The stories became far too frequent to ignore. Emails from folks with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy.
Confused parents wondering why wheat consumption sometimes triggered autoimmune reactions in their children but not at other times.
In my own home, I’ve long pondered why my husband can eat the wheat I prepare at home, but he experiences negative digestive effects eating even a single roll in a restaurant.
There is clearly something going on with wheat that is not well known by the general public. It goes far and beyond organic versus nonorganic, gluten or hybridization because even conventional wheat triggers no symptoms for some who eat wheat in other parts of the world.
What indeed is going on with wheat?
For quite some time, I secretly harbored the notion that wheat in the United States must, in fact, be genetically modified. GMO wheat secretly invading the North American food supply seemed the only thing that made sense and could account for the varied experiences I was hearing about.
I reasoned that it couldn’t be the gluten or wheat hybridization. Gluten and wheat hybrids have been consumed for thousands of years. It just didn’t make sense that this could be the reason for so many people suddenly having problems with wheat and gluten in general in the past 5-10 years.
Finally, the answer came over dinner a couple of months ago with a friend who was well versed in the wheat production process. I started researching the issue for myself, and was, quite frankly, horrified at what I discovered.
The good news is that the reason wheat has become so toxic in the United States is not that it is secretly GMO as I had feared (thank goodness!).
The bad news is that the problem lies with the manner in which wheat is grown and harvested by conventional wheat farmers.
You’re going to want to sit down for this one. I’ve had some folks burst into tears in horror when I passed along this information before.
Common wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields as the practice allows for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest.
Pre-harvest application of the herbicide Roundup or other herbicides containing the deadly active ingredient glyphosate to wheat and barley as a desiccant was suggested as early as 1980. It has since become routine over the past 15 years and is used as a drying agent 7-10 days before harvest within the conventional farming community.
According to Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT who has studied the issue in-depth and who I recently saw present on the subject at a nutritional conference in Indianapolis, desiccating non-organic wheat crops with glyphosate just before harvest came into vogue late in the 1990s with the result that most of the non-organic wheat in the United States is now contaminated with it. Seneff explains that when you expose wheat to a toxic chemical like glyphosate, it actually releases more seeds resulting in a slightly greater yield: “It ‘goes to seed’ as it dies. At its last gasp, it releases the seed” says Dr. Seneff.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 99% of durum wheat, 97% of spring wheat, and 61% of winter wheat have been treated with herbicides. This is an increase from 88% for durum wheat, 91% for spring wheat and 47% for winter wheat since 1998. Note that bulgur is commonly made from durum.
Here’s what wheat farmer Keith Lewis has to say about the practice:
I have been a wheat farmer for 50 yrs and one wheat production practice that is very common is applying the herbicide Roundup (glyposate) just prior to harvest. Roundup is licensed for preharvest weed control. Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup claims that application to plants at over 30% kernel moisture result in roundup uptake by the plant into the kernels. Farmers like this practice because Roundup kills the wheat plant allowing an earlier harvest.
A wheat field often ripens unevenly, thus applying Roundup preharvest evens up the greener parts of the field with the more mature. The result is on the less mature areas Roundup is translocated into the kernels and eventually harvested as such.
This practice is not licensed. Farmers mistakenly call it “desiccation.” Consumers eating products made from wheat flour are undoubtedly consuming minute amounts of Roundup. An interesting aside, malt barley which is made into beer is not acceptable in the marketplace if it has been sprayed with preharvest Roundup. Lentils and peas are not accepted in the market place if it was sprayed with preharvest roundup….. but wheat is ok.. This farming practice greatly concerns me and it should further concern consumers of wheat products.
Here’s what wheat farmer Seth Woodland of Woodland and Wheat in Idaho had to say about the practice of using herbicides for wheat dry down:
That practice is bad . I have fellow farmers around me that do it and it is sad. Lucky for you not all of us farm that way. Being the farmer and also the president of a business, we are proud to say that we do not use round up on our wheat ever!
This practice is not just widespread in the United States either. The Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom reports that the use of Roundup as a wheat desiccant results in glyphosate residues regularly showing up in bread samples. Other European countries are waking up to the danger, however. In the Netherlands, the use of Roundup is completely banned with France likely soon to follow.
Using Roundup on wheat crops throughout the entire growing season and even as a desiccant just prior to harvest may save the farmer money and increase profits, but it is devastating to the health of the consumer who ultimately consumes the glyphosate residue laden wheat kernels.
The chart below of skyrocketing applications of glyphosate to US wheat crops since 1990 and the incidence of celiac disease is from a December 2013 study published in the Journal Interdisciplinary Toxicology examining glyphosate pathways to autoimmune disease. Remember that wheat is not currently GMO or “Roundup Ready” meaning it is not resistant to its withering effects like GMO corn or GMO soy, so the application of glyphosate to wheat would actually kill it.
While the herbicide industry maintains that glyphosate is minimally toxic to humans, research published in the Journal Entropy strongly argues otherwise by shedding light on exactly how glyphosate disrupts mammalian physiology.
Authored by Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff of MIT, the paper investigates glyphosate’s inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, an overlooked component of lethal toxicity to mammals.
The currently accepted view is that ghyphosate is not harmful to humans or any mammals. This flawed view is so pervasive in the conventional farming community that Roundup salesmen have been known to foolishly drink it during presentations!
However, just because Roundup doesn’t kill you immediately doesn’t make it nontoxic. In fact, the active ingredient in Roundup lethally disrupts the all important shikimate pathway found in beneficial gut microbes which is responsible for the synthesis of critical amino acids.
Friendly gut bacteria, also called probiotics, play a critical role in human health. Gut bacteria aid digestion, prevent permeability of the gastrointestinal tract (which discourages the development of autoimmune disease), synthesize vitamins and provide the foundation for robust immunity. In essence:
Roundup significantly disrupts the functioning of beneficial bacteria in the gut and contributes to permeability of the intestinal wall and consequent expression of autoimmune disease symptoms.
In synergy with disruption of the biosynthesis of important amino acids via the shikimate pathway, glyphosate inhibits the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes produced by the gut microbiome. CYP enzymes are critical to human biology because they detoxify the multitude of foreign chemical compounds, xenobiotics, that we are exposed to in our modern environment today.
As a result, humans exposed to glyphosate through the use of Roundup in their community or through the ingestion of its residues on industrialized food products become even more vulnerable to the damaging effects of other chemicals and environmental toxins they encounter!
What’s worse is that the negative impact of glyphosate exposure is slow and insidious over months and years as inflammation gradually gains a foothold in the cellular systems of the body.
The consequences of this systemic inflammation are most of the diseases and conditions associated with the Western lifestyle:
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Depression
- Autism
- Infertility
- Cancer
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Alzheimer’s disease
- And the list goes on and on and on …
In a nutshell, Dr. Seneff’s study of Roundup’s ghastly glyphosate, which much of the wheat crop in the United States is doused with annually, uncovers the manner in which this lethal toxin harms the human body by decimating beneficial gut microbes with the tragic end result of disease, degeneration, and widespread suffering.
Got the picture yet?
Even if you think you have no trouble digesting wheat, it is still very wise to avoid conventional wheat as much as possible in your diet!
You Must Avoid Toxic Wheat No Matter What
The bottom line is that avoidance of conventional wheat in the United States is absolutely imperative even if you don’t currently have a gluten allergy or wheat sensitivity. This includes bypassing food products made with it such as the popular meat substitute seitan also called vital wheat gluten. The increase in the amount of glyphosate applied to wheat closely correlates with the rise of celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Dr. Seneff points out that the increases in these diseases are not just genetic in nature, but also have an environmental cause as not all patient symptoms are alleviated by eliminating gluten from the diet.
The effects of deadly glyphosate on your biology are so insidious that lack of symptoms today means literally nothing.
If you don’t have problems with wheat now, you will in the future if you keep eating conventionally produced, toxic wheat!
How to Eat Wheat Safely
Obviously, if you’ve already developed a sensitivity or allergy to wheat, you must avoid it. Period.
But, if you aren’t celiac or gluten sensitive and would like to consume this ancestral food safely, you can do what we do in our home. We source organic, naturally low in gluten, unhybridized Einkorn wheat for breadmaking, pancakes, cookies, etc. Please note that einkorn is not to be confused with the more general term farro, which includes emmer and spelt, which are both hybridized. You can learn more about the scientific research on the “good” gluten in einkorn in this article.
When we eat out or are purchasing food from the store, conventional wheat products are rejected without exception. This despite the fact that we have no gluten allergies whatsoever in our home – yet.
I am firmly convinced that if we did nothing, our entire family at some point would develop sensitivity to wheat or autoimmune disease in some form due to the toxic manner in which it is processed and the glyphosate residues that are contained in conventional wheat products.
What Are You Going to Do About Toxic Wheat?
How did you react to the news that US wheat farmers are using Roundup, not just to kill weeds, but to dry out the wheat plants to allow for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest and that such a practice causes absorption of toxic glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides, right into the wheat kernels themselves?
Did you feel outraged and violated as I did? How will you implement a conventional wheat-avoidance strategy going forward even if you haven’t yet developed a problem with gluten or wheat sensitivity?
What about other crops where Roundup is used as a pre-harvest desiccant such as barley, sugar cane, rice, seeds, dried beans and peas, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and sugar beets? Will you only be buying these crops in organic form from now on to avoid this modern, man-made scourge?
UPDATE: The Soil Association in July 2015 called for an immediate ban on the use of glyphosate for wheat ripening and desiccation purposes. The nonprofit reports that glyphosate residues are widely found in nonorganic wheat samples and the use of the herbicide on wheat crops has increased 400% in the past two decades.
Dr. Robin Mesnage of the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Kings College in London, revealed new data analysis showing Roundup, the most common brand of Glyphosate based herbicides, is 1,000 times more toxic than genotoxic glyphosate alone due to the inclusion of other toxic chemicals in its mix.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director said; “If Glyphosate ends up in bread it’s impossible for people to avoid it unless they are eating organic. On the other hand, farmers could easily choose not to use Glyphosate as a spray on wheat crops – just before they are harvested. This is why the Soil Association is calling for the immediate ending of the use of Glyphosate sprays on wheat destined for use in bread.”
References
Glyphosate now commonly found in human urine
Study: Glyphosate, Celiac and Gluten Intolerance
The Glyphosate, Celiac Disease Connection
Pre-harvest Application of Glyphosate to Wheat
Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases
Yield and quality of wheat seeds as a function of desiccation stages and herbicides
Wheat farmer weighs in on the use of Roundup as a wheat desiccant
More Information
Roundup: Quick Death for Weeds, Slow and Painful Death for You
Hybrid Wheat is Not the Same as GMO Wheat
The Dutch Ban Roundup, France and Brazil to Follow
How to Mix and Use Gluten Free Flour
Can Celiacs Eat Sourdough Bread?
The Dirty Little Secret About Gluten-Free
Do you know what commercial farms are doing in Canada? Are we in the same Monsanto soup as the U.S.? I’d like to know. I did receive a long email that our government considers most of these products safe…so I’m suspicious of our state of affairs as well.
Straight from the mouth of one who is involved in making the oil, I was told when I was photographing a canola field that Canola is sprayed with Round-Up to prevent weeds from sprouting after its harvest, in preparation for planting of winter wheat. This was an experimental field. I was aghast and asked about the contamination of the oil, and he was not worried, he said it would not affect the oil. I stopped buying Canola oil.
You’re smart for not buying the Canola oil anymore. It would be better to use on cars and garden equipment than to use in cooking, stick with coconut oil, olive oil and grass fed butter. Hydrogenated oils go through a multi-step industrial process where they become rancid at least 2 times and have to be freshened up with more chemicals.
It was interesting and disturbing to learn of this practice. I have watched agriculture become more industrialised and food less nutritious throughout my life though, so it wasn’t that surprising.
What i’d like to know is if it is Glyphosate that is causing much of the wheat intolerance, how come avoiding gluten often alleviates the symptoms?
I avoid gluten by avoiding wheat – it solves both problems. The only grains I will now eat are oats and rice, but I’m not too sure about them now……………
I have wheat for sale that has not need treated with Round-Up to knock it down for harvest. You will get a letter from me that garentees the wheat was not sprayed with Round-Up for harvest as well as a picture of wheat in the field. Please Email for details. $50 per bushel plus postage and handling.
Based on the comments in the article, it seems to be that in some regions (esp. in Canada) this practice is common and in others it’s not. So, in any particular wheat-based product we buy, we don’t know if we’re ingesting glyphsosate. Perhaps we need labels for foods to show if any glyphosate residues is detected in them.
Exactly. We have no idea.
Pr. Seralini issued a very serious study on Roundup, showing that in fact it is not the glyphosate, but the mixture of glyphosate and additives present in Roundup that are most toxic. Why is it relevant ? Because Monsanto made biased tests only on glyphosate, as it was presented as the only active molecule.
For more info : http://www.gmoseralini.org/en/
There is a need to study all crops. I recently found out that in north India some Potato growers did weedicide spray on Basmati for early maturing. the net result was shrinking of seeds etc. It is an alarming situation, lot of vegetables are drenched in chemicals before taking to market. This is an Indian farming situation.
I am a 4th generqtion farmer/rancher and we have NEVER used this type of practice on any of our wheat EVER !!!!! IM sorry some of the farmers are using more chemicals to expidite their harvest time but I will nor will my kids or grandkids ever use a chemical of this intensity so close to harvest , and that’s a promise, it really saddens me that this Is happening . come on farmer people, we don’t need to do this at all, let the plant mature and ripen on its own. granted I know you bigger wheat farmers need to get your crops in the bin or to the local elevator before the hailstorms come so I know where you are coming from but at what price are we infusing on the public for this hurry up methoud.? I for one will not be practicing this form of rapid ripening…..ever
Jim,
You reply was a response I was looking for.
What farmer would knowingly seek to produce a crop that harms the very people he is serving? Do other farmers have a gun at their head? Is Boko Haram holding their family hostage?
The logic of attempting to save wear and tear on equipment is lost on me when real money must be spent on poison.
I can understand a farmer buying into Monsanto’s sales pitch once or twice.
Even Monsanto must recognize poisoning crops and food is death for them as well?
Or … Is there something more sinister afoot?
Where are you located. I would love to buy the wheat from you for our family. I am a foster mom with 6 kids. One had leuchemis, another with seisures of unknown source, another with adhd, another with morbid obesity. I now have developed a gluten sensitivity. We are not rich and the product advertised is cost prohibative. Thankyou. Michele.
Does your good wheat get sold to the same market and mixed in with the bad?
Jim, that’s great to hear. I think the conversation should steer away from faulting farmers. Probably ignorance in most cases – they don’t know or don’t believe it makes any difference. I think most are growing food according to their personal beliefs in the best way they know how. If they have been misled & were sold practices that are unhealthy, we need to go higher up to address concerns. And work together, farmers & consumers, to protect our food.
The farmers are at fault .. for trusting Monsanto and being more interested in their survival than the health and well being of those eating their food. They sow the seeds of their own destruction as a generation of Americans are coming up that can’t eat their products. Their dishonest food will cause their own bankruptcy.
thank you for your ethical farming practices!
As an individual that has had stomach and digestive problems for 15 years, I call BS. I go to Europe, and can eat anything they serve. I come back and touch pasta, bread, anything with wheat in it and my stomach is on fire. I used to think it was a different type of wheat, but it isn’t . They use al the same seeds we do. They do NOT use Roundup hardly at all. American farmers have been begging Monsanto and the banks to let them stop using this, as it eats into their profits and they feel, will make them targets for lawsuits later when this all comes out in the public.
There is definitely something different from the wheat we consume in North America. I went to Cuba for 2 weeks, ate breads and cereals, my inflammation went down, I noticed less swelling and stiffness in my joints. My doctor was astounded with my bloodwork, I had never had such a low reading for inflammation. After eating wheat here in Canada my inflammatory markers skyrocketed, I put on weight, and I was not eating anymore than what I had been in Cuba. So what is going on. I know my husband, who works for the Canadian Grain Commission, says that our grains are safe, that we are not using roundup prior to harvest. But there is something very wrong with this picture.
I went to Greece this summer and ate wheat there and had no problem at all! Years a go, a blood test showed I had antibodies to gluten of US based crops. If I eat wheat in the U.S., I have problems. This is a real eye-opener about Glyphosate. Effectively, I had “leaky gut syndrome” and 15 years ago I got off gluten all together, and over a year later my gut was healed, and by the way, my immune system became much better as a
DIRECT RESULT OF GETTING OFF GLUTEN (and glyphosate, apparently) from US based crops. You know, it really is a test of patience to read from some scientists/geneticists that if there is “no” solid evidence to show against Monsanto, then therefore there is no case. That is just being “bought” into the system. No hard evidence, in your opinion, does not prove negative effects of Glyphosate do not exist (ie, lack of evidence is not evidence of lack). At least we can agree more research can be performed, but, with so many health issues with GI tract-related disorders, one HAS TO ACCEPT that there are problems with U.S. crops (again, I am yet another person who has experienced the difference in health from U.S.-based gluten crops and those from Europe. I have no issues with European wheat!) Another thing is organic farming DOES produce good yields, and there are natural ways to keep off many insects. I therefore make a rebuttal to Grace, that the “way to go” can, and should be organic farming predominantly. For further education on soil maintenance and organic farming, check out this link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/10/04/symphony-soil.aspx
You should read the research paper in question, there were no studies actually conducted that linked most of the diseases it claims. It is a theoretic paper without any actual data to support most of it’s claims period, the liver and stomach are two different organs and since no one had tested the effects on the human stomach these two theorists could only make assumptions because as you read you’ll notice they borrowed data from other studies. I cannot say for certain that they are wrong anymore than I could tell you what is on the other side of a worm hole but only a moron would take a theory paper based on bad science for fact. Still I am glad that there are farmers out there like yourself who try to keep their crops as organic as possible because their is simply no way to know the long term effects of these chemicals on the human body. Most of our health problems are based on our life styles, gymnasium is a 3000 year old word meaning even our ancestors knew that you need to exercise regularly to stay healthy, even the ancient Greeks noticed a decline in height and health when their populations became primarily city based.
Thank you, Farmer Price! Blessings on your legacy of wisdom!
Thank you for saying this. Hope every farmer is like you, having concern for the population in general
Similar to Jim I am a 5th Generation farmer/rancher. My family has specialized in wheat production on the plains of Kansas for decades. I wish you would find your information from factual sources. The current wheat varieties that are being used have been developed by Land Grant Universities such as Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University. These varieties take a typical 15 years to develop after different breeding techniques. There currently is not a production method used to create a profitable GMO wheat due to different constraints. Something I would like to mention is that this is titled as a home economist. As someone with an actual degree in Agriculture Economics I feel you do not look at your data from a non biased view point. If consumers are actually interested in what happens or how wheat is raised I would suggest going to your local extension office which is normally sponsored by the land grant university in your state.
Hi Nick,
Can you comment on why wheat in the US causes digestive problems for me but wheat overseas does not? Also, please comment on why beer does not cause me digestive problems. Say what you may Nick, but my digestive problems or lack of, based on where I eat wheat, has a profound effect on my opinion.
Thank you Jim. I wish there were more like you. From someone who now has to avoid all Gluten when I could eat it with now problems 20 years ago.
Trouble is, Jim, that unfortunately, once at the mill, your wheat (clean) and someone else’s (dirty) get all mixed up together, so it makes no odds. It’s a contaminated batch.