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Living Maxwell

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Another Reason to Eat Organic — California Says That Glyphosate is Known to Cause Cancer

If you are ever asked why you eat organic food, particularly from a skeptic, there is a very easy answer — you don’t want to get cancer.

In July 2017, the State of California announced that:

Glyphosate is listed under Proposition 65 effective July 7, 2017 as known to the state to cause cancer.

That’s right. The State of California has said that glyphosate is known to cause cancer and is now requiring warning labels, effective July 2018.

https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/crnr/glyphosate-listed-effective-july-7-2017-known-state-california-cause-cancer

So, that begs the question: why should consumers care about this?

Because glyphosate is the most widely used chemical in the world today — approximately 300 million pounds of it is used each year in the U.S. — and it is sprayed on much of our food supply.

How much of the food supply and which foods exactly are sprayed with glyphosate?

It is a little difficult to say with exact precision because food labels do not disclose whether a product has been sprayed with this super-toxic chemical. However, here is what we do know.

1) Conventionally-grown foods allow for glyphosate to be sprayed on them. This means that any conventionally-grown food could potentially contain glyphosate.

To give you an idea of how serious this problem is, popular foods tested by Food Democracy Now! and The Detox Project found that glyphosate measured between 289.47 parts per billions (ppb) and at levels as high as 1,125.3 ppb.

General Mills – Cheerios: 1,125.3 ppb
General Mills – Honey Nut Cheerios: 670.2 ppb
PepsiCo – Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips: 812.53
PepsiCo – Doritos Cool Ranch: 481.27 ppb
Nabisco – Ritz Crackers: 270.24 ppb

New scientific evidence shows that probable harm to human health could begin at ultra-low levels of glyphosate at 0.1 ppb. This is 1,750 times lower than what the EPA currently claims is safe.

2) Genetically-modified foods, which comprise roughly 70-80% of the foods on the grocery shelf, were designed to sell more chemicals.

As such, Monsanto’s RoundUp, a multi-billion dollar chemical and whose primary ingredient is glyphosate, is sold to farmers who purchase their GMO-corn and GMO-soybean seeds. RoundUp is sprayed directly on these crops.

So, if you are consuming a product which contains GMOs — such as corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, or cottonseed — there is an almost near guarantee that the product contains glyphosate.

3) Oftentimes, glyphosate is used on crops not to kill weeds but to make them dry faster. Yes, they are sprayed on crops, such as wheat, before they are harvested to in order to make them dry faster! This is a process called desiccation.

To give you some perspective, 78% of rapeseed oil — the third largest source of vegetable oil — is desiccated in the UK.

WHAT TO DO?

1) Buy organic because organic food production prohibits the use of glyphosate. Look for the USDA organic seal on products.

2) Although there are not many of them on marketplace just yet, look for products that have the Glyphosate Residue-Free Certification.  (See here for more information about this certification.)

 

3) Do not consume GMOs. If you need more information or guidance about this, please make sure to read my post 5 Essential Ways to Avoid GMOs.

 

IN SUMMARY

According to the President’s Cancer Panel report, 41% of Americans are going to get cancer and 21% of Americans are going to die from cancer. In light of the fact that this report is a decade old, it is very likely that these numbers are significantly higher.

So, with skyrocketing cancer rates in our country and with the State of California telling people that glyphosate is known to cause cancer, what more of an incentive do people need to make the switch to organic?

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Organic Insider

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President’s Cancer Panel Report is a Huge Endorsement for Organic Food

A few days ago, the President’s Cancer Panel, a group of independent doctors and researchers, released its annual report called “Reducing our Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now”. Needless to say, the connection between the amount of chemicals/harmful toxins in our environment and the high incidence of cancer is incredibly strong, and decisive action needs to be taken.

In its letter to the President, the Panel “urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation’s productivity, and devastate lives.”

The report recommends that in order to decrease exposure to pesticides, individuals should choose “food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers” and “exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones and toxic run-off from livestock feed lots can be minimized by eating free-range meat without these medications.”

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Living Maxwell

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Why Conventional Spinach is NOT a Smart Choice

The next time some expert tells you that the most important thing to do for your health is to consume large amounts of fruits and vegetables, regardless of whether they are organic or not, you may want to educate this person about the latest scientific research and government data.

As I wrote about the other day, a study out of Harvard found that women undergoing infertility treatment in the U.S. — and who were also consuming fruits and vegetables with high amounts of pesticide residue — were associated with a lower chance of pregnancy and a higher risk of pregnancy loss.

Men are equally as impacted by the harmful effects of pesticides.

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Living Maxwell

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Genetically-Engineered Trees????? Yes, and Why Humanity Should be Petrified

The more time that you spend in the organic industry, the more you learn about what is truly going on and what you find is pretty scary.

While I try to remain as optimistic as possible, the reality is that the organic industry is under a constant existential threat from genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

Even though organic food has never been more popular, nearly 80% of the food on supermarket shelves contains GMOs and organic remains less than 1% of all farmland acreage in the U.S. While 64 nations around the world require GMOs to be labeled, the U.S. does not. Why?

Because the ag-biotech industry has “purchased” agricultural policy in our country, by spending $572 million on campaign contributions and lobbying from 1999-2010.

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