What is this sciency-sounding word, glyphosate? You probably know it much better by its marketing name: Round-Up. It’s truly and without hyperbole, a scourge on the modern world and should be eliminated entirely.

This post is inspired by a recently-released Food Democracy Now (FDN) report, registered with the FDA and available in full right here, on the use and dangers of glyphosate. It’s also inspired by a local farmer who wrote in to our office after hearing a radio show and chastised us for daring to speak out against something so safe and, as he put it, the practice of spraying crops with herbicides “is very rarely used in the US.”

Why is glyphosate bad?

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged that glyphosate is a carcinogen to humans. And it is literally fed to us. Between 17 studies conducted in 11 countries, glyphosate has been linked to lymphoma, bone cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, pancreatic cancer and thyroid cancer.

Glyphosate disrupts hormones. A 2015 European study found that the hormone-related (hormone-related only!) healthcare costs of glyphosate were nearly $200 billion every year, and that it lowers IQ, spurs obesity can be linked to autism (as can any and all endocrine disruptors).

It is well-studies and know that glyphosate binds with necessary nutrients in the body and literally pulls them out of your body. By being exposed to glyphosate, you run the risk of deficiencies in iron, manganese, zinc and boron.

It kills the good bacteria in your gut. Glyphosate is basically an antibiotic, something its patent-owner, the agri-giant Monsanto, happily acknowledges. Problem is, especially when you eat it (like we do all the time), it kills the bacteria in your gut necessary to maintain everything from healthy digestion to a strong immune system to your mental well-being.

According to Carlson Law Firm, thousands of people who worked closely with Roundup have sued the company due to developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, b-cell lymphoma, leukemia, and other forms of cancer. They claim that Roundup was aware of the risks that come with glyphosate and failed to issue a warning on the product.

 How pervasive is glyphosate?

To address our farmer critic’s claim that using herbicides in the U.S. is rare, I encourage you to again look at FDN’s report.  But to give a quick summary, here are some disturbing statistics.

• 2.4 billion pounds of glyphosate have been sprayed in U.S. crops since 2005.
• 93 percent of soy grown in the U.S. and 89% of corn grown in the U.S. has glyphosate sprayed on it.
• 75 – 80% of all processed foods in the U.S. contain either soy or corn.
• The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has found glyphosate in 75% of the rainwater it has sampled in the U.S. Midwest region (where the majority of U.S. farms can be found).

Tested foods with glyphosate in them

Glyphosate in foods is measured in “parts per billion” (ppb). To give you a frame of reference, as little as 0.1 ppb of glyphosate can cause kidney and liver damage. Here are some popular foods and their measured level of glyphosate!

• Cheerios – 1,125.3 ppb
• Honey Nut Cheerios – 670.2 ppb
• Wheaties – 31.2 ppb
• Trix – 9.9 ppb
• Gluten Free Bunny Cookies Cocoa & Vanilla (cuz gluten free is healthy, right guys?) – 55.13 ppb
• Corn Flakes – 78.9 ppb
• Raisin Bran – 82.9 ppb
• Kashi Organic Promis – 24.9 ppb
• Special K – 74.6 ppb
• Frosted Flakes – 24.6 ppb
• Cheez-Its – 24.6 ppb
• Whole Grain Cheez-Its – 36.25 ppb
• Kashi Soft-Baked Cookies, Oatmeal Dark Chocolate – 275.59 ppb
• Ritz Crackers – 270.24 ppb
• Triscuit – 89.68 ppb
• Oreo – 289.47 ppb
• Oreo Double Stuf – 140.9 ppb
• Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips – 812.53 ppb
• Lay’s: Kettle Cooked Original – 452.71 ppb
• Doritos: Cool Ranch – 481.27 ppb
• Fritos – 174.71 ppb
• Goldfish crackers – 18.4 ppb
• Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies – 264.28 ppb
• Lucy’s Oatmeal Cookies Gluten Free – 452.44 ppb

Gross.

How do you avoid it?

This is actually a lot easier than you might think. I’ve come up with a simple, nine-step solution to cutting glyphosate out of your life. Pay special attention to steps one, three, five, seven and nine.

1. Step one, don’t eat processed foods.
2. Step two, eat organic fruits and vegetables.
3. Step three, don’t eat processed foods.
4. Step four, check out the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen, Clean 15” list.
5. Step five, don’t eat processed foods.
6. Step six, eat fresh foods.
7. Step seven, don’t eat processed foods.
8. Step eight, avoid anything that comes in a sealed box, bag or package.
9. Step nine, don’t eat processed foods.