In my last post, I talked about some of the differences between methods of food production – conventional versus organic versus regenerative.  One of those differences was the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, to control insects and weeds, in conventional agriculture.  Today, I would like to share the dangers of the most commonly used herbicide in conventional farming, Glyphosate.

The What

Glyphosate is an herbicide (a synthetic chemical applied to crops to control weeds) used in conventional, non-organic farming, and residues of that herbicide are on a majority of the food sold in America.  So you may be ingesting it, but you’ll never see it on an ingredient list.

The Why

I think a majority of us, trying our best to live healthily, don’t know what glyphosate is, where it is, what it could do, and how to avoid it. And I want to share this with you, friends.

 57% (2018) of the American diet is highly processed carbs that mainly come from corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, and chickpeas.  Examples of food products you might find these grains and legumes in are vegan chicken nuggets, crackers, breakfast cereal, bread, hummus, beef, and chicken (because conventional ranchers feed their animals corn and soy). 

And these foods, unless organic, are largely sprayed with glyphosate.  (Glyphosate is used on farms that grow fruit and vegetables, as well.) There have been studies on the effects of glyphosate on rodents, and the results are not pretty.  Results showed an increase, sometimes by as much as 30%, in birth defects, liver damage, and transgenerational damage – which means ingesting glyphosate impacted their offspring and even their grand-babies (tumor development, ovarian disease, and birth defects).

But even if you feel skeptical (a mouse is not a human after all), there are known, undisputed facts about what glyphosate does. 

Just the facts ma’am.

Glyphosate interrupts a biological process, the shikimic process, that builds proteins for survival.  Without the ability of a living thing to complete this process, the organism dies. That process does NOT occur in animals (including humans), but it is present in plants, fungi, and bacteria, including those that are essential for healthy human gut microbiomes and the microbiomes of healthy soil. 

Microbiome – a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment and especially the collection of microorganisms living in or on the human body –   Merriam-Webster Dictionary

In 1996, 15 million pounds of glyphosate were sprayed on crops in the U.S. By 2016, 280 million pounds of glyphosate were applied to crops in the U.S. Our exposure to this chemical has increased greatly in a relatively short period.  Traces of glyphosate are now found in our water, food, and urine (yep). 

Image Credit: Kiss the Ground

Again, if the product is certified organic, they do NOT use glyphosate or any synthetic chemical herbicide.  Check the food boxes in your pantry – are they all organic?  I just found one in my freezer that is not – I was so bummed.

(If you’ve had enough, skip to What you can do)

Let’s go down the rabbit hole, shall we?

Glyphosate was originally patented as a metal chelator – it was used to clean crusty pipes.  It does so by binding up mineral elements.  5 years after the original patent, the chemical company with the patent started marketing glyphosate as an herbicide.  

Starting in the late 1960’s farming operations began to use it to kill weeds and aid in harvesting.  Since the 1990s, many of the crops used to make our non-organic processed foods and animal feed are genetically modified (GMO) to resist glyphosate so if sprayed with it, they won’t die.  Just the weeds do.  In the case of wheat, however, when it’s time to harvest, farms spray the crop to kill the wheat plant – the leaves die and fall off and it dries out the plant – which makes it easier to harvest. As a result, there is concern over the glyphosate residue left on the plants, in the soil, and washed away into our water systems. And since it binds minerals, when in the soil, it reacts with essential minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and manganese, making them unavailable for plant and micro-organism absorption – resulting in less robust and nutritious crops and weak soils.  There is a lot of debate about whether glyphosate causes disease in humans.  But there is no debate over whether it (1) kills plants, (2) impacts soil microbiomes and (3) impacts human and animal gut microbiomes:

1. Kills plants – yes, it interrupts the shikimic process (warning – if you Google it, it is like an advanced lesson in biochemistry).  Simply put, it keeps the plant from building proteins they use to thrive, and so the plant dies.

• Impacts soil microbiomes –The food that is grown in healthy soil, which is full of fungi and bacteria and other microorganisms, is healthier because these little organisms pull vitamins and minerals from the soil and bedrock and digest it for the plants and then exchange these gems for the sugars that the plants make through photosynthesis.  Without a healthy soil microbiome, well lots of things don’t happen, but in this case, I’ll mention that the nutritional content of our food is greatly lacking.  So spraying glyphosate can lead to unhealthy soils and less healthy food.  If this topic interests you, I highly recommend reading What Your Food Ate by David R. Montgomery, Anne Biklé, et al.

• Impacts human and animal gut microbiomes – our digestive system, where much of our immune system lives, is a magnificent universe of life.  We chew our food, but the micro-universe in our gut breaks it down even further, pulls the vitamins and minerals from the food, and feeds them into our bloodstream.  It also contains helpful bacteria that protect us from germs – thank you, little guys! But when we digest food containing glyphosate, our gut microbiome has some serious mass funerals to attend, and the benefits it provides us are impacted.   The results can be health problems such as digestive issues and trouble fighting off disease.  Glyphosate is also impactful to the gut microbiome of cows, chickens, and other animals that are fed non-organic grains. In a study, cows fed a diet containing glyphosate were found to have lower levels of copper, selenium, zinc, cobalt, and manganese in their bloodstreams.

Dr. Mark Hyman, in his book “Food Fix,” said he is “careful about what I eat, choose organic at home and when I can when eating out, and don’t eat GMO soy or corn” and still tested in the 50^th percentile for glyphosate levels. So, even if you think you are diligent and careful, (pause for effect) glyphosate is everywhere. (cue eery music)

But don’t fret – please! I would never deliver bad news unless there was something you could do about it.

What you can do

1. Buy organic fruits, organic vegetables, AND organic processed foods like cereal, bread, etc.  Protect yourself and send cues to the food industry that people want organic. (Non-GMO certified is not enough)
2. Buy pasture-raised poultry and eggs and grass-fed beef. 
3. When the grocery store attendant asks if you found everything you were looking for today, tell them you want to see more organic and regenerative products.
4. Tell your local politicians (mayors, state senators, etc) that you want more organic and regenerative farms providing food to your community.  Believe it or not, they are just people and they do listen.

We have power – our dollars and our words matter. Let’s use them!