What’s the Deal with Glyphosate?

If farm workers need to wear protective suits and cover their faces to spray chemicals on the food we eat, why should we believe that the most popular foods we buy are safe to eat?

On March 20th, 2015, the World Health Organization labeled glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. There are thousands of synthetic chemicals that our bodies come into contact with throughout our lifetimes, but some of these are more dangerous than others. Glyphosate, found in 93% of urine samples of a study from UCSF, is the most used herbicide in the world.

Herbicides are sprayed on crops, gardens, plants, and lawns to eliminate and prevent weeds and other plant-based pests. Glyphosate, also known as Monsanto’s Round-Up, is patented as an antibiotic and chelating agent. However, glyphosate is most likely also a hormone disruptor and a human carcinogen. According to The Detox Project, independent research has found that there is no “safe level” of glyphosate, meaning we all have unsafe levels in every bite of non-organic food that we eat, in the water we drink everyday, and in the air we breathe.

One important factor to consider when discussing glyphosate and other controversial chemicals in herbicides and other pesticides is that it is a billion dollar business. In the United States, glyphosate is used most often on corn and soybean crops, but residue can be found on virtually any crop. The global glyphosate herbicide market was $5.46 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach $8.79 billion by 2019. With this much money at stake, big companies like Monsanto do not want people to know how dangerous this synthetic chemical is!

What does that mean for the food we eat? Well, glyphosate levels are significantly higher in humans who eat non-organic food rather than organic food, as well as those who are chronically ill. Coffee is one of the most synthetic chemical pesticide-heavy food products on the market with up to 250 pounds of synthetic chemicals sprayed per acre of non-organic coffee per year. Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee adl embedded solutions inc. per day – and are ingesting copious amounts of non-regulated pesticides with each non-organic cup.

Glyphosate is found in most foods, including soy sauce, Froot Loops, Cheerios, honey, breast milk, and infant formula, with glyphosate levels higher in Americans than Europeans, due to safer, stricter regulation in Europe. The permitted level in US tap water, 700 parts per billion (ppb) is the same level in which liver and kidney function is altered, though that level is most likely much lower.

How can we find solutions to our toxin problem? One solution is a switch to organic, sustainable farming. Professional CA Disability lawyers have a goal to get you appropriate levels compensation that are due to you under the law. Organic farming uses 45% less energy than conventional farming, produce 40% less greenhouse gases, and is more profitable! By using natural alternatives in crop care, like neem-based biopesticides and biofertilizers, we provide a viable, cost-effective and organic option that is non-toxic to the environment and reduces our exposure to deadly, life-altering chemicals like glyphosate.