chronic disease or neurological illness. Its easy to see that their health conditions are likely connected to this toxin’s pervasive use. Our children, the most susceptible to toxins. They are suffering the consequences of more than 250 million pounds of Roundup herbicide every year. At the same time, weeds are becoming more resistant to Roundup, so farmers are using more and more chemicals to deal with super-pests and super-weeds. From 1994 to 2005, the use of glyphosate has increased by 1,500 percent.
Increasingly, glyphosate is also sprayed just before harvest on wheat, barley, oats and beans that are not genetically engineered. Glyphosate kills the crop, drying it out so that it can be harvested sooner than if the plant were allowed to die naturally.Monsanto’s Round Up ‘pre-harvest’ spraying guide meant for conventional farmers recommends that they spray crops just three days prior to harvest – and they don’t just mean on GMO crops. This means you’re likely consuming food which had been drenched in toxic pesticides.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the following non-organic crops are sprayed with glyphosate (reporting years: 2004-2013) (10):
1. Alfalfa*
2. Almonds**
3. Apples*
4. Apricots
5. Artichokes
6. Asparagus
7. Avocados
8. Barley*
9. Beans, Green
10. Blueberries
11. Broccoli
12. Brussels Sprouts
13. Cabbage
14. Caneberries
15. Canola*
16. Canteloupes
17. Carrots
18. Cauliflower
19. Celery
20. Cherries*
21. Chicory
22. Corn**
23. Cotton**
24. Cucumbers
25. Dates
26. Dry Beans/Peas*
27. Fallow**
28. Figs
29. Garlic
30. Grapefruit*
31. Grapes**
32. Hazelnuts
33. Kiwifruit
34. Lemons*
35. Lettuce
36. Nectarines
37. Oats*
38. Olives
39. Onions
40. Oranges**
41. Pasture*
42. Peaches*
43. Peanuts*
44. Pears*
45. Peas, Green
46. Pecans*
47. Peppers
48. Pistachios*
49. Plums/Prunes*
50. Pluots
51. Pomegranates*
52. Potatoes
53. Pumpkins
54. Rice*
55. Sorghum**
56. Soybeans**
57. Spinach
58. Squash
59. Strawberries
60. Sugar Beets**
61. Sugarcane*
62. Sunflowers**
63. Sweet Corn*
64. Tangelos
65. Tangerines
66. Tobacco
67. Tomatoes*
68. Walnuts*
69. Watermelons
70. Wheat**
*Over 100,000 pounds of glyphosate herbicide sprayed on them throughout the year
**Over 1,000,000 pounds of glyphosate herbicide sprayed on them throughout the year
Applying glyphosate to non-GMO crops as a desiccant before harvest is probably one of the worst times to spray, because the glyphosate then absorbs into the food crop directly. In other words, glyphosate can’t simply be “washed off,” as it has become part of the food itself. This chemical is them ingested by those who consume the whole, unprocessed food, or via processed foods that contain glyphosate as an ingredient.
Poison Served with Breakfast
The Environmental Working Group has released independent laboratory test results that found that Roundup’s weed-killing poison, glyphosate, has been found in 43 of 45 cereals tested, including those we feed our children.
Of the 43 cereals that tested positive for glyphosate, 31 of those had a glyphosate level greater than 160 parts per billion–the threshold the EWG used. 1 part per trillion was shown to increase the growth of cancer cells. NO exposure is safe.
Cereals found to contain even higher levels of glyphosate include:
- Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey, Raisins & Almonds
- Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats ‘n Honey
- Quaker Dinosaur Eggs, Brown Sugar, Instant Oatmeal
- Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal
- Lucky Charms, among others
Dangers of Glyphosate
Did you know that if your child has multiple allergies, rashes or even just irritability and learning focus challenges, that could indicate they have leaky gut? That means small holes in your child’s small intestines are leaking unprocessed food and potentially medications into their blood stream and causing havoc in the immune system.
Did you know that Glyphosate (Roundup) weed killer sprayed on GMOs and non organic food, is allowed on 160 of our foods by the EPA at levels far above that which has shown to destroy gut bacteria? The gut bacteria is the stronghold of our immune system and is where Tryptophan is stored and made. Without Tryptophan our bodies cannot make Serotonin or Melatonin which regulate insulin, (diabetes) mental processing and illness, feeling satiated (obesity), bi polar and even acts of violence.
Did you know that glyphosate can break down the blood brain barrier, allowing toxins into the brain such as chemical off gassing from fire retardent on pajamas, sofas and toxins in vaccines?
Did you know that glyphosate destroys the tight junctions of blood vessels, hampering the flow of nutrients to bones and organs, leading to osteoporosis, arthritis and more?
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, reviewed extensive U.S., Canadian and Swedish epidemiological studies on glyphosate’s human health effects, as well as research on laboratory animals. The IARC classified the chemical as probably carcinogenic to humans, and has steadfastly defended that decision despite ongoing attacks by Monsanto.
In 2017, California listed glyphosate in its Proposition 65 registry of chemicals known to cause cancer. The state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or OEHHA, has proposed a so-called No Significant Risk Level for glyphosate of 1.1 milligrams per day for an average adult of about 154 pounds. That level of exposure is more than 60 times lower than the safety level set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Scientists have been able to correlate a number of health issues related to glyphosate exposure, including, but not limited to:
- ADHD [1]
- Alzheimer’s Disease [2]
- Autism [3]
- Birth Defects [4]
- Cancer [5]
- Celiac Disease [6]
- Colitis [7]
- Heart Disease [8]
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease [9]
- Kidney Disease [10]
- Liver Disease [11]
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma [12]
- Parkinson’s Disease [13]
Glyphosate Detox
If we’re not directly eating glyphosate-sprayed crops, then we’re inhaling it, or drinking it (or even bathing in it). There is quite literally no way to escape the glyphosate chemical giant Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) has created.
Here’s the steps to take to detox:
1. Eating Cleaner Foods.
- Choosing the organic or pesticide-free label.
- Seeking out stores that sell local produce labeled pesticide free. *Shopping in-season helps to reduce the costs.
- Shopping the regular sales at THRIVE MARKET seeking out the CHOSEN brand.
- Getting meats and eggs from local farmers.
- **Eliminating refined sugar – specifically GMO beet sugar is important as well!
“Herbs such as cilantro help us to eliminate metals such as lead and mercury. Herbs like turmeric and garlic help to lower the levels of inflammation that are often the underlying causes [of chronic diseases” -Dr. Robert Zieve, an integrative medicine expert and medical director of Partners in Integrative Cancer Therapies, in Prescott, AZ
2. Sipping Ferments.
Apple Cider Vinegar , Sauerkraut juice and Kombucha contain a beneficial bacteria that neutralizes glyphosate! That is absolutely amazing!
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, ““With every mouthful of sauerkraut you’re consuming billions of beneficial microbes which will be killing the pathogens in your gut driving them out and replenishing the beneficial flora in your digestive tract.”
Click here to learn how to make sauerkraut at home and here to learn how to make kraut juice, a more gentle on the stomach probiotic for those with leaky gut. Getting your child to take the tangy savory liquid tends to be a bit more challenging.
3. Regular Detox Baths (with filtered water).
1/4 cup of Epson salts or baking soda or apple cider vinegar on a regular schedule has helped tremendously ESPECIALLY during the weeks before harvest as the fields around us are sprayed intensively with Glyphosate. 20 minute soak – or for our kids “until they get ‘wrinkly’.
4. Restore balance. Support Natural Detox.
We have added a new element to our routine. Toxic exposure is constant and even with a clean diet, sneaking in ferments (which is really hard to do with young children) and doing regular detox baths its not enough to overcome the hurtle of these health issues. We are calling in reinforcements.
As a family we are adding Biome Medic a product specifically designed to tackle glyphosate toxicity to help flush harmful toxins, support “good” bacteria and repair your microbiome.
Biome Medic. Studied under a randomized, product-controlled IRB approved protocol,the six-week pre-clinical trial reported a 74%reduction of the herbicide glyphosate, a 75% reduction in the inflammatory bio marker reactive protein(CRP) and a 35% increase in gut immune response as measured by reduced food sensitivities.
http://www.puriumcorporate.com/purium1/php_uploads/BiomeMedicResearchResults-PressRelease.pdf
Purim is a family owned company dedicated to providing whole, organic, GMO-free nutrients for the whole family.
[1] The journal Environmental Health Perspectives reported in 2002 that exposure to Roundup [glyphosate herbicide] was been linked to attention deficit disorder (ADHD), likely due to the herbicide’s capacity to disrupt thyroid hormone functions.
[2] A study published in the journal Toxicology found that glyphosate exposure can cause the same kind of oxidative stress and neural cell death found in Alzheimer’s diagnosis. It also affects CaMKII, an enzyme whose dysregulation has also been linked to Alzheimer’s.
[3] A research scientist at MIT says the symptoms of glyphosate toxicity closely resembles the same of autism symptoms.
[4] Glyphosate exposure can disrupt the Vitamin A signaling pathway, which is critical for normal fetal development. A study from Paraguay found that babies born to women, living less than a mile from fields sprayed with glyphosate herbicide, were more than twice as likely to develop birth defects.
[5]: There are numerous glyphosate studies that link glyphosate to cancer. The International Agency of Research on Cancer (an agency within the World Health Organization) published a study in 2015 that determined glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. There is also a meta-analysis study from 2014 published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and a 2008 Swedish study that link glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There are others, including a study in Argentina of 65,000 people in farming communities where Roundup is used (communities referred to as “the fumigated towns”), found cancer rates to be two to four times higher than the country’s national average. Specifically, the study noted increases in breast, prostate and lung cancers. In a comparison of two farming communities—one that sprayed Roundup and another that didn’t—31 percent of residents in the Roundup sprayed community had a family member with cancer. In the community that didn’t spray, only three percent of residents had a family member with cancer. The high cancer rates among those exposed to Roundup [glyphosate herbicide] can likely be traced to the herbicide’s known capacity to induce DNA damage, which has been demonstrated in a number of laboratory tests.
[6] A study of fish exposed to glyphosate herbicide showed that some developed digestive problems similar to those with Celiac Disease. Parallels between glyphosate exposure and Celiac Disease include impairment in enzymes critical to detoxifying environmental toxins, imbalances in gut bacteria, amino acid depletion and certain mineral deficiencies.
[7] A Roundup study titled ‘The Effect of Glyphosate on Potential Pathogens and Beneficial Members of Poultry Microbiota in Vitro’ found that glyphosate toxicity could be a significant predisposing factor in the overgrowth of clostridia, an established causal factor in colitis.
[8]: A study published in Entropy found that glyphosate exposure can cause disruption to the body’s enzymes, causing lysosomal dysfunction, which is a factor in heart failure and cardiovascular disease.
[9] In another Entropy study, researchers found that exposure to glyphosate has been demonstrated to create a severe tryptophan deficiency in some, which can cause inflammatory bowel disease.
[10]: Glyphosate herbicide exposure may explain the recent spike in kidney disease statistics among farm workers in India, Central America and Sri Lanka. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: “Although glyphosate alone does not cause an epidemic of chronic kidney disease, it seems to have acquired the ability to destroy the renal tissues of thousands of farmers.”
[11] A 2009 study showed that very low doses of glyphosate can disrupt liver cell function.
[12] A study looking at meta-analyses of nearly 30 years worth of research on the relationship between Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and occupational exposure to pesticides, found a positive association between glyphosate herbicide exposure and B cell lymphoma.
[13] The onset of Parkinson’s following glyphosate exposure has been documented by a number of lab studies, which show that glyphosate can induce the cell death characteristic of the disease.
Contaminated Cheerios: https://www.reuters.com/article/products-general-mills-glyphosate/general-mills-hit-with-lawsuit-over-glyphosate-containing-cheerios-idUSL2N1VB1MY
To read more about allowable glyphosate levels and the chemical’s effects, read “Glyphosate: Unsafe on Any Plate”.
