Will my OAT MEAL KILL ME ? - Weed Killing poison found in popular cereals

Yes, it is a shocking News going around that there are traces of weed killing poison in many types of Oatmeal. But are they really going to kill me? That question is more difficult to answer.

Earlier this week CNN, flashed headlines about oat products having levels of weed killer chemicals in it. 

The accompanying article cites a New report from the environmental working group ( EWG) a non profit advocacy organisation, that revealed traces it Glyphosate the main ingredient in the pesticide roundup - in several types of Oat cereal, Oat meal, granola and snack bars. Almost three quarters of food samples tested showed higher Glyphosate levels than what the group scientists believe to be protective of children’s health.

We couldn’t help but only wonder whether to ditch our go - to morning meal? We researched a little deeper on this, and here’s what we found out:

Glyphosate : what is it? And why are they actually using it as an ingredient in our food?

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, and is used in hundreds of weed killing products. Health experts and agricultural experts say that humans don’t absorb glyphosate the same way they do harmful chemical like DDT, so it’s safe in low quantities.

So how much is it safe to consume?
The tolerable limit for glyphosate residue in grains, set by the environmental protection agency is 30 ppm. The quantities found in that research, then were well below that limit.

So what’s the problem then? 
The EPA’s tolerable limit isn’t good enough from the EWG, whose scientists say that legal is not the same as safe. Glyphosate guideline for adults of 1.1 milligrams per day proposed by the state of California office of environmental Health Hazard Assessment to protect against cancer.

So what does all this mean for an health? 
Unfortunately, nothing definitive, it’s clear that main conventionally farmed crops that we eat are sprayed with glyphosate before harvesting. But, no studies have found levels high enough to raise red flags.