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Our Food is Being Poisoned by Toxic Chemicals – Here’s What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
Here is the cold, hard truth: our government is not protecting us from the toxic chemicals being sprayed on our nation’s food supply.
And some of these dangerous poisons are even making their way into organic food.
What You Need to Know:
* Glyphosate is the world’s most popular chemical, with approximately 250 million pounds used each year in the U.S. and 1.65 billion pounds used globally.
* The World Health Organization said that glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp, is a “probable human carcinogen”, which means that it probably causes cancer to humans.
The State of California has said that glyphosate is known to cause cancer and is now requiring Monsanto to put a cancer warning label on its RoundUp products.
Making matters worse is that….
* An EPA official is accused of helping Monsanto “kill” a study linking cancer and glyphosate, and that the company would “ghost-write” cancer safety papers for the government.
* Unbelievably, the USDA has dropped plans to test for glyphosate in food, despite the overwhelming evidence that it ought to.
This is especially infuriating since….
* 93% of Americans were found to have glyphosate residues in their urine.
* As per the recent report Glyphosate: Unsafe on Any Plate, many of the most common household foods, including some organic ones, were found to have high levels of glyphosate.
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While conventionally-grown foods are allowed to have glyphosate sprayed on them, this chemical is prohibited under organic regulations. Yet, it is still making its way into some organic foods, either through drift or other means.
But since the USDA’s National Organic Program does not require organic foods to be tested for glyphosate, organic consumers are left in the dark as to whether these foods are contaminated or not.
Until now, that is.
A new program just launched called Glyphosate Residue Free by The Detox Project, an organization extremely well-versed in this toxic chemical. Along with Food Democracy Now! it co-authored the groundbreaking report Glyphosate: Unsafe on Any Plate.
Since this is a voluntary program and organic brands are not obligated to participate, it is up to us — organic consumers — that we demand organic brands get their products tested.
If we are paying a premium for organic food, we should know that our purchases are safe and free from this toxic chemical.
In a very small data set of products that it tested, The Detox Project found that approximately 15% of organic food products failed to meet its Glyphosate Residue Free certification requirement. This is alarming and way too high of a number.
According to Henry Rowlands, founder of The Detox Project, “We have received a great reaction from food producers across the U.S. since the launch of the certification, with almost 100 brands showing interest already, in less than 2 weeks.”
While he would not give specifics as to how many brands he expects to have certified within the next few months, Henry Rowlands did say that the interest was “much greater” than he anticipated, indicating that organic companies are taking this very seriously.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
As a consumer, you should contact your preferred organic food brands and ask that they get certified under this program. You can send the companies to http://detoxproject.org/glyphosate-residue-free/ which provides all of the information.
The Glyphosate Residue Free certification testing program is based on the work of Anresco Laboratories, an independent, FDA-registered and ISO 17025 accredited laboratory with over 70 years of analytical experience.
The very good news is that glyphosate testing is just the beginning, and The Detox Project expects to be able to test for all chemicals in the near future. Furthermore, more information will be coming out later in 2017 about individuals getting tested for glyphosate residues in their own bodies.
While I am still a huge believer in the organic seal, I believe that we need additional certifications, such as Glyphosate Residue Free, in order to get the change that we want in the system.
Given that our government is so beholden to big corporate interests, current rules and regulations are just not adequate to protect American citizens.
As such, it is up to us — the consumer — to put pressure on companies to do the right thing and act in the best interests of their customers.
Unfortunately, this is what it is has come to.
(Leaf & Love Organic Lemonade with the Glyphosate Residue Free certification on the bottom right.)
(Disclosure: A few weeks ago, I decided to formally engage with The Detox Project and am being compensated to help market this program. I only partner with and promote brands and organizations that I believe in 100%. Whether brands decide to use The Detox Project or a different organization, I firmly believe that glyphosate testing is a must for all organic food companies. Consumers have a right to know what is in their food.)
