What’s this Roundup chemical doing in non-GMO ice cream?

Anyone up for a scoop of Roundup-ready ice cream?

That’s what a whole bunch of Ben & Jerry’s flavors are being called after traces of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, were detected in them.

It might seem strange to find glyphosate, the weed killer linked to cancer that’s liberally sprayed on genetically-modified crops, in this brand that prides itself on being “green” and slaps “Non-GMO” labels on its flavors.

But this goes to show how glyphosate has permeated most everything we eat, making it doubly important to have as much organic food in your life as possible — even if that means giving up your Phish Food.

Because as previous research has found, very low doses of this toxin — the same amount that was detected in a child’s portion of one of those Ben & Jerry flavors — is enough to cause serious liver damage in lab animals.

It isn’t just a weed killer anymore
Despite Ben & Jerry’s “commitment” to using non-GMO ingredients, even this hippie brand isn’t immune from being contaminated with glyphosate.

The Organic Consumers Association (which had the testing done) and Ben & Jerry’s “global director of social mission” told the New York Times that the glyphosate most likely came from the “add-ins” that go in the ice cream, such as peanut butter or cookie dough.

And how those ingredients got contaminated in the first place is probably due to the dirty little glyphosate secret eAlert readers were told about last year.

With Monsanto’s encouragement, farmers everywhere are using the herbicide on lots of non-GMO (but not organic) crops, such as peanuts and wheat after harvest, to dry them out. And so much of the chemical is used this way that experts believe it may account for over 50 percent of our dietary exposure to it!

Well, maybe it’s time for each of us to start acting as our own “global director” — but, in this case, one in charge of safer eating.

If you need to review some findings about glyphosate to make sure it’s worth all the trouble to dodge, just take a look below:

• Glyphosate has been found to mess with the bacteria in our GI tract, which can cause the depletion of essential amino acids.
• The weed killer has been linked to kidney and liver damage — and, as I just mentioned, laboratory studies have found that all it took was a tiny amount of the chemical to cause fat deposits to form in the livers of mice. Those developed in only three months!
• Researchers believe glyphosate can contribute to conditions ranging from bowel diseases to autism, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
• Two years ago, the World Health Organization listed glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen.”

Any other substance with such a long rap sheet would probably be off the market by now.

But Roundup, and every other brand weed killer that contains glyphosate, has the backing of the all-powerful biotech industry. And believe me, the FDA isn’t about to rock that boat.

Unless FDA officials have a magic ball, there’s no way they can truthfully say that we don’t have to worry about residues of it being in our food, as the agency up to now hasn’t even bothered testing for glyphosate residues (even while various independent organizations have). In fact, as you read this, the FDA is only just now conducting tests on conventional corn, soy, eggs, and milk to look for residues of the chemical.

Maybe they should get some samples of Ben & Jerry’s too!

Look — we can no longer stand by and wait for the FDA to jump in and protect us from this toxin. The time to buy organic as often as possible is here and now. It’s no longer a luxury, but a choice on which your health and that of your loved ones may depend.

And when you buy conventional, non-organic food, make sure to never purchase any product that contains the big three GMO crops — corn, soy, and canola — unless that product is labeled as being certified GMO-free.

Because waiting for the FDA to do something here will be like waiting for the cows to come home.

“Traces of controversial herbicide are found in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream” Stephanie Strom, July 25, 2017, The New York Times, nytimes.com