RoundUp®: It’s What’s for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

With a side order of illness

Many of us already knew that RoundUp® is used on GMO-ready crops that have been developed to survive the application of the weedkiller, but when I first learned about the agricultural process called desiccation, I was appalled and shocked.

Even more so, I am disgusted by the seemingly blatant manipulation by big ag. I guess a company like Cargill that nets over a hundred billion dollars annually can provide some hefty weight on regulatory oversight- not to mention all the other big agricultural corporations.

What is Desiccation?

Desiccation is a process where farmers kill their crops to control the harvesting window. They spray the crops with a weed killer that causes the plants to die (non-GMO crops) at the most opportune time allowing for a speedy drying process and improved harvest. A bigger harvest = more money.

Glyphosate interrupts protein synthesis in plants, making them unable to photosynthesize and causing the plant to die. It was first patented back in 1964 as a chelating agent to descale mineral deposits from pipes.

There are several desiccants used worldwide. The most popular one is glyphosate, aka RoundUp®.

The use of glyphosate has increased exponentially over the last 30 years. In 1974 only 3,200 tons were used. Today we are looking at a Million tons. Yes, a Million tons with a capital M.

Why You Should Be Concerned About Desiccation

Alarming levels of glyphosate are found in everyday foods.

In 2015 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency conducted a study finding glyphosate in 30 percent of 3,200 food products. Three additional studies found glyphosate exceeding the maximum residue limits (MRLs) in Cheerios, wine, and beer.

That made me do a double-take this morning. I knew my favorite cereal, Cheerios, was highly contaminated (I gave them up years ago due to that fact), but now you are telling me it is in my wine? I guess I will have to look for organic wines now. Can you get organic wine in a box? ;)

Around the same time as the Canadian study, in 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed glyphosate a probable carcinogen based on an independent scientific literature survey.

Needless to say, this was VERY upsetting to big ag, and a reanalysis was conducted by the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Interestingly, in 2016 they determined that it was “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans through diet.” You can imagine how happy this made the industry and the farmers. Mind you, it is still classified as a probable human carcinogen.

The threshold level of glyphosate use for oats and wheat was increased in 2015 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency due to data and claims by Monsanto that there is “no health risk when used according to label instructions”.

Therein lies the rub. There is a very tight window to desiccate a crop successfully. If glyphosate is applied too late, the farmer could lose the crop to a freeze. On the other hand, if used too early, much of the glyphosate is taken up into the grain and ends up on our plate.

Considering the high level of glyphosate residue showing up in wheat products, some researchers believe there is a link between its use and the steady rise of celiac disease in people, especially teens.

Protein digestion is hindered by glyphosate, and gluten is a protein. Celiac disease is the inability to process gluten.

Another concern is gut health. Glyphosate and other herbicides kill bacteria. Our gut health depends on good microbes and a healthy balance of gut bacteria. The concern is that we are killing our good bacteria by consuming so many products containing herbicides like glyphosate.

It is suspected that poor gut health is associated with autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s, obesity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, and other health conditions. Other studies have identified links between glyphosate and many illnesses and health problems like infertility, Parkinson’s, and cancers.

Stephanie Seneff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and retired science consultant Anthony Samsel authored the peer-reviewed study that determined glyphosate residues disrupt “normal body functions and induce disease.”

Seneff stated the study shows a “Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body.” She went on to say they “have hit upon something very important that needs to be taken seriously and further investigated.”

This herbicide is considered to be bio-accumulative and, over time, becomes toxic to our bodies.

A study published in JAMA tracked people in southern California over 50 years of age from 1993–1996 to 2014–2016. Urine samples were collected during those time periods measuring glyphosate levels and the metabolite aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA). Those that tested positive for glyphosate had an increase of 500% in that time period. Ironically, there was an increase in glyphosate usage of 1208% during that same time frame. Just a coincidence? I don’t think so.

And, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) now states glyphosate “probably” causes cancer.

Which Foods Are Contaminated with Glyphosate?

The Cornucopia Institute states that glyphosate is not just used on row crops like wheat, corn, sugar cane, and soybeans but also on an extensive range of fruits, veggies, and nuts.

Check here for a list of 70 crops sprayed with glyphosate, either to clear the land of weeds prior to growing or to desiccate before harvest. Many foods on the list are popular items, such as almonds, apples, oranges, grapes, watermelons, and more. I caution you, though; the images you are about to view may be very disturbing.

And, if that is not bad enough, the heavy and broad use of glyphosate has caused it to show up everywhere. Nobody is immune from its effects. Even organic produce has been found to have low levels since the groundwater seeps into nearby fields and even drinking water.

And while organic produce is still minimally tainted, it is still better than purchasing its conventional counterparts.

Desiccation makes it possible to farm massive tracts of land and feed billions of humans profitably. I in no way mean to minimize the importance of that fact, only to inform and bring awareness.

Numerous studies show the negative health impact of glyphosate. The problem is providing proof of its connection to those health issues.

What Can You Do?

Preventing all exposure to glyphosate would be almost impossible. However, there are some things we can do to decrease the levels we are consuming and help our bodies deal with the inflammation and stress of continued consumption.

1. Eat organic whenever you can. Specifically, those foods that are sprayed most heavily. If you can’t afford to buy all organic, consider growing your own veggies, or buy local as they are probably not using the high amounts of herbicides like big ag.
2. Avoid all GMO foods. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) also known as GE (genetically Engineered). These crops were introduced by Monsanto in 1996. Unlike desiccation, these crops are heavily sprayed during the entire course of their existence to keep weeds at bay. This means avoiding grains like soy, corn, and canola. These grains (or their byproducts) are used in a wide range of foods including:

• Cooking Oils
• Margarine
• Baked Goods
• Biscuits
• Cereals
• Snack Bars
• Soda Drink

3. Maintain a detox diet. I do not believe we can “detox” on and off. I am speaking of a lifelong diet that provides anti-inflammatory, alkalizing, nutrient-dense, and healing nutrition for our bodies. A detox diet supports the liver, immune system, and microbiome (gut health).

4. Speaking of gut health. Consume a diet rich in dietary probiotics. The best probiotics are found in fermented foods. Most importantly are fermented foods with the live culture of acetobacter. Examples are sauerkraut, organic apple cider vinegar, kombucha, kimchi, some cheeses, and probably yogurt.

5. Eat a diet rich in manganese. Remember how I mentioned earlier that glyphosate was first developed as a chelator to descale pipes? Well, it does the same thing to certain minerals in our body. Manganese is one of those minerals. These studies show how RoundUp® depleted manganese levels in plants and animals.

Manganese deficiency is linked to many health conditions including gut health, mitochondrial function, and cognitive decline.

Manganese-rich foods include cloves, tea, molasses, and mussels. Again, opt for organic sources.

4. Use a water filter. There are several options depending on your home layout and your pocketbook. You can choose between reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, distillation, and activated carbon filters. These filters will also remove drugs, chlorine, fluoride, parasites, bacteria, and other nondesirable contaminants.

5. There are many herbs and supplements that have been studied and found to help remove glyphosate from your body. I hesitate to delve too much into them as it is beyond my expertise. When I do further research into these glyphosate-eliminating products, I will share them with you. Here is an article by Lanu Pitan, Ten Best Herbal Detox Cleanse.

I started this article to inform readers of the dangers of desiccation. What I ended up doing was going down a long dirty infested rabbit hole. There is so much more I have not included.

If I were to give you all the information I have just stumbled on, from the politics to the health risks to the environmental concerns, this article would turn into a book.

I think I will stop, for now, let you digest (excuse the pun)this information, and if there is an interest in learning more, I will continue with additional articles related to the use of these herbicides. I hate writing articles that present doomsday. I felt pretty deflated upon learning this information. However, I believe knowledge is power, and perhaps the more people that know about these tactics, the more power we as consumers will have.

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