Does Testing Food & Hair for Pesticides Sound Like Fun to You? Then There’s a Home Kit For That

Home pesticide testing is here! That’s important because they just found high levels of glyphosate in some of the most common kid cereals, breast milk, & infant formula. And when it comes to glyphosate, an herbicide that has been found to be dangerous even at “safe” levels, it’s important to ensure that your family is not digesting a ton of this stuff. Everyone is talking about glyphosate because it’s not only the most popular herbicide on the globe, sprayed on over 200 different crops, but it’s also deemed a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization. With profits over $4 billion per year, there’s a lot invested in keeping people eating food with glyphosate residue on it. But what if you could find out if the food your family eats is contaminated or not? And what about if you wanted to test yourself to see how much pesticides you have been exposed to in the last four months? Well, now there is a test for that! The same organization that brought you the revolutionary Glyphosate Residue-Free certification for food products is now offering a home kit where you can test the food yourself, right in your own kitchen, and share the results with all your friends on social media! And they have another kit you can purchase to submit a strand of hair to a lab in France to be analyzed telling you how much pesticides you have been exposed to in the last 120 days. You’ve trusted Mamavation to cover topics like glyphosate in oat cereal, asbestos in crayons and toxins in tampons, now join us as we show you these special kits you can purchase to protect your family at home. No lab needed!

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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.

Another glaring issue is that when glyphosate was approved as a pesticide, only the active ingredient was analyzed. They never presented information about the formulation with the additional chemicals that were used. Some of the latest independent science coming out of Europe is pointing to the formulation, including the adjuncts, dyes and surfactants make the product incredibly toxic to both animals, humans and the planet.

It seems the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) isn’t always up to date on current studies and product formulations either. In 2015, the EPA was poised to issue another favorable risk assessment of glyphosate until the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported that there was enough peer-reviewed, published research to classify glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Suddenly, the EPA was interested in the current details.

In an effort to resolve questions about the potential toxicity of glyphosate, glyphosate formulations, and any co-formulants (inert ingredients and surfactants), EPA was interested in any data or information Monsanto may have on how the formulations may differ from data on the active ingredient and surfactants independently of one another. The notes go on to ask for information about changes in Monsanto’s Roundup formulation “over the years.”

While this is a step in the right direction, we deserve so much more. We deserve real oversight, independent safety studies, and bans on toxic chemicals like glyphosate.

Monsanto Just Lost Court Case Settlement for $289 MILLION for Having Prior Knowledge of Dangers

This year, a groundskeeper from Northern California won a $289 MILLION settlement against Monsanto for causing his non-Hogdkins lymphoma. Dewayne Johnson used RoundUp weed killer 20-30 times per year during his employment as a pest manager for a county school system, and is now terminally ill at 46 years old. Mr. Johnson’s attorney also represents another 2,000 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma sufferers who used Roundup extensively.

When Monsanto was on trial this year, secret documents were exposed that shed a light on how they were able to get away with selling a product that is dangerous to public health and the environment. This sums up what they were caught doing.

1. Monsanto ghostwrote several publications submitted by “independent” scientists
2. Monsanto violated standards of the peer review process
3. Monsanto censored studies reaching the conclusion that glyphosate had adverse health effects
4. Monsanto placed a paid consultant with an obvious conflict of interest in the role as editor of a journal publishing research on glyphosate. This editor later retracted a study published in the journal that glyphosate was a plausible human carcinogen.
5. Monsanto organized a campaign to criticize the World Health Organization in anticipation of a general carcinogen causation classification.
6. Monsanto was guilty of harassing independent scientists involved in research of glyphosate
7. Monsanto ghostwrote articles submitted by “independent scientists” criticizing the World Health Organization
8. Monsanto was involved in tons of studies published in scientific journals and their involvement was never disclosed. This points to the fact they have been able to populate scientific discourse with favorable coverage.
9. Monsanto had several consultants on the payroll on an official panel supposedly “independent” critiquing the World Health Organization
10. Monsanto lead studies that found that glyphosate was a carcinogen and never submitted them to the Environmental Protection Agency
11. Monsanto used a laboratory that was later shut down for fraud. However, the EPA never forced Monsanto to repeat the studies done at that laboratory.
12. Monsanto’s own experts confirmed that glyphosate was a probable carcinogen inside internal documents and emails and voiced concern that was ignored
13. Monsanto was aware of the toxicity of glyphosate and continued to sell it without warning the public
14. Monsanto coached witnesses to testify that glyphosate was not toxic
15. Monsanto admits that the surfactants used in the formulation would cause the body to take in more of the chemical and could cause a toxic effect which was not stated to the EPA when evaluated by regulatory agencies
16. Monsanto admits to using political influence to overcome regulatory hurdles
17. Monsanto was colluding behind the scenes with the Environmental Protection Agency, reminding us all of the “revolving door” between the governmental agencies and the chemical industry

Monsanto maintains their innocence and states that their pesticide products are safe as proven by 800 safety studies. Monsanto will appeal the verdict. Interestingly, lead Monsanto toxicologist Donna Farmer seems to inadvertently indict the company while making a statement trying to distinguish glyphosate from RoundUp,

The terms glyphosate and RoundUp cannot be used interchangeably, nor can you use RoundUp for all glyphosate-based herbicides anymore. For example, you cannot say that RoundUp is not a carcinogen…we have not done the necessary testing on the formulation to make a statement.

The trial jury also observed “clear and convincing evidence” that Monsanto’s officials acted with “malice or oppression” in failing to adequately warn of the risks. Not only that, but internal emails obtained the US Right to Know organization revealed that the Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly found a “fair amount” of glyphosate over two years of food testing, but has failed to release its findings. That means Monsanto likely knew the negative risks of human exposure and acted to purposefully suppress them from the public, and the FDA was fully aware of glyphosate residue contamination in our food supply.

Detox Project Launches Pesticide Home Testing Kids for Glyphosate & Other Pesticides

The Detox Project is working alongside Pennsylvania-based Abraxis, Inc to provide the global public with a uniquely developed and packaged home test kit for glyphosate: The GlyphoCheck™ Home Test for Glyphosate in Food and Water. Built on the same immunoassay lateral flow device test kits that laboratories and governmental agencies have used for glyphosate analysis, a simplified test kit for analyzing foods and water in your home for the presence of glyphosate is now available. You don’t need a science degree to get lab test results, you can do it right in your kitchen!

Validated foods for testing with the GlyphoCheck Home Test Kit, include:

• Water
• Beer
• Honey
• Cereals/Infant Cereals
• Whole Oats
• Wheat
• Corn
• Soybeans

• Glyphosate Home Use Test Kit (2 Tests) – $79.99
• Glyphosate Home Use Test Kit (5 Tests) – $199.99

If you end up purchasing one of these tests, please let us know in the comments what the results were.

Detox Project Also Has Released Hair Testing With 120 Days Worth of Pesticide Data

Click Here to Learn More and Order a Test

If you decide to purchase one of these tests please come back here and leave a comment about what you found out. The more information we share, the more likely the food industry will start to rethink their food supply and clean it up for everyone’s benefit!

And if you’d like more information about how to detoxify your home from toxins and hormone-disrupting chemicals pick up a copy of Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier (All Without Driving Your Family Crazy!). Mamavation is also a community of like-minded people, so join us on Facebook for support from other women who are just like you. And for FREE updates, tips & tricks, product investigations and news, sign up for the Mamavation newsletter here.