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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.
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?
