Trace Amounts of Weed Killer May Be Lurking in Your Breakfast Cereal According to Report
Your morning may have started with a heaping bowl of Captain Crunch or Rice Krispies — but a new report has found that breakfast staple might also include some other ingredients that are not good for your health.
According to a new report by the Environmental Working Group, many of the cereals that we enjoy on a regular basis contain glyphosate.
Glyphosate is just as unappealing as you might imagine. It is actually an herbicide that is used as the active ingredient in the popular weed killer Roundup.
In the findings from EWG, as many as 26 of the 28 cereals that were tested had trace amounts of glyphosate, which were higher than the organization deemed “protective of children’s health.”
The cereals that EWG found to have risky levels of glyphosate include Honey Nut Cheerios, Quaker Simply Granola Oats and Lucky Charms.
People reported cereals such as Kashi Heart to Heart Organic Honey Toasted and KIND Vanilla, Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds also contained glyphosate, but they were found to be within an acceptable limit.
According to EWG, high levels of glyphosate consumed over a long period of time can create a risk of cancer.
EWG has a health benchmark of 160 parts per billion of glyphosate. All but two of the 28 samples that the organization tested have glyphosate levels above this allowable limit.
“Studies regularly find that the legal limits on contaminants in food, air, drinking water, and consumer products fall short of fully protecting public health, particularly for children and other people more sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals,” EWG stated in the report.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said the cereals tested by EWG meet the acceptable limits of the herbicide allowed by the agency.
EWG, however, has a more conservative stance on glyphosate than the EPA.
Cereal manufacturers such as Quaker and General Mills maintain that their cereal is safe.
So, how can you avoid consuming this weed killer ingredient? A journal study published in JAMA Internal Medicine claims that eating organic food reduces the risk of developing cancer, so sticking to organic foods may be the only way to go.
From now on, if you are looking to indulge in some breakfast, you might want to read the label and decide if you are willing to ingest some glyphosate with your cereal.
It may be safe to do so, but it may pose some health risks that you are not willing to take.
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