FDA Found Glyphosate Pesticide in Honey

Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM

Care2.com

According to documents found during a Freedom of Information Act request made by the advocacy group U.S. Right to Know, the FDA has identified the herbicide glyphosate in honey. While there are no legally allowable limits of glyphosate in honey in the States, the FDA documents indicate that the amount found in honey was double the allowable amount in the European Union.

The researcher at Southeastern Regional Laboratory reported that Sue Bee Honey contained 41 parts per billion, Carmichael’s Honey contained 107 ppb and Leighton’s Orange Blossom Honey contained 22 ppb. While that amount may seem low, in reality there is no scientifically-proven safe amount of exposure to glyphosate, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a “probable carcinogen.”

The discovery of the herbicide in honey raises both health and environmental concerns. After all, it is likely spread by honeybees coming in contact with the toxin during their pollen collecting activities.

Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in the world, currently in use in 130 countries; however, the United States is by far the largest consumer and user of this product using 20 percent of the world’s Roundup, which is one of the main brands of glyphosate. The chemical has been linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and autism, infertility, miscarriages, birth defects, chronic kidney and liver diseases, diabetes, heart disease and hypothyroidism.

Additionally, the Organic Consumers Association reports that Monsanto’s own research shows that glyphosate exposure is linked to many forms of cancer in humans, including: cancers of the pituitary gland, brain, heart, lungs, salivary glands, lymphatic glands, prostate, bladder, thyroid, adrenal glands and skin.

The discovery of glyphosate in honey comes on the heels of another study conducted by the Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA)—an international organization that promotes sustainable health. That study revealed that 10 out of the 24 breakfast foods tested contained the toxic pesticide known as glyphosate.

Sadly, earlier research also found that this chemical is now found in 70 percent of drinking water.

Monsanto recently accepted Bayer AG’s $66 Billion cash takeover bid, resulting in the world’s largest seed and pesticide company. The companies continue to cite their efforts to “feed the world” as their primary motive in developing pesticides like glyphosate and genetically-modified seeds, but most experts disagree, including Dave Murphy, the executive director of Food Democracy Now!, who stated in an interview with EcoWatch: “Agricultural biotechnology has never been about ‘feeding the world,’ but enriching the bottom line of toxic chemical corporations that have had a long history of producing chemicals that are deadly to human populations and the environment.”

Perhaps it’s time for Monsanto and Bayer executives to stop attempting to dupe the public with their supposed altruistic claims to feed the world and start asking themselves why they wish to feed the world carcinogenic and GMO-tainted food that has been linked to so many serious health concerns.

Warner Baumann (CEO, Bayer) and Hugh Grant (CEO, Monanto): it’s time to grow a spine, not just your wallet, by showing some much-needed integrity. When glyphosate is found in so many foods, water and now being transported by honeybees into honey, there is no room for corporate greed at the expense of the health of the world’s populations, human and the many other creatures on the planet.

While I fault these disgusting profiteering corporations, I also blame the federal regulators. How rampant must the ecological and health damage be before you actually do your job of regulating toxic substances? Had you actually stuck with your decision to classify glyphosate as a carcinogen and disallow its use 30 years ago, we wouldn’t be dealing with this serious health and environmental crisis today.

Related:

EPA Classified Roundup as a Carcinogen 30 Years Ago…But Mysteriously Reversed its Decision
Monsanto’s Roundup Found in 70 Percent of Drinking Water
Common Breakfast Foods Contain the Carcinogen Glyphosate

Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM is an international best-selling and 20-time published book author whose works include: Be Your Own Herbalist: Essential Herbs for Health, Beauty & Cooking.