Your favorite breakfast cereal may come with a free dose of Roundup


Hot on the heels of a California man being awarded $289 million for his claim that Roundup gave him cancer — the ingredient has been found in many popular children’s breakfast cereals. Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Quaker Old Fashioned Oats are all included in the cereals containing the ingredient.

The Environmental Working Group, an American environmental organization that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of toxic chemicals, agricultural subsidies, public lands, and corporate accountability, conducted the lab tests that found the substance.

Roundup is the brand name for the chemical glyphosate. The ingredient has labeled as a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization in 2015.

EWG’s tests revealed that Roundup was found in all but two of 45 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. Almost three-fourths of those samples had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. About one-third of 16 samples made with organically grown oats also had glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG’s health benchmark.

The producers of the cereals in question have dismissed the claims as irrelevant, noting that that the levels of Roundup fall in line with US government safety guidelines.

Directly from Monsanto’s website is the following quote:

Even at the highest level reported by the EWG (1,300 ppb), an adult would have to eat 118 pounds of the food item every day for the rest of their life to reach the EPA’s limit. Of course, nobody eats close to that much food! Using oatmeal as an example, 118 pounds would equal 228 servings or 3,658 percent of the daily recommended intake of fiber. These numbers translate to 9 ½ servings every hour without sleep for a person’s entire life.

Let us know in the comments. Do you want Roundup in your food?