Last Updated on August 6, 2021 by admin
The organic label can conjure up all kinds of impressions, both negative and positive. Perhaps, organic labels make you feel a little silly or trendy. Or perhaps, you truly feel more confident putting organic ingredients on the table. At the very least, most consumers typically associate the word “organic” with higher prices and luxury.
However, I would argue that choosing organic (at least as much as possible) is one easy step you can take to cut down on your family’s toxic exposures and help promote good health and longevity. While most organic products will be priced a dollar or two more at the grocery store, you get what you pay for! In my opinion, it’s better to invest in healthy outcomes on the front end. Most of us don’t think twice about dropping a pretty penny at a restaurant or on the latest technology, but we clinch up when it comes to the groceries that are meant to nourish and sustain us.
The Great Divide
Like all issues in health or parenting, there is a divide. There is a conflict between those who tout pesticides and herbicides in crops and hormones and antibiotics in animal products as perfectly safe for human consumption as well as those who consider them to be dangerous. You can find plenty of literature, opinions, and research (but be mindful of who is funding or profiting off of the results) to support either side.
I can’t definitively solve the debate, but as a mom, you know will be your child’s strongest advocate! No one else will defend and support your child the way you will! So, I encourage you to do your due diligence concerning the issue so that whatever conclusion you come to, you can feel confident about the choices you make for your family.
So let’s get into it with just ONE of the big issues: Glyphosate
Expect to see corn, soy, refined oils (think canola and cottonseed) and/or sugar in 100% of your processed foods. The majority of these (aside from certified non-GMO and organic) are GMO crops.
So what’s the big deal?
The real problem isn’t the “what,” but the “why?” GMO, in most cases, translates to “Round-Up Ready.” (Yes, that poison you spray on your weeds that destroys them instantly.) This means that the crops are genetically modified to endure lethal doses of Round-Up without killing it.
And GMO crops are only a source of glyphosate exposure, and not even the biggest one. In fact, wheat and oats come in as the biggest offenders as they are routinely sprayed with the chemical acting as a drying agent so that the crops can be harvested sooner.
Round-up (chemical name-glyphosate) is a neurotoxin and according to the World Health Organization, a “probable human carcinogen.” It is also shown to disrupt and even destroy gut-bacteria which is critical to immune function, digestion, and mental health. Glyphosate is being linked to a whole host of of autoimmunity and modern diseases.
Here’s a scary thought: glyphosate is showing up in umbilical cord tissues, and American women’s breast milk is testing positive for glyphosate at higher concentrations than is legally allowed in European drinking water. Independent testing found glyphosate in childhood vaccines. Can we say health epidemic anyone? The use of glyphosate has tripled since 1997. Can you think of any other health epidemics that have an eerily paralleled increase?
Glyphosate Exposure is on the Rise
With weed-resistance an ongoing problem, the government is ever-discussing laws to raise the limits yet again! In fact, glyphosate based herbicides (GBH) have been on the rise at an alarming level!
“In 1987 between 6 and 8 million pounds were applied by U.S. farmers and ranchers In 1996, the first year genetically engineered (GE), glyphosate-tolerant crops were planted commercially in the U.S., glyphosate accounted for just 3.8% of the total volume of herbicide active ingredients applied in agriculture. By 2007, the EPA reports agricultural use of glyphosate in the range of 180–185 million pounds . . . By 2014, annual farm-sector glyphosate usage increased to approximately 240 million pounds” (Myers, et.al).
In the meantime, tensions run high between consumers demanding the right to know what’s in their food (GMO labeling advocates) and govt. and corporations who are pulling out all the stops to prevent mandatory labeling.
Glyphosate is banned or restricted widely around the world.
So why not America?
Well… It’s a long, convoluted story, but in a nutshell, corporate titans like Monsanto (Bought by Bayer AG) pay millions in lobbying each year to keep their products legal and in-demand, thus keeping them mega-billionaires.
Approach with healthy cynicism any research that claims the safety of glyphosate. These studies were often funded or influenced by the very people who create the product and allegedly even ghost written by Monsanto’s own researchers in certain instances. Many of these findings came to light during the Infamous Dewayne Johnson Cancer Trial in which Johnson was awarded 78 million dollars to be paid by Monsanto for acting with “malice or oppression” for not only knowing the risks of their product, but actively suppressing the information as well as ghostwriting and “corrupting the scientific peer-reviewed literature.”
Yikes! So now what?!
85% of what’s in your local grocery store is processed food. Now, take a good look in your pantry. How much of your diet consists of these corn, soy, and sugar “Round Up-Ready” processed foods? What about wheat? That’s more than a little overwhelming, and you may be ready to quit before you’ve even started. Go with a baby step instead. As a first shopping goal, always search for foods with the USDA Organic labeling. For now, at least, this carries some weight concerning organic guidelines.
Unfortunately, glyphosate is so ubiquitous in the environment that the air, water, precipitation, and soil are all impacted making it impossible to escape completely, and sadly, this can even impact our organic growers. However, buying organic not only decreases toxic exposures for your family, it sends a powerful message to the food suppliers when we vote with our dollar and support organic farming and companies who put people before profits.
Read the Ingredients First
Organic choices are not always available, and so another easy baby step is to simply cut out all products containing corn syrups, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrups, and refined sugar and vegetable oils. That is a good solid start to becoming more conscientious about glyphosate exposures and cleaner eating.
For More Learning
I highly recommend the book Rich Food Poor Food, The Ultimate Grocery Purchasing System (GPS) by Jason Calton, PhD and Mira Calton, CN. There is so much valuable info packed in this book that will help you to choose the most nutrient dense versions of all your favorite foods!
I also recommend the documentary, FOOD, Inc. for a more detailed look into the foods we eat and the industries who control it.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/known-culprits/glyphosate/
https://www.ewg.org/childrenshealth/glyphosateincereal/
https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/glyphosate_in_childhood_vaccines
Ait Bali, Y., Ba-Mhamed, S., & Bennis, M. (2017). Behavioral and Immunohistochemical Study of the Effects of Subchronic and Chronic Exposure to Glyphosate in Mice. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 11, 146. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00146
Garry, V. F. et al. Birth defects, season of conception, and sex of children born to pesticide applicators living in the Red River Valley of Minnesota, USA. Environmental health perspectives 110(Suppl 3), 441–449 (2002).
Kubsad, D., Nilsson, E.E., King, S.E. et al. Assessment of Glyphosate Induced Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Pathologies and Sperm Epimutations: Generational Toxicology. Sci Rep 9, 6372 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42860-0
Myers, J. P., Antoniou, M. N., Blumberg, B., Carroll, L., Colborn, T., Everett, L. G., Hansen, M., Landrigan, P. J., Lanphear, B. P., Mesnage, R., Vandenberg, L. N., Vom Saal, F. S., Welshons, W. V., & Benbrook, C. M. (2016). Concerns over use of glyphosate-based herbicides and risks associated with exposures: a consensus statement. Environmental health : a global access science source, 15, 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0117-0
Nevison, C. D. A comparison of temporal trends in United States autism prevalence to trends in suspected environmental factors. Environmental health: a global access science source 13, 73, https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-13-73 (2014).
Sears, M. E., & Genuis, S. J. (2012). Environmental determinants of chronic disease and medical approaches: recognition, avoidance, supportive therapy, and detoxification. Journal of environmental and public health, 2012, 356798. doi:10.1155/2012/356798
Wozniak E, Sicinska P, Michalowicz J, et al. The mechanism of DNA damage induced by Roundup 360 PLUS, glyphosate and AMPA in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells—genotoxic risk assessement [sic]. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2018;120:510-522.
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