Two recent studies commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and performed by San Francisco-based Anresco Laboratories found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, in every sample of popular oat-based cereal and other oat-based food marketed to children. These results contradict the claims by the two manufacturers of the cereal, General Mills and Quaker Oats, who say that their products meet the legal standards of how much weed killer is allowed in the grains. Yes, you heard that right: THE LEGAL AMOUNT OF WEED KILLER ALLOWED IN CHILDREN'S BREAKFAST CEREALS.
Interestingly, nearly all of the tested samples had glyphosate residues at levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children's health with an adequate margin of safety. Given these findings, avoiding GMO foods, such as soybeans that have been chemically altered to be "RoundUp Ready," may discourage excessive RoundUp usage. Eating a diet of organic food has the added benefit of dramatically reducing your chance of cancer.
The tests detected glyphosate in all 28 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. All but two of the 28 samples had levels of glyphosate above EWG’s health benchmark of 160 parts per billion (ppb).
Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as "probably carcinogenic" to people.
Glyphosate, a mineral chelator and crop desiccant, is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)and the World Health Organization as "probably carcinogenic" to people. This position has been steadfastly defended despite ongoing attacks by Monsanto. However, in a groundbreaking case against Monsanto (and parent company Bayer), a jury ruled that glyphosate did cause the terminal cancer of a California man who was a groundskeeper for a school district near San Francisco. His case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which has left lesions on 80% of his body, is the first case that holds Monsanto liable for the disease because of their product.
In 2017, glyphosate was also listed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer.
Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's safe. Federal government standards for pesticides in food (and water) are often outdated and not based on the best and most current science. The EPA's standards for pesticides and other chemicals are also heavily influenced by lobbying from industry.