Desiccation — A Serious Contamination Concern
One of the reasons so many grains and legumes are heavily contamin- ated with glyphosate is because it’s being used as a desiccant right before harvest. A desiccant is a chemical that speeds up the ripening of the crop and dries it out, which facilitates harvesting and allows it to be harvested sooner than were the crop left to dry naturally.
Desiccation is also used to improve profits, as farmers are penalized when the grain contains moisture. The greater the moisture content of the grain at sale, the lower the price they get.
According to a 2017 study by University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers, “The herbicide Roundup is sprayed onto genetically modified crops and applied as a desiccant to most small nongenetically modified grains.”
So, whether we’re talking about Roundup Ready GE crops or conventional, non-GE grains, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, “is found in these crops at harvest.”
As for how it ends up in many organic products is anyone’s guess. Drift from nearby conventional and/or GE crop fields is one possibility. Contamination during processing is another. Outright fraud, where a nonorganic crop is sold as organic is also a possibility.
Maybe the reason so many people are “gluten” sensitive these days has more to do with glyphosate than it does with gluten? Buyer beware. Know where your food comes from & how it is grown. That’s what we do here at Soups On Main. Education is key. Together we can make Hackettstown a place of safe, GE & chemical free, healthy food!
