Pesticides in Beer & Wine at a Liquor Store Near Me

Glyphosate, the most popular herbicide in the world, was found through lab tests in some of the most popular beers and wines at a liquor store near me. The overuse of glyphosate is incredibly controversial now that it’s been tied to cancers and other health effects. Thanks to The CALPIRG Education Fund we now have lab results from recent tests of several of the most popular beers and wines. The results were a bit concerning, but it’s important for you to see in order to make an educated choice before you buy. You’ve trusted Mamavation to cover topics like safest oat cereals and granola, best and worst organic dairies, & safest cookware, now join us as we share with you the glyphosate levels in some of the most popular beers and wines. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. 

Glyphosate–What Is it AND Why Is it Dangerous

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp Weed Killer and the most popular herbicide in the world. This multi-billion dollar product was originally created by Monsanto, nominated as one of the most hated companies in the world alongside Exxon and Nestle. Glyphosate is not only sprayed on most “bioengineered” or GMO crops in the United States, but it’s also used heavily on conventional crops to kill weeds and again to force desiccation allowing for early harvesting. These uses make glyphosate incredibly ubiquitous and virtually impossible to avoid. In fact, chemical residues are routinely found in rainwater, food and water supplies, soil, air, breastmilk and urine samples. And it’s been proven the chemical can reside in the body of animals for up to one year or longer meaning it’s likely also ending up inside your food.

Glyphosate was originally patented as a chelator and an antibiotic, which means it has the ability to stop nutrient absorption and decimate delicate gut flora. These two simple facts explain why glyphosate is so damaging to the overall health of the body and has been linked to spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Glyphosate has also been deemed a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization and added to the Prop. 65 List of Carcinogens and reproductive toxins in California. In other words, this chemical is not something you want around your family or inside the food they eat. There’s lots of controversy on whether glyphosate is actually toxic though. The companies and partners profiting from the chemicals are very vocal about it being safe, however, independent scientists point to the clear conflict of interest present in the safety studies they rely on because most of them are internally funded.

Findings of the CALPIRG Education Fund Glyphosate Study

The CALPIRG Education Fund study on wine and beer turned up concerning results. Conventional beer and wine came up with higher glyphosate levels as organic as expected. Most organic brands came up with smaller detectable levels. The results are summarized below. 

• 19 out of 20 samples contained glyphosate residue
• Sutter Home Wine had the highest levels of glyphosate, 51 parts per billion (ppb)
• 3 out of 4 organic beers and wines contained glyphosate residue
• Samuel Smith Organic (3.5 ppb)  & Inkarri Estate Organic wine (5.2 ppb) contained glyphosate
• Larger brands like Coors, Tsingtao, & Miller Lite contained glyphosate at levels above 25 ppb. 
• Peak Organic Beer did not contain any detectable levels of glyphosate

Why is Glyphosate Showing Up in My Beer & Wine?

It’s a bummer when your favorite beer or wine have high levels of glyphosate present. But how is this happening? There are several reasons for this but one of them have to do with a controversial farming practice called “desiccation.” Desiccation is the “kill down” method where farmers spray the crop with glyphosate to dry it out and then harvest early. Because of the timing of the spraying, more glyphosate-residue shows up in the food.

Another reason why glyphosate is so ubiquitous is that it’s the most common herbicide in the world and very little is done to protect the surrounding communities from the health effects of glyphosate spraying. But this also means it’s likely to show up in fields that never sprayed by “drifting” and being blown by the wind. 

Would You Like to Test for Glyphosate Inside Your Body? Detox Project Tests Hair Samples Offering 120 Days Worth of Pesticide Data

• Glyphosate in Hair (1 Test) – $149.99
• Home Pesticides in Hair Test (1 Test) – $199.99
• Agriculture Pesticide in Hair Test (1 Test) – $199.99
• Agricultural Pesticide Plus Glyphosate Hair Test (1 Test) – $348.00
• Combined Pesticides (without glyphosate) Hair Test (1 Test) – $349.00
• Combined Pesticide Including Glyphosate Hair Test (1 Test) – $499.00

Glyphosate-Residue Free Certification

Mamavation supports the Detox Project as they certify brands for glyphosate residue at no detectable levels. Because the beer and wine industry have such widespread contamination, we are hoping that some of these brands decide to look into getting certified. Peak Organic IPA would be a good example of a brand that would qualify for certification. But here are other brands that have gone through certification and have no glyphosate residue in their products. 

• Megafood vitamins,
• Purium Biomedic spore-based probiotic. Redeem a coupon for $50 here. 
• Chosen Foods Avocado Oil,
• FoodStirs Brownie Mixes,
• Uncle Matts Organic Orange Juice, 
• Heavenly Organics Honey 

Glyphosate in Beer & Wine Results

20 products were tested in total: 5 wines and 15 beers. Glyphosate residue ranged from 51 parts per billion (ppb) to no detectable limit. 

Wines

Five popular wines were tested. Three were conventional and two were organic vineyards. The results are below. 

Sutter Home Merlot
U.S. vineyard (2018)
4 pack, 187 mL bottles
Glyphosate concentration: 51.4 ppb
Non-organic

Beringer Founders Estates Moscato
U.S. vineyard (2018)
750 mL bottles
Glyphosate concentration: 42.6 ppb
Non-organic

Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon
U.S. vineyard (2018)
4 pack, 187 mL bottles
Glyphosate concentration: 36.3 ppb
Non-organic

Inkarri Malbec: Certified Organic
Argentina (2016)
750 mL bottles
Glyphosate concentration: 5.3 ppb
Certified Organic

Frey Organic Natural White
U.S. (2017)
750 mL bottles
Glyphosate concentration: 4.8 ppb
USDA Certified Organic

Beer 

13 of the most popular beers and 2 ciders were tested for glyphosate. Only 2 of the beers were organic. The results are below.  

Coors Light
U.S. beer (2018)
6 pack, 500 mL can
Glyphosate concentration: 31.1 ppb
Non-organic

Tsingtao Beer
Chinese beer (2017)
4 pack, 640 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 49.7 ppb
Non-organic

Miller Lite
U.S. beer (2018)
6 pack, 375 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 29.8 ppb
Non-organic

Budweiser
U.S. beer (2018)
6 pack, 440 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 27.0 ppb
Non-organic

Corona Extra
Mexican beer (2017)
6 pack, 355 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 25.1 ppb
Non-organic

Heineken
The Netherlands beer (2018)
6 pack, 355 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 20.9 ppb
Non-organic

Guinness Draught
Ireland beer (U.S. bottler and distributor) (2018)
4 pack, 440 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 20.3 ppb
Non-organic

Stella Artois
Belgium beer (2017)
6 pack, 355 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 18.7 ppb
Non-organic

Stella Artois Cidre
Belgium cider (2018)
6 pack, 355 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 9.1 ppb
Non-organic

Ace Perry Hard Cider
U.S. cider (2018)
6 pack, 650 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 14.5 ppb
Non-organic

New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
U.S. beer (2018)
6 pack, 350 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 11.2 ppb
Non-organic

Sam Adams New England IPA
U.S. beer (2018)
4 pack, 475 mL can
Glyphosate concentration: 11.0 ppb
Non-organic

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
U.S. beer (2018)
6 pack, 350 mL can
Glyphosate concentration: 11.8 ppb
Non-organic

Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager
U.K. beer (2017)
singles, 550 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: 5.7 ppb
Organic

Peak Beer Organic IPA
U.S. beer (2018)
singles, 350 mL bottle
Glyphosate concentration: no-detected level
Organic, USDA-certified