Health&Wellness Magazine May 2016 | Page 35

May 2016 & Detectable levels of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide glyphosate detected in oatmeal, bagels, coffee creamers and seven more products. FOOD BITES By Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer Biodegradable Algae Water Bottle Could Replace Plastic It can take nearly 1,000 years for a plastic water bottle to fully decompose. In the United States alone, about 50 billion plastic water bottles are used and discarded in a single year. Icelandic product designer Ari Jonsson has developed a water bottle made of algal, a product of algae, that is 100 percent natural and 100 percent biodegradable. The water bottle retains its shape when it is full and begins to decompose when it is not. The bottle was displayed at the Reykjavik Design Festival this March. Glyphosate Found in Common Breakfast Foods The Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA) released a report on April 19 showing an independent lab test found detectable levels of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide glyphosate in oatmeal, bagels, coffee creamers and seven more products. In total, 10 out of 24 breakfast food items showed levels of glyphosate, which is recognized by the WHO as a carcinogen. Even more disturbing, some of the highest levels of glyphosate were detected in organic food products such as eggs marketed as “organic, cage-free and antibioticfree” and also in bagels and bread. In the eggs, the glyphosate levels were higher than regulators allow. “Glyphosate has been linked to increases in levels of breast, thyroid, kidney, pancreatic, liver and bladder cancers and is being served for breakfast, lunch and dinner around the world,” said Gretchen DuBeau, executive and legal director of the ANH-USA. “We expected trace amounts would show up in foods containing large amounts of corn and soy. However, we were unprepared for just how invasive this poison has been to our entire food chain.” The ANH-USA, which also tested flour, corn flakes, instant oatmeal, yogurt and frozen hash browns, says the results indicate glyphosate is entering the food supply in ways the industry has claimed were not possible. “The fact that it is showing up in foods like eggs and coffee creamer, which don’t directly contact the herbicide, shows that it’s being passed on by animals who ingest it in their feed,” said DuBeau. “This is contrary to everything regulators and industry scientists have been telling the public.” First Criminal Charges for Flint Water Crisis Filed Against State and City Officials Two officials from Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality and a Flint water treatment plant supervisor will be arraigned soon. Charges include violations of the state’s drinking water law, official misconduct, destruction of utility property and evidence tampering. 35