Sure, I'm Being Poisoned, But My Grass Looks Great!

HT: Nick

OR A CHILD, FOR THAT MATTER?

How Long Does …

Kurt Vonnegut once opined before his death that humankind would, like yeast, die in “our own  shit.”  Kurt took a longer view of the likelihood; but that was well before the advent of GMO’s, Monsanto’s stranglehold on the world’s thoughtless backyard gardeners and collective farmers, and the dangers of a Trump EPA.  

Back in March of 2017, I posted a piece about the insidious and pervasive accumulation of the cancerous causing ingredients in Monsanto’s Roundup, namely glyphosate.  As of today, we have a report indicating that the eventually lethal and destructive element has entered the food chain of especially vulnerable children sitting at the morning breakfast table and having a “good” breakfast before going off to school.  Old guys like me are no longer developing.  My myelin sheaths are as hard and callous as armor on an sinful Arthurian knight.  But a child? Porous membranes and sweetly awaiting whatever you’d like to introduce to its nervous system.  

Alexis Temkin, a Ph.D. toxicologist with the Environmental Working Group, has written today, “Popular oat cereals, oatmeal, granola and snack bars come with a hefty dose of the weed-killing poison in Roundup, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by EWG.

"You kids can play in a few minutes."

“Glyphosate, an herbicide linked to cancer by California state scientists and the World Health Organization, was found in all but two of 45 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. Almost three-fourths of those samples had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. About one-third of 16 samples made with organically grown oats also had glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG’s health benchmark.

“Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the Monsanto weed killer that is the most heavily used pesticide in the U.S. Last week, a California jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a man dying of cancer, which he says was caused by his repeated exposure to large quantities of Roundup and other glyphosate-based weed killers while working as a school groundskeeper.”

Like the many suits that followed the first win against the smoking industries that tried to parry all thrusts by sickened people with the argument that no conclusive evidence was ever found in scientific research, of which they had furnished and paid for – there will be more suits coming against Monsanto and its German parent company Bayer.  

The finding indicated greater numbers of the chemical found in oat-based foods, from energy bars to our old Quaker familiar and friendly face. 

18.9 billion pounds used in the world since 1974

“Each year, more than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are sprayed on American crops, primarily on “Roundup-ready” corn and soybeans genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide. But when it comes to the food we eat, the highest glyphosate levels are not found in products made with GMO corn.

“Increasingly, glyphosate is also sprayed just before harvest on wheat, barley, oats and beans that are not genetically engineered. Glyphosate kills the crop, drying it out so that it can be harvested sooner than if the plant were allowed to die naturally.”

Letting little ones play with Cheerios may not be the best idea anymore.

Meanwhile, like those emboldened by so many broken rules and regulations given the White House and its new swamp of characters: “There were good people on both sides.”  The companies who are under scrutiny with this new revelation of glyphosate in our foods and especially our children’s are simply reminding us that they have done nothing wrong; in fact, they are under the levels of recommended by the current EPA.  

“The Environmental Working Group is disappointed that General Mills and the Quaker Oats Company have brushed aside consumer health concerns raised by new research that found the cancer-causing weed killer glyphosate in Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, Quaker Dinosaur Egg Instant Oatmeal and Cheerios.  

“The companies claim that the levels of glyphosate remain within the regulatory levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Below is a statement from EWG President Ken Cook:

“We are deeply disappointed by the tone-deaf response of General Mills and the Quaker Oats Company to the news that EWG research has found a toxic weed killer in their products at levels of concern to human health—especially the health of kids.

“Simply stated, there is far too much glyphosate in their products for parents to feel comfortable feeding them to their kids.

“It is especially disappointing because these two multi-billion dollar companies can take the simple step of telling their oat farmers to stop using glyphosate as a harvest-time desiccant on their crops. That simple step will reduce or eliminate the contamination and ensure the safety of American families that consume their products. The oat products we tested from a number of other companies had glyphosate levels well below our children’s health-protective benchmark, so it is possible to produce and sell foods that do not contain unsafe levels of glyphosate.

“General Mills and Quaker Oats are relying on outdated safety standards used by a government agency that is notorious for neglecting new science on chemicals.  Our view is that the government standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency pose real health risks to Americans – particularly children, who are more sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals than adults.”

I’ve just written my exhausted Senators and Representative who are currently knee deep in Supreme Court, the wall, the separation of children, the Russian intervention, etc.  I begin with Kurt’s observation in less profane concepts, but one urging immediate investigation.

You should too.