Glyphosate has been linked to a range of illnesses including liver disease, cancer, and reproductive dysfunction in scientific studies, and it is currently the subject of thousands of state and federal lawsuits linking it to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
20 samples of domestic and imported wines and beers sold with America were evaluated: samples included conventionally grown wines from Barefoot, Sutter Home, and Beringer, as well as organically grown Inkarri Estates and Frey; beer samples included Coors, Corona, Heineken, Sam Adams, Stella Artois, and Tsingtao, as well as organic Peak and Samuel Smith beers.
All samples of beverages but one were found to have contained glyphosate in varying levels, with Sutter Home Merlot having the highest amounts at 51 parts per billion which was followed by Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon at 42.6 ppb, and Tsingtao beer was the highest contaminated at 49.7 ppb.
Organic beverages were not devoid of glyphosate as one would expect, although they did have the lowest levels; Inkarri Malbec certified as organic was found to have 5.2 ppb contamination, Frey Organic Wine had 4.8 ppb, and Samuel Smith had 3.5 ppb; only Peak Organic Beer was found to not contain detectable amounts of glyphosate.
Glyphosate/Roundup is the most commonly used agricultural chemical around the globe that is sprayed heavily on crops. Ingestion of just 0.1 ppb can destroy gut bacteria and disrupt the balance of gut microbiome. GMO seeds have been engineered for use with glyphosate, which has lead to the use of this toxic chemical to increase; close to 275 million pounds was used in 2016 as compared to less than 10 million pounds in 1992.
Originally billed as being a healthy alternative to other pesticides a growing body of scientific evidence is drawing attention to health risks of it not being healthy, as such many natural health advocates and experts are calling for the ban of all glyphosate use until it can be proven safe.
W.H.O classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015 and went on record as saying it could pose significant risks to human health, and in 2017 California agreed going on to officially list it as a likely carcinogen as well with many California communities following suit to full on ban the use of glyphosate based products.
It’s really not hard to understand how glyphosate enters foods made from conventionally grown crops via being sprayed and contamination to soil, or contamination occurring from water used to irrigate fields; glyphosate easily enters waterways, runoffs, rivers and streams and has been found in 70% of rainwaters samples tested.
Organic contamination is harder to explain as organic growers, brewers, and vintners are strictly prohibited from using glyphosate. Some possibility for the contamination may be due to overspraying from neighbouring farms, contaminated water supply, and contamination from airborne drift which can spread over several hundred feet and further with wind. Also because glyphosate residue can linger for years in water and soil contamination can also occur in organic fields that have been converted from previously being used for conventional farming.
There are currently no safety limits for glyphosate in wine and beer, CalPIRG has recommend that America follow the lead of other countries such as France and ban glyphosate flat out, and at minimum reconsider the food tolerance levels for glyphosate. CalPIRG is also suggest that there be a buffer between organic and conventional farming fields to prevent cross contamination using alternative methods for weed control such as ground cover.
Although not always free of glyphosate organic wines and beer contain much lower amounts, and are the safer choice. Glyphosate may prove to be a true risk to everyone’s health.
“It is incredibly difficult to avoid the troubling reality that consumers will likely drink glyphosate at every happy hour and backyard barbecue around the country.” says Laura Deehan of CalPIRG.
