The pre-harvest application of herbicides as a (toxic) drying agent on wheat is an established practice on many conventional farms. The method was first suggested as early as 1980, becoming routine in North America over the past 15 years or so. Use is also widespread in the UK.
Applying herbicides like Roundup 7-10 days before harvest is viewed as especially helpful for wheat that ripens unevenly, a common occurrence. It is also considered a helpful tool to initiate an earlier harvest when weather conditions threaten plant viability. Other benefits are earlier ripening for earlier replanting and reducing the green material in the field. This puts less strain on farm machinery during harvest.
Farmers euphemistically call the practice “desiccation”. When used during wheat harvesting, it can result in a slightly greater yield by triggering plants to release more seeds.
The result? Most non-organic wheat in North America is now contaminated with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and similar herbicides.
WHO: Glyphosate a Probable Carcinogen
A March 2015 report by the World Health Organization identified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Several EU countries have banned it as a result of more in the works.
However, in North America, glyphosate use shockingly continues to remain a popular farming tool.
And, as it turns out, the use of Roundup as a drying agent on wheat prior to harvest is just the tip of the iceberg.
Dozens of other food crops are subjected to glyphosate dousing prior to harvest as well.
But Wait! Isn’t Roundup Just for GMO Crops?
It is well known that Roundup is sprayed directly on GMO crops like corn and soy because they are genetically engineered to withstand the toxic onslaught without withering. So much Roundup is used on GMO crops, in fact, that herbicide-resistant “superweeds” are now a huge problem little more than a decade later (1).
“If Roundup kills plants that aren’t genetically modified to resist it, then why use it on nonGMO crops?”
“Wouldn’t glyphosate kill a nonGMO crop?”
“Why would a farmer do this?”
Indeed, these common consumer questions indicate the ultimate irony of using Roundup for desiccation purposes on a food crop producing farm. Killing the crop and/or the greenery around it is actually the whole idea. For crops like wheat, it evens up the field, allows for an earlier harvest, protects machinery and/or increases profit.
The bottom line?
Pre-harvest treatment of crops with glyphosate helps farmers to harvest their crops more efficiently and at less cost. (2)
Crazy as it may seem, Roundup is used everywhere in the North American conventional food supply and not just on GMO crops or to kill weeds!
Glyphosate is applied directly to dozens of nonGMO food crops, in many cases, right before they are harvested. This is the worst possible time to apply a herbicide because it causes the glyphosate to be absorbed into the food crop directly. In other words, the glyphosate can’t be washed off later as it has become part of the food. This toxin will then be ingested by those who consume it either directly as a “whole food” or via processed foods that contain it as an ingredient.
According to the Cornucopia Institute:
Ubiquitous in food production, glyphosate is used not just with row crops like corn, soybeans and wheat but also a range of fruits, nuts and veggies. Even spinach growers use glyphosate (3).
Desiccating crops with herbicides before harvest is catching on in the UK as well where summers are wet and crops may ripen slowly and unevenly. This can potentially lead to reduced yields and a lower quality crop. For example, 78% of the UK oilseed rape crop (similar to canola) is desiccated before harvest, but only 4% in Germany (4).
Common Crops Desiccated with Glyphosate
The list of common crops desiccated with glyphosate prior to harvest is shockingly long!
Seventy crops are on the current EPA list which runs from 2004-2013. The complete list of crops is shown in the images below taken from an EPA memo from October 2015. What’s more, when the list is compared with a prior data snapshot through 2011, it shows that glyphosate use by farmers for key food crops alarmingly continues to grow.
Glyphosate use by farmers averages 70% or more for some crops. These include almonds, walnuts, figs, plums, prunes, grapes, kiwi, lemons, grapefruit, pistachios, and pomegranates.
What Glyphosate Does to the Human Body
The currently accepted view is that glyphosate is not harmful to humans or any mammals. This flawed view is so pervasive in the conventional farming community that Roundup salesmen have been known to foolishly drink it during presentations!
Just because Roundup doesn’t kill you immediately doesn’t make it safe though! The health-robbing effects are actually slow and insidious over months and years.
The decline in health occurs because glyphosate lethally disrupts the shikimate pathway found in beneficial gut microbes. This probiotic pathway is responsible for the synthesis of critical amino acids and the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. CYP enzymes are used by the body to detoxify the multitude of foreign chemical compounds and xenobiotics. No matter where we live, we are exposed to these toxins in our modern environment every single day.
As a result, people exposed to glyphosate residue through the ingestion of food crops treated with it just before harvest become even more vulnerable to the damaging effects of other chemicals and environmental toxins they encounter! This is possibly the worse result of glyphosate exposure. It makes you a sitting duck for any other toxins you encounter.
In addition, by significantly disrupting the functioning of beneficial bacteria in the gut, permeability issues related to the intestinal wall can occur over time. This slow degradation of gut function encourages the development of a myriad of autoimmune disease symptoms. These diseases include celiac disease, food allergies, Crohn’s, IBS, asthma, ulcerative colitis, MS, lupus, eczema, cancer, and the list goes on and on.
The Glyphosate Million Dollar Question
Hence the chicken and egg question:
Is gluten in the wheat really the problem or is it actually the glyphosate residue sprayed on the wheat?
The same can be said for other foods. Is it really the food(s) that are triggering an autoimmunity problem or the glyphosate that is being sprayed on it?
How Much Roundup Residue are We Eating?
Consumers are increasingly alarmed by the monstrous rise in the use of glyphosate-containing herbicides on food crops. In the United States, they are calling for testing of residues to determine if the levels are safe. Such testing is done for other agrichemicals, why not Roundup?
Unfortunately, until regular testing is done, we really have no idea how much glyphosate all of us are really eating. One thing is for sure: the more GMO and nonorganic food a person eats, the more glyphosate exposure is wreaking havoc with his/her gut environment.
The good news is that early in 2016, the FDA said that it will start testing for glyphosate residues although on a limited basis (5).
In the meantime, it really is best to insist on organically produced food as much as possible. The list of crops desiccated with glyphosate is far too long and the risk to health far too high to consider otherwise.
Veganic: Better or Worse than Organic?
And several of those are on the supposed “clean 15” list. There are very few organic choices in my small town. We live on a small farm where we raise our own pastured meats, eggs, dairy, and some veggies, all organically. The rest I’ll just have to travel out of town for. Thanks for the warning.
I was shocked too at the length of this list. When I first started researching for the article, I knew there were other crops that had pre-harvest Roundup applied, but thought it was only a handful. It makes the urgency of eating organic even more important for sure! Even if Roundup is the only chemical applied to the “Clean 15”, it is too much.
Ladies, only 4 of the crops are 100% sprayed. You can still get the crops without roundup on all the rest.
Here’s the problem David. As a consumer, unless you buy ALL your foods – veggies, nuts, fruits, grains and all directly from a specific farm where you know the farmer personally and can ask about the chemicals used, you have no idea if they were sprayed with glyphosate or not!
If a food crop that you use in your home is on that list of 70 as being desiccated with glyphosate and you see it at the store and it isn’t organic, you really have no idea if it has glyphosate residue or not. Best to just not buy these foods if they were conventionally grown!
With wheat … even though the average farm desiccates 25% of the crop, it contaminates the rest as it is all mixed in.
Sarah, the chart you show says nothing about preharvest use of glyphosate or when it is applied. It is unclear what this chart shows as it says “estimates” and there is no direct link to see how data was gathered. USDA-NASS pesticide surveys cover the pesticide use for the entire crop year ( from day after last harvest to harvest of current crop). Could you please tell me what line 27 on the chart means? Fallow? Is that a crop??? Thank you, Roger
It will be interesting to see what the FDA finds when it starts testing for glyphosate residue this year. In the UK, they are already finding glyphosate residue in bread and other foods made with wheat.
Robin, if you adopted a ketogenic diet, which can be a very healthy diet, based on what you currently ;harvest from your farm, then you are 95% of the way to a very healthy diet and only need to add a few greens.
Sarah,
Thanks for doing this article! I am one of the few people, like you, that believe the Glyphosate is the problem, not the gluten.
Sarah, the practice of dessication on GMO crops to increase yield and to dry the crop to make it easier to harvest makes no sense at all. GMO crops are supposed to be roundup/glyphosate resistant. This appears to be a non sequitur, and a riddle to really look into!
I’ve read other articles that the wheat in particular is sprayed to stop it from further growth. Spray at the prime moment for maximum yield and you can harvest a vast field without having to rush to avoid spoilage. Nice idea, horrible practice. We buy from a local farm and I’m able to tolerate the wheat with minimal issues unlike many commercial wheat.
Just because one field doesn’t treat doesn’t mean the end product isn’t contaminated. As with corn, RR corn can be mixed with non GMO Field corn in the silos that go to processing
Kimberly, most wheat is NEVER sprayed with glyphosate, even just before harvest. It is not needed and spraying will NOT increase yield for the number of kernels (seeds) is determine 6 to 8 weeks before the grain ripens. The data Sarah shows does not show applications before harvest . Most roundup is used in fallow ground for weed control up to 24 months before harvest. I have grown only wheat on my farm for the last 40 years, and the wheat grown I the USA is safe. Thank you
Crop desiccation is done with non-GMO crops. GMO crops are sprayed to kill weeds and bugs but the plant is resistant.
I think you may have written about this before. I used to buy the King Arthur whole wheat flour but switched to organic after reading about this. I also read somewhere that organic wines have been tested to have glyphosate in them. It makes me wonder how safe organic food really is, at least the stuff in the grocery store. I also wonder how I will ever get healthy!
I live near Mexico and have many produce warehouses nearby because of our proximity to the Mexican growers. The local food banks give us many of these Mexican grown items. Do you know if this produce is likely to be just as contaminated?
Can you share your sources on the impact of glyphosate on the gut bacteria?
This article contains details and references from the MIT researcher who discovered this terrible truth about glyphosate. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/roundup-quick-death-for-weeds-slow-and-painful-death-for-you/
I buy Weat Montana flour. I contacted them about glyphosate use. The company does not use it. The spokesperson said that the arid nature of Montana makes that unnecessary. You can buy there flour at Walmart.
Thanks for sharing your research and what a great tip!
This article makes the need for a small (or bigger) backyard/front yard garden so important.
YES!!!
does soaking walnuts and almonds help?
I haven’t seen any research that it does. I personally would not count on it. Buy organic if you possibly can!
I don’t understand how they could spray glyphosate on many crops and not damage the fruit. If you spray your strawberry bed to kill the green plant, would it not also kill the berries? The only possibility I can think of is that they spray it on the fruit to make it ripen. Do you know what they use as a ripening agent?
I do not understand why roundup is sprayed on perennials like fruit trees, nut trees, and grape vines. Is the foliage a problem during harvesting? I would think the destruction of the leaves weakens the plant and makes for a poor harvest the next year. Does anyone have an answer as to why roundup is considered “beneficial” to harvesting from tree and vines?
Roundup is not sprayed “on” the trees and vines, but on the weeds and grass below the trees to conserve moisture and cut down on plant diseases. Roundup cannot be absorbed by the roots, so trees are not affected by spraying the ground around trees.
You are right Spraying on the tree leaves would kill or damage the tree, that is why it is not done . Thanks Roger
Omy gosh, look at the high levels of cotton, higher than wheat! I wonder how that has an effect on us. Here I was thinking I’m wearing all healthy and safe cotton.
We rarely if ever desiccate wheat. Glyphosate isn’t a really good desiccant for cotton. Its not sprayed on tree crops or strawberries. It’s a non selective herbicide that controls several weeds. It can be sprayed in row middles to kill weeds or after vegetable harvest, it’s sprayed to kill the plants. While it’s not perfect, it’s a much less harsh chemical as compared to the things that were used in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s. It doesn’t linger in the soil either. Farmers and the ag industry are regulated at a level greater than the drugs that your cabinets are full of. I wish each of you would drive 5 miles outside of your town and stop at a commercial farm and just see for yourself. I wish you all the best as you support organic farmers, but please don’t bash commercial agriculture as it contributes to more than the food you eat.
Question: what does an organic farm use to control weeds, disease or insects? (Study the effects of heavy metals on people)
Also fallow mean barren. It’s a field that is basically not going to be utilized for production. It helps the soil improve its fertility and moisture.
Whether wheat is desiccated or not is highly dependent on weather conditions from year to year.
My daughter worked on a farm that raised organic barley. I asked her about the weeds…what did they do about the weeds. She said they just combined right around them (patches of weeds). I had her give me a bucket full of that barley.
I live 20 minutes outside of my city, in a fertile area surrounded by farms. They are a mix of small and organic and industrial. Seeing the day to day differences between the two is exactly why I only buy from the small farms. Things like cornfields sprayed with cow waste that ends up in the river where I like to swim and cows standing indoors all day while looking at acres of pasture is completely irrational. The nearby industrial herb farm pays people a pittance for seasonal work so I buy herbs and produce a few properties down and support a family instead. The industrial operations, quite literally, stink.
I’m confused by your statement implying that organic gardening practices involve use of heavy metals. I’m not aware of this practice. Can you please elaborate!
Thanks!
Are some of your numbers wrong? Dates say average is 65% but max is 25% and soybeans have an average of 105%.
You are referring to the widespread use throughout “North America”, but only site USDA and USA incidences/occurrences. Do you have supporting documentation for both Canda and Mexico as relative to heavy use of Round Up in their wheat and agricultural harvesting processes.
Reply To Susanne… For glyphosate content on our food crops, please refer to the almost 8000 items tested and reported on by BC author, Tony Mitra. This book is $9.99 for a kindle download on Amazon. Here is the book link. amazon.com/POISON-FOODS-NORTH-AMERICA-navigating/dp/1520976429/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496016499&sr=1-1&keywords=tony+mitra
Yes, the spray on wheat is “the problem.” But from what I can tell, so are wheat’s carb overload, and the fact that it feeds non-beneficial microbes which attack villi and/or spread through the endocrine glands, immune system, and central nervous system? Sorry, don’t know sources by heart but can tell you the studies are out there.
I believe those were the EPA’s numbers. I agree they do not make sense.
Things like apples and nuts grow on trees..does the glycophage soak in thru the bark? I imagine the trees are not sprayed..just the weeds around them. Some could get on bark..on apples only if sprayed when apples are present. These would not be a pre harvest application either as that wouldn’t make sense. In any case I was horrified to see this list!
This is horrible. I will continue to choose organic even more intentionally. Can someone explain though why soybeans are listed as 105% as glyphosate treated? Why wouldn’t 100% have been the appropriate number?