Glyphosate is found in the weedkiller Roundup,
which is sprayed on oats before harvest.
An analysis released
today by the Environmental Working Group's Children's Health Initiative found
that 21 of General Mills' oat-based cereals and snacks were contaminated with
glyphosate and all but four products contained levels higher than what EWG
scientists consider safe for children. The nonprofit environmental research
organization's benchmark for levels of the ingredient deemed safe for kids is
no more than 160 parts per billion.
The product containing the lowest level of glyphosate
was Nature Valley's Dark Chocolate & Nut version of Fruit & Nut Chewy
Trail Mix Granola Bars, which measured at 76 ppb. The highest level of
glyphosate, 833 ppb, was found in Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch.
Regular Honey Nut Cheerios contained 147 ppb. Toasted Whole
Grain Oat Cheerios contained 729 ppb. Nature Valley's Maple Brown Sugar Crunchy
Granola Bars measured glyphosate at 566 ppb, while its Soft-Baked Blueberry
Oatmeal Squares measure at 206.
The ingredient used in the weedkiller, which is
sprayed on oats before harvest as a drying agent, was classified as
"probably carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for
Research on Cancer in 2015.
It was classified as a known carcinogenic by California's Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in 2017.
There have been several lawsuits brought against Roundup's
manufacturer Bayer-Monsanto alleging that its weedkiller causes cancer and that
the company has known about it for years. More than $2.2 billion has been
awarded to victims.
"Glyphosate (sold under the brand name Roundup) is an herbicide, which is another term for a chemical that kills weeds. First registered for use in the United States in 1974, glyphosate has become one of the most popular herbicides in the country, according to Oregon State University’s National Pesticide Information Center.
ReplyDelete"You can be exposed to glyphosate by breathing it or absorbing it through your eyes while using Roundup. If you don’t wash your hands after using it, you could swallow some of it by eating or smoking after spraying plants with it. Additionally, you can come into contact with it by touching plants that have just been sprayed with the weedkiller. It won’t easily pass through your skin.
"Here’s how glyphosate ends up in food products: Farmers who grow non-organic products use Roundup to kill weeds on their farms, then companies like General Mills buy contaminated food products from those farmers."
I ate them for breakfast all through my childhood: with milk (or dry) and now with Lactaid 2% milk and poison. WTF!
ReplyDeleteCalled General Mills customer service today and expressed my concerns about glyphosate in their cereals. I was told the above report is not accurate and that they follow the EPA's guidelines. That's Trump's/Wheeler's EPA which makes me even more alarmed: the EPA that is "completing one of the biggest rollbacks of environmental rules" in the history of the organization.
ReplyDelete