In February, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) released a report documenting concentrations of glyphosate in wheat and maize that exceeded default maximum residue limits. ACB also found traces of the herbicide in bread and baby cereal.
“Finding glyphosate in baby cereal was very disturbing. Babies are the most vulnerable. It shouldn’t be there. We know that glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor, so if young babies are being fed this every day, that is highly problematic. It can affect their physical health and development,” Zakiyya Ismail, research coordinator at ACB, said in a phone call with Mongabay.
Following its discovery, ACB formally requested that South Africa’s agriculture ministry deregister and ban glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). So far, the request has not been acted upon.
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup and other widely used herbicides, is South Africa’s most-used herbicide and is commonly applied to Roundup Ready genetically modified crops.
“Glyphosate is not approved for use on wheat here in South Africa, yet we found it in wheat flour and in baby cereals made from wheat. Why?” Ismail asked before adding that ACB is looking for answers.
Mongabay contacted both Bayer and South Africa’s Department of Agriculture for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Glyphosate works by blocking a plant’s ability to produce certain amino acids, which prevents them from growing. However, glyphosate can also enter the human body through food, contact with contaminated surfaces or inhalation. Research has linked GBHs to a wide range of human health concerns, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, with the World Health Organization, found that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. Bayer, the current maker of Roundup, is facing class-action lawsuits in the United States and Canada alleging that exposure to the chemical can cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The U.S. case just got the greenlight for a $7.25 billion settlement for some 65,000 claims against the company.
In February, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at boosting glyphosate production, a development ACB says it hopes to avoid in South Africa.
“When glyphosate is used, the nutritional profile of plants declines. They contain lower levels of micronutrients such as manganese, zinc and magnesium. We already have a stressed population here, where food security is fragile,” Ismail said.
In South Africa, the right to sufficient food and water is enshrined in the Constitution, yet an estimated 15-16 million people are food insecure. Still, Ismail says glyphosate is not the answer. “We should keep glyphosate off our plates to be safe.”
Banner image: A family eating bread and cereal, they type of products found to contain glyphosate in South Africa. Image courtesy of Katrin Bolovtsova via Pexels.
Credits
