The active herbicidal ingredient in Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup has permeated our food chain according to two new studies.
Designated carcinogenic by some health authorities, glyphosate has now been found in over 40 pet foods and breakfast cereals
Dozens of common breakfast cereals and snack bars were found to contain trace amounts of the controversial herbicide found in Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup, according to a report released on Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.
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RT reports: Researchers at Cornell University found glyphosate in all 18 of the dog and cat food brands they surveyed, including one product that was certified GMO-free. They stressed that the chemical was present in low concentrations – lower than those typically found in human food, at least – but glyphosate’s effect on domestic animals in any concentration is unknown, and studies have found human cells to show negative effects when exposed to levels of glyphosate-based herbicides far below those deemed “safe” by regulators.
They were unable to track the source of the glyphosate, though a correlation with fiber suggested it was coming from plant material. Interestingly, the GMO-free product revealed glyphosate levels higher than many of the processed feeds, suggesting that merely following organic procedures is not enough to mitigate the invasive effects of agricultural chemicals.
A second study, conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), found glyphosate in every oat-based cereal and food tested. Worse, 26 of the 28 products tested contained higher levels of the weedkiller than the EWG’s “children’s health benchmark.” Products tested included Quaker and General Mills breakfast cereals, oatmeals, and snack bars. The worst offender was Quaker Oatmeal Squares, whose Honey Nut flavor contained nearly 18 times the levels of glyphosate EWG considers acceptable.
The EWG study followed up on a study they published in August that revealed glyphosate in all but two of 45 products made with non-organic oats, and even in a third of the organic oat products. While manufacturers protested that the glyphosate levels were within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory limits, those limits were set prior to the World Health Organization’s 2016 findings linking glyphosate to cancer.
Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally released its own study last month, finding two-thirds of corn and soybean samples contained glyphosate, though the agency conspicuously neglected to test oat or wheat crops.
