The assessment of glyphosate is archaic. They are currently testing glyphosate in isolation, not how it exists in the different formulations that are on the market (like 500 different herbicide formuations). The 'inactive' ingredients are used to increase the glyphosate uptake. So when they test glyphosate in isolation to evaluate its negative impact, the herbicide is not being taken up to the extent that it does in the real product formulation. This obscures its true effect. The assessment methodologies are simply wrong.

The link between glyphosate and gluten intolerance is not strong in the literature, but there have not been a lot of studies. But it absolutely kills your gut bacteria, that is strongly established. My dh has asked if I want to try organic flour, to see if it is the glyphosate that does me in. But I'm a bit skittish. Glad it worked for your friend. FYI, I don't think glyphosate is banned in Italy and France from farm use, only domestic use is banned as far as I know. However, the laws are nuanced, so it would be hard to know what crop they were using it on, how much they were using, what the half life is (this varies quite a bit), and how long between application and when you eat it. The half life is key. You don't eat it, if it has been long enough to half about 6 times. 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, 3.1, 1.5%. If the half life is 30 days, that is somewhat reasonable depending on the crop. If it is 180 days, it is not. My take away from my research is that the impact on human health is sort of bad, but the impact to the environment is catastrophic.

yup. Its horrific. But they are currently not winning in court in the USA. 😞

Thanks! It did feel good to be doing something valuable outside of my little family. I'd post my research paper here so you could read it, but I don't know if I would get in trouble.

yup. me too. But if we can ban glyphosate!!!! We are an island, so its not blowing in or crossing borders in the ground water. Crossing fingers. I'll let you know if we win. Not likely, but they lawyers plan to litigate it in the Environment court if we lose. They've got a billionaire backer, so we have the money to fight!

Boy, when I was doing all the reading and writing the scientific summary for the application to get it banned, it was all I talked about. Very distressing. Very.

I have very limited access to products here in the back end of the supply chain. It is maseca or nothing for nixtamalized corn. So I've switched to quinoa.

Yes GE = Genetically engineered. There are many types of GE. Roundup ready is just one. GE crops are not a problem for human health; rather it is the industrial farming practices used with GE crops that are the problem.

Oh wait, I'm reading this differently once I reread it. Pesticide vs herbicide is kind of not a word used in the lit. They use Biocide, because chemicals like glyphosate kill plants, microorganisms (like worms), and bacteria, but do NOT harm animals directly. If organic says no pesticides, they also mean no herbicides I would assume.

I don't know about the organic label in the USA. 98% of corn in the USA is roundup ready, but that leaves 2% for organic. That is totally possible. Organic in NZ is not GE by definition, and roundup ready is one type of GE.

After all the research I did (I read about 500 articles out of the 50,000 available), I went and looked at Maseca masa. I can't eat wheat, so eat corn masa. Maseca is a Mexican (but also international) company, and GE corn in Mexico is illegal. So I was hoping they were sourcing their corn from Mexico so it was not roundup ready. But it is really hard to tell, unfortunately. They do say they source some corn from the USA but they claim they use the non roundup ready corn crop. But roundup ready corn in the USA is about 98% of all corn, so I kind of doubt their claim.

Plus drinking water and dust in the air. You are not escaping glyphosate, but you can reduce exposure.

I don't know about beans. Just that if you are worried, store them for a while before using. Roundup-ready crops are the ones I listed: corn, wheat, canola, sugar beet, and soy. (plus cotton and alfalfa which we don't eat. Alfalfa is used for feed, so humans not eating it directly so the half life can make it disappear). Basically, if it is Roundup-ready, they don't have to worry about how much they spray because the crop is immune. But if it is not Roundup-ready, they have to be careful with spraying weeds, because if they spray the crop, the crop will die. So basically, they use way less glyphosate on the non-Roundup-ready crops. They still use it, and you are likely eating it, but just way way less compared to the biggies of wheat and roundup ready crops.

Half life is 30 to 180 days (depending on all sorts of stuff). So the longer it stays on your shelf before you use it, the less you are eating. So leave dried beans in your cupboard for a year before use.

The top crops that use glyphosate in the USA are: Corn, soy, canola, and sugar beet. This is because they are "roundup ready" GE crops so they spray the crop without worry because the crops are immune. This means they use LOTs of glyphosate. And wheat. It is not GE, but they use it to dessicate the crop.

There is lots of data on cancer including colon/GI, but the relationship it is not super clear because of the time delay between consumption and cancer. Basically, some studies find Yes, and other find No for cancer. However, it is absolutely Yes that if you eat traditionally grown wheat, you eat glyphosate, and it is absolutely YES that it kills your gut bacteria because it is a biocide - it kills plants and bacteria by design.

I've just finished the scientific literature review for the application here in NZ to the Environmental Protection Authority to reassess glyphosate (Roundup herbicide) and potentially ban it. (My first big side hustle since starting to reorient my career after homeschooling). I summarized the impact to both the environment and human health, and the problems with the archaic assessment methodology they use which masks roundup's effects. In short, Roundup is used in the USA (and most countries) to dessicate wheat to make it easier to harvest. About 90% of the wheat crop in the USA is sprayed. Because it is sprayed at harvest time (rather than during planting), glyphosate is definitely still in wheat when it is eaten (the half life is somewhere from 30 to 180 days, and that is HALF life). Glyphosate has been found the food we buy and in human gut, urine, and feces. Glyphosate is not denatured by cooking. Glyphosate kills not only plants but also kills bacteria, including the microbiome in the human gut. So if you are having trouble with wheat, it could be because your gut bacteria cannot tolerate the impact of glyphosate. After doing this work, I have switched to organic wheat for my family.

You guys are so inspiring! I don't have a scale, but I might borrow my friends to see how well I do on most days. I don't eat fruit or starchy vegetables, so reaching 800g would be a lot of vegetables! Do you guys count beans and tofu?

My city has a kombucha bar. You buy the bottle only once and then bring it back to get it refilled. Lots of different flavours, and it is made in the back room.

I get aching legs from too little water and/or too much salt/sugar. Basically an osmotic pressure problem. It can also be caused by too much coffee/tea as caffeine acts as a diuretic and takes water out of your body.

yup. He has time and is keen. I'll pm you.

I'll ask ds. He has tutored a number of kids on this board.

This is so interesting because it is not happening in NZ. 1) There is no grade inflation in high school, with the distribution of national exams as approximately 25% fail, 45%C, 20% B and 10% A. All students (regular, honors, AP equivalent) take the same exact final exam. 2) There is no competition to get into university. If you pass four 12th grade exams with a C you are in to any university here (although engineering school has a higher requirement). 3)There is no grade inflation in university. For my ds's first year statistics class, they were told that 30% of them would fail. This was also true for his chemistry class. Most classes have an average of about 60%, and an 'A' is 80%. 4) They do not worry about retention here. If you can't cut it, then you drop out and go do something else. Very different system. It has its own problems of course.

He was not homeschooled. He got a full ride scholarship to Duke -- Robertson Scholars Leadership Program. He was an amazing kid when I knew him. This scholarship was in leadership, not math. The IMO stuff he did was really just a side gig for him. lol

Yes, I'm probably the only letter that any of these schools received that mentioned prostitutes. lol