What Is Glyphosate And Why Should I Avoid It?

In Episode 35 of Lifelong Podcast I sat down with Kelly Ryerson, aka Glyphosate Girl to get the facts about harmful glyphosate. I will take a moment to explain to you all what exactly glyphosate is, but for a more in-depth explanation plus Kelly’s incredible story, give the episode a listen.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, used as a weed killer. It was initially discovered as a boiler cleaner due to its excellent ability to bind minerals together. However, it was later found to have powerful herbicide properties, and Monsanto patented it as a weed killer, releasing the Roundup product in 1976. Farmers were excited about glyphosate because it was considered to be much less toxic than other alternatives. In 1996, Monsanto developed genetically modified crops called Roundup Ready GMOs, which were specifically designed to be resistant to the effects of Roundup, allowing farmers to spray their fields with Roundup and kill the weeds around the crops without harming the crops. This led to quick adoption across the country, with about 90% of corn and 85% of soy grown in the US being Roundup ready GMOs.

However, it was later discovered that farmers also use Roundup as a pre-harvest aid, spraying the grains with Roundup about two weeks before harvest to kill the grain and make it easier to harvest. This means that over 80% of our dietary exposure to glyphosate is coming from this pre-harvest spray. Glyphosate has been linked to leaky gut and autoimmunity, as well as killing beneficial bacteria in our microbiome. Despite being considered non-toxic by the EPA, glyphosate is far from non-toxic and has become a contentious issue in the agriculture industry.