Just thinking about this old discussion and decided to share our thoughts. =)
In 2018/2019, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested and found glyphosate in some popular cereals brands. Glyphosate is an active ingredient in the popular herbicide Roundup. This is an even bigger issue because two California court cases basically ruled that there is a link between developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the prolonged exposure to Roundup. If Roundup can cause cancer, we obviously don't want to be eating it or letting children eat it, right?
This opened up a huge debate on whether or not the presence of glyphosate in our foods is safe. How much of it is found in our foods? How much of it do you need to eat until it's considered toxic? Does glyphosate really cause cancer? Some say that the EWG's thresholds are too strict (over 180 times lower than the EPA's standards) and that no human being can eat enough in one day for any harm to be done. Others argue that these chemicals impact children more than adults and that use of glyphosate is already in the process of being banned in Europe.
The EWG tested glyphosate levels in cereals and more specifically, oats. This made us wonder where else we can find this herbicide residue. It can definitely travel in the air and mix with nearby fields and crops. Is it fed to livestock? Maybe a trace amount from cereal is OK but what if we were getting trace amounts from different foods throughout the day? Would that add up overtime?
We don't know the answer but we'd love to find out. Herbicides and pesticides are everywhere. They're hard to escape. All we know is that studies suggest and link prolonged exposure to these chemicals with causing chronic diseases and impaired development. That's enough for us to say, "No Thanks."
Would we choose to eat a bowl of cereal known to have trace amounts of glyphosate? Probably not. We don't think eating one bowl is going to ruin your life either. So if you really want a bowl of cereal, we wouldn't judge you. Food should be enjoyed. We simply don't know enough yet but we're playing it safe.
We choose to go organic. Sure, there are a lot of nay sayers but less synthetic chemicals makes more sense to us. It's definitely better for our environment and that's good enough start.
Here are a few articles we came across:
In 2018/2019, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested and found glyphosate in some popular cereals brands. Glyphosate is an active ingredient in the popular herbicide Roundup. This is an even bigger issue because two California court cases basically ruled that there is a link between developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the prolonged exposure to Roundup. If Roundup can cause cancer, we obviously don't want to be eating it or letting children eat it, right?
This opened up a huge debate on whether or not the presence of glyphosate in our foods is safe. How much of it is found in our foods? How much of it do you need to eat until it's considered toxic? Does glyphosate really cause cancer? Some say that the EWG's thresholds are too strict (over 180 times lower than the EPA's standards) and that no human being can eat enough in one day for any harm to be done. Others argue that these chemicals impact children more than adults and that use of glyphosate is already in the process of being banned in Europe.
The EWG tested glyphosate levels in cereals and more specifically, oats. This made us wonder where else we can find this herbicide residue. It can definitely travel in the air and mix with nearby fields and crops. Is it fed to livestock? Maybe a trace amount from cereal is OK but what if we were getting trace amounts from different foods throughout the day? Would that add up overtime?
We don't know the answer but we'd love to find out. Herbicides and pesticides are everywhere. They're hard to escape. All we know is that studies suggest and link prolonged exposure to these chemicals with causing chronic diseases and impaired development. That's enough for us to say, "No Thanks."
Would we choose to eat a bowl of cereal known to have trace amounts of glyphosate? Probably not. We don't think eating one bowl is going to ruin your life either. So if you really want a bowl of cereal, we wouldn't judge you. Food should be enjoyed. We simply don't know enough yet but we're playing it safe.
We choose to go organic. Sure, there are a lot of nay sayers but less synthetic chemicals makes more sense to us. It's definitely better for our environment and that's good enough start.
Here are a few articles we came across:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8622992/
- https://ceh.org/glyphosate-herbicide-found-popular-cereals/
- https://www.businessinsider.com/glyphosate-herbicide-in-cheerios-cereal-2019-6?op=1
- https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/weed-killer-your-cereal-maybe-don-t-panic-n901586
- https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20180815/roundup-chemical-in-your-cereal-what-to-know
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/glyphosate-breakfast-cereal-still-contains-roundup-ingredient-study-finds/
- https://omaha.com/sponsored/glyphosate-in-breakfast-cereal-here-are-7-things-to-know/article_c8e5da0e-264f-5fb4-8cf9-85063361d081.html
- https://clinific.com/glyphosate-in-cereal-monsanto-weedkiller-confirmed-in-these-brands/
- https://abbylangernutrition.com/should-you-be-worried-about-glyphosate-in-cereal/
- https://schoolyardsnacks.com/blogs/blog/glyphosate-in-cereal
- https://smartmommyhealthybaby.com/2019/06/glyphosate-found-in-cereal-again/