Most of us have heard that in an Aug. 10 court ruling, a jury in San Francisco awarded 46-year-old former groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson $289 million in damages in his lawsuit against agrichemical giant Monsanto. Jurors found that Monsanto’s Roundup brand weed killer caused Johnson’s cancer. The jury also determined that Monsanto failed to warn him of the health hazards stemming from exposure to glyphosate, the active chemical compound in Roundup. Moreover, Monsanto acted with malice and oppression.
While Monsanto intends to appeal the extraordinary verdict, the jury ruled that the company exhibited “negligent failure” and knew or should have known that its product was “dangerous.”
Johnson’s lawyer, Brent Wisner, said in a statement that the verdict sent a “message to Monsanto that its years of deception regarding Roundup [are] over and that they should put consumer safety first over profits.”
Sure, it feels good to see a behemoth like Monsanto take one on the chin for a change. However, before we all start popping champagne corks, there’s much work to be done in terms of putting together a healthy diet that includes eliminating exposure to glyphosate.
One thing that needs to be understood straightaway is that while the common commercial cereals many of us grew up eating are generally a poor dietary choice to begin with—if only because of high sugar content, genetic modification, the frequent inclusion of harmful sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup etc. — glyphosate finds its way into many of those cereals.
According to the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), glyphosate “is the most widely used herbicide in the US It is the most commonly used pesticide in parks and is even found in foods that adults and kids love … Is glyphosate hazardous for kids? Absolutely.”
The UK Guardian noted: “Because a child’s developing body is more sensitive to exposure than adults and takes in more of everything — relative to their size, children eat, breathe, and drink much more than adults — they are particularly vulnerable to these toxic chemicals.”
A CEH online summary noted: “Corn and soybeans are commonly grown using Roundup, but it’s also used on hundreds of other crops. Glyphosate is sometimes used to dry out oats just prior to harvest.”
CEH recently tested a variety of cereals and found glyphosate contamination in some of the following products (ppb is parts per billion):
Beech-Nut Oatmeal (baby)—735 ppb.
Beech-Nut Organic Oatmeal (baby)—none detected.
Cascadian Farms Organic Honey Nut O’s— none detected
Comforts Apple & Oatmeal with Cinnamon Baby Food Puree—none detected
Gerber Single Grain Oatmeal (baby)—545 ppb
Great Value O’s Oat Cereal—1,220 ppb
Post Honey Bunches of Oats-Crunchy Honey Roasted—none detected
Honey Nut Cheerios—557 ppb
Trader Joe’s O’s Toasted Whole Grain Oats Cereal—672 ppb
Kroger Toasted Oats Cereal—346 ppb
Market Pantry Toasted Oats Whole Grain Oat Cereal—826 ppb
Malt O Meal Marshmallow Matey’s (cereal)—303 ppb
Quaker Life Original Multigrain Cereal (cereal)—1,254 ppb
Quaker Oatmeal Squares with a hint of Brown Sugar (cereal)—2,015 ppb
Signature Kitchens Honey Nut Toasted Oats—762 ppb
Enfamil Prosobee Soy for Sensitive Tummy Formula—none detected
Nature Valley Soft Baked Oatmeal Squares Cinnamon Brown Sugar (bars)—39 ppb
Similac Soy Isomil For Fussiness & Gas Formula—none detected
Up & Up Soy Infant Formula with Iron—none detected
CEH summarized: “The research into glyphosate exposure shows that these substances can alter and damage the delicate functions of our bodies’ natural hormones, making them part of a group of chemicals known as endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs. You can avoid this toxic chemical by buying organic cereals. Glyphosate is not used in the production of organic food.”
Moreover, home gardening brings highly-nutritious produce to the dinner table with full knowledge of how such fresh foods have been raised, thereby ensuring that glyphosate residue, and the residues of other hazardous chemicals aren’t lurking in your salad and fruits. According to Mercola.com, a popular web-based news site for health research, pesticide residues in varying degrees are found in 85% of store-bought fresh produce.
Mark Anderson is a veteran journalist who divides his time between Texas and Michigan. Email truthhound2@yahoo.com.
From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2018
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