And that "Non-GMO Project" project sticker won't save you, because some boxes of Kashi GoLean Original cereal may have been "verified" by that piece of paper also, yet the food still had glyphosate, according to an analysis by another activist group.
Of course, GMOs and pesticides are different, though you wouldn't know it by listening to Union of Concerned Scientists or Natural Resources Defense Council or the other anti-science groups using them interchangeably, so technically having a synthetic pesticide means it can still be non-GMO. It just sounds as disingenuous as when Organic Yogurt Guru Gary Hirschberg had to invoke "We’re complying with FDA laws" when asked about the ingredients in his "natural" flavored yogurt.
A lab hired by the GMO Free USA group says there was glyphosate residue and an even higher level of AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), a metabolite of glyphosate, on the cereal they tested.
Should people who trust that Non-GMO label or Organic or whatever be worried? It depends on if you understand toxicology. In March, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) committee declared glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic" to humans, though in fairness to science the IARC committee says that about everything. And the caffeine in the coffee you have with breakfast is 18X as toxic as glyphosate.
These tests are always a little fishy because, well, they are fishing expeditions. A group of moms commissioned a study to find pesticides in breast milk and, presto, a crappy lab said they found just that - it turned out to be complete nonsense but not before NRDC, Environmental Working Group, and all the rest sent out fundraising letters saying that only people making them richer could prevent a chemical holocaust in babies.
Credit: 'Evidence that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is not present in human milk', Michelle K McGuire, Kimberly Lackey, Janae Carrothers, Bahman Shafii, William Price, and Mark A McGuire at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
In this Kashi GoLean case, the tested level the lab found in the cereal was six times higher than in non-organic Fruit Loops. Whether you conclude that pesticides are everywhere and that we can detect them because tests are fantastic now, or that organic stickers are worthless pretty much tells me which party you will vote for next November. GMO Free USA, which obviously competes with other anti-GMO groups, has chimed in to agree the stickers are a sham. “During our July tour with Neil Young to educate concertgoers about GMOs..." they began.
...okay, you can stop right there, they think crappy musician Neil Young is a source of science.
But we'll let Luan Van Le, GMO Free USA’s Communications Director, finish the thought: ..."we were shocked to see unverified and Non-GMO Project verified boxes of Kashi GoLean Original mixed together on the same display at a Brockton, Massachusetts Stop&Shop grocery store."
Well, what difference would that make? It doesn't, it is like a bad movie where a bunch of vignettes are just thrown together and we are supposed to pretend they have a common framework. People are going to accidentally buy a box without a sticker and get a pesticide? Its hard to even know what they are concerned about. (Edit: Even Kelloggs is unsure what to be concerned about. Their communications group wrote to clarify that the box tested was not Non-GMO Verified, which means they seem to be worried about the label being harmed than the implication that their cereal is full of pesticides.)
I don't particularly want to defend Monsanto, but with modern testing, if I try hard enough, I can find a residue of almost anything, and sticking an artificial metric like "6X Fruit Loops" next to it is pointless, since one molecule per 5 acres is not making a difference any more than one molecule per 30 acres is, unless you are a homeopath.
Or apparently a Yoga Guru, as GMO Free USA's Jeff Richmond, M.D. is. See him endorse Transformative Life Skills Yoga as the cure for crime here:
Did you put your arms over your head and breathe when he told you to? If so, you should probably buy Non-GMO Project cereal.
Ritterman isn't just an expert on yoga, he has just as much credibility in chemistry and biology. “Monsanto’s Roundup, the trade name for the herbicide glyphosate, causes birth defects and cancer and probably triggers a host of chronic diseases. Allowing glyphosate to be present in our food should be a criminal offense. It is basically mass poisoning of the population including our children,” he said.
Birth defects? Cancer? Are we supposed to take medical advice from this guy when all of it will be "eat organic food"? Especially when his group just told us that the stickers are meaningless?
Comments