Vegetarian, Vegan and Animal Rights

MH1

(18,120 posts) Sun Nov 16, 2014, 10:01 AM Nov 2014

Spraying wheat with RoundUp prior to harvest? Is this true?

The article here claims there is a common practice when harvesting non-organic wheat, to spray it with Round-up prior to harvest so that it withers and releases the seed more easily.

Does anyone here know if this article is remotely accurate? I generally buy organic for several things, but have not been religious about it when it comes to products containing wheat. If this article is true, that must change.

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/

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 1990′s 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.

...

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 use of Roundup in their community or through ingestion of its residues on industrialized food products become even more vulnerable to the damaging effects of other chemicals and environmental toxins they encounter! - See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/#sthash.wUzF7tyz.dpuf

This website is unfamiliar to me. Can anyone here give any insight into the accuracy of this claim, and/or the credibility of the website?

7 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Spraying wheat with RoundUp prior to harvest? Is this true? (Original Post) MH1 Nov 2014 OP

I found confirmation that they encourage spraying it on sorghum GreatGazoo Nov 2014 #1

Thanks. MH1 Nov 2014 #4

It is true sabbat hunter Nov 2014 #2

Thank you for your perspective. MH1 Nov 2014 #3

This might interest you... dixiegrrrrl Nov 2014 #6

Important to note about corn: dixiegrrrrl Nov 2014 #7

The author is trying to find a cause for a thing- "toxic wheat"- that hasn't been established. LeftyMom Nov 2014 #5

GreatGazoo

(3,954 posts)

1. I found confirmation that they encourage spraying it on sorghum

Reply to MH1 (Original post)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 10:09 AM

Nov 2014

within as little as 7 days from harvest:

http://www.aganytime.com/Sorghum/Pages/Article.aspx?article=155

MH1

(18,120 posts)

4. Thanks.

Reply to GreatGazoo (Reply #1)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 10:34 AM

Nov 2014

They say to allow at least 7 days between application and harvest.

I wonder how often growers violate that.

sabbat hunter

(6,888 posts)

2. It is true

Reply to MH1 (Original post)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 10:24 AM

Nov 2014

that it is used, but the rest of the story is false.

The article is based on shaky theories and makes false assumptions.

This particular product breaks down within24 hours of use and becomes inert and harmless.

Would I recommend drinking the stuff? Hell no. But is it safe to use on our wheat/barley. I would say yes.

The people behind this website believe that anything manmade is ohmygod bad and will kill you. Everything MUST be natural and from the earth otherwise it is bad.

This same website claims that GMO wheat is bad for you and is everywhere.

However that is patently false as there is no GMO wheat legal or used anywhere.

MH1

(18,120 posts)

3. Thank you for your perspective.

Reply to sabbat hunter (Reply #2)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 10:33 AM

Nov 2014

Now that I know that it is widely used I will probably avoid non-organic wheat.

I wouldn't bet my life that RoundUp is harmful but I also wouldn't bet my life that it isn't.

I probably won't go completely crazy and absolutely avoid anything containing wheat that I don't know is organic ... but now I have a reason to stay away from the non-organic pasta at least.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,011 posts)

6. This might interest you...

Reply to MH1 (Reply #3)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 01:06 PM

Nov 2014

GMO wheat is not planted in USA.
But some rice might be, esp. from overseas.

And...worse yet from my point of view:

In fact, GMOs are present in 60 to 70 percent of foods on US supermarket shelves, according to Bill Freese at the Center for Food Safety;
the vast majority of processed foods contain GMOs.
One major exception is fresh fruits and veggies.
The only GM produce you're likely to find is the Hawaiian papaya, a small amount of zucchini and squash, and some sweet corn.
No meat, fish, and poultry products approved for direct human consumption are bioengineered at this point,
though most of the feed for livestock and fish is derived from GM corn, alfalfa, and other biotech grains.
Only organic varieties of these animal products are guaranteed GMO-free feed.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/08/what-are-gmos-and-why-should-i-care

Note the "feed for fish" bit, they are referring to farmed salmon and catfish, which is NOT labeled in the stores.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,011 posts)

7. Important to note about corn:

Reply to MH1 (Reply #3)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 01:17 PM

Nov 2014

Corn on the cob: While 90 percent of corn grown in the United States is genetically modified, most of that crop is used for animal feed or ethanol and much of the rest ends up in processed foods.
Sweet corn—the stuff that you steam or grill on the barbecue and eat on the cob—was GMO-free until last year when Monsanto rolled out its first GE harvest of sweet corn.
While consumers successfully petitioned Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to not carry the variety, Walmart has begun stocking the shelves with it without any label.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/08/what-are-gmos-and-why-should-i-care

GMO is not necessarily a dirty word.
genetically modified is also known as hybrid, and we have been planting and growing "hybrid" plants for decades, esp. tomatoes, corn, potatoes,
and roses, which have been bred to be resistant to major disease problems.
My issue is GMO plants that have been bred to not die when tons of pesticides and Round Up are applied.
We get nutrients from plants which get them from the soil, and we have managed to kill a lot of good stuff in the soil by over use of chemicals to grow our food in. So the plant uptakes the chemicals and we eat that.
Theoretically, "organic" means plants have grown in "live" organic soil, not dead chemical soil.

LeftyMom

(49,212 posts)

5. The author is trying to find a cause for a thing- "toxic wheat"- that hasn't been established.

Reply to MH1 (Original post)

Sun Nov 16, 2014, 11:51 AM

Nov 2014

I'd be very careful of any argument that starts out with a huge unjustified assumption of that sort.

Reply to this discussion