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
ever think it’s the yeast in breads causing celiac disease upticks? Think about it, yeast converts starch to CO2. celiac disease is a problem in the intestine to absorb and digest nutrients, often leading to bloating and gas. Yeast is where I’d center my research efforts if anywhere.
I have a real problem with this article throwing all wheat farmers under the bus because of one person’s testimony. Glyphosate is an illegal dessicant to wheat in NC. Also, if glyphosate is used as a dessicant, the wheat farmer actually loses yield because this would reduce the test weight (volume) of the wheat being harvested. Also, farmers don’t have a problem with timely harvesting a wheat crop. If anything, farmers would rather let it dry naturally in the field so they can harvest it most effectively. Dessicating wheat would make harvest more complicated due to rainfall events. I found this article to be lacking in science when it had such a strong, negative connotation. Articles like this do a disservice to consumers who rely on farmers to feed them. Not all, but many farmers do a very good job of maintaining good agricultural practices to ensure a healthy food is shipped to the table.
Respectfully
Roy Thagard
field crops extension agent, NC
An articles such as this should show footnotes to actually see the studies. Can’t write this stuff without proof! Scientifically there should be studies to support the information.
The article is loaded with references. Please re-read. How about the latest FDA testing referenced that basically found glyphosate residue in everything with wheat as well as other foods?
The truth is that #Toxins only makes the problem much worse because the gluten in North America is too hard since it was hybridized and wears down the lining of the small intestine. The Gluten sensitivity usually comes first.
This ends up creating holes in the small intestine (making a longer story short), long before Celiac condition (not until then is where most Drs. will pay attention without linking this condition to other symptoms & just treat the symptoms individually without looking for the root cause), so the gut can’t do its job of getting rid of toxins, and the toxins go into the blood stream.
The gut can not deal with the over 20,000 + more chemicals allowed in North America since the 80’s (and there were plenty before that).
But stopping the chemicals is only the beginning – the soil needs to be cleaned up, leave alone the water, and air.
Getting rid of GMO’s is also important if we want our children to live longer than us. People cry about all the diseases, but they are a result of gluten and toxins in North America, but people have selective hearing, denial, and addictions (yes to gluten), and refuse to listen or take action. Any small action will become greater over time.
When consumers get serious about all the diseases taking the quality of life (& lives) of people they love, and quit buying the chemicals – the producers will quit making them (they will initally guise other toxins until they do not get away with that anymore, ex. BTA for BPA) – as it hits their bottom line $$$,$$$,$$$,$$$…
I am now suffering from what I’ve termed “culinary depression.” It began with concerns about farmed fish, diseased beef, contaminated processed vegetables and now, bad bread!!! This is truly a difficult thing to overcome. I can hardly motivate myself to go shopping, let alone stand in front of the stove and cook!
at age 57, about 3 years ago, I suddenly developed a major problem in my digestive tract. gluten is one of the problems. The doctors have not diagnosed what my problem is. Does this surprise me? With all the things that I have read about Monsanto, corn, soy beans, now wheat, and so many other food products surprise me? Not really. I wish that Monsanto would go out of business. This world would be a better place.
1. Drink beer [laced with lentils and peas], don’t eat wheat.
2. Gee, Monsanto is involved. Wonder how this got past the FDA? $$$$$$?
3. Roundup and ‘leaky gut syndrome’. It’s no wonder there has been a skyrocketing increase in allergies & health issues.
My grandfather was a farmer and his father before him. I don’t wanna talk down on farmers but I do believe this article is fatual. I have also heard Monsanto adds these chemicals to seeds. I have recently developed a gluten allergy that I suspected was related to the spraying of chemicals because I have an allergy to chemicals in most cleaning products. There are too many sudden allergies to wheat products to make me believe this practice isn’t being done and the frequency of it. I thank the farmers who don’t use this practice but I would hope you would open your eyes to the fact that money has become more important than the lives of somes peoples neighbor’s. This world is not the same world us older pwople gre up in. We are not all honest people with respectable morals and concern for our neighbors. I am not wanting to point figures or lay blame I just pray this stops I would truly love to see my grandchildren grow up healthy with healthy foods to consume that are not going to cause physical or mental health problems or kill them. Quite frankly I am sick to death of not being able to eat anything without having adverse reaction.
This information – as with so much information about wheat is bogus. Yes, industrial grade growers spray their fields to kill the grain – it’s called pre-harvest burndown. The reason is simple. industrial grade bakers don’t want wheat that has sprouted in the field – a risk if a late season storm comes along. Sprouting degrades gluten development which is why large scale bakers test to find out what percentage of the grain has sprouted either in the field or in the silo prior to milling (it’s known as a falling number). If the number is too low, bakers won’t buy the flour. Farmers fear this and so they spray because the easiest way to prevent the grain from sprouting is to kill the grain. Dead grain won’t germinate or sprout. As such, if you want to avoid glyphosate laden wheat, don’t eat industrial grade bread or wheat products. It’s really that simple. Look for organic and – better yet – look for sprouted. Sprouted grain breads verify the grain was never sprayed because grain does not sprout if it’s dead.
Snopes is not reliable at all. They are closely connected to people in the government on a personal level. That information is not hard to find. If a subject is sensitive to them they will not be truthful. Anything involving politics or any regulations controlled by the government involving food and drug administration will result in false information from Snopes! That’s a fact?
Wheat in UK is also sprayed with straw shortening chemicals. Not sure I want those chemicals either. Shorter plants mean less weather damage.