Californian wines doped with carcinogenic glyphosate

You are a big fan of Californian wines and Redwood Creek or Gallo Winery has no more secrets for you ? So you are very likely to start talking more and more about chemistry and autism during your tastings rather than visual analysis, olfactory and taste. Glyphosate is sure to become your favorite topic of conversation for the next few days..

What is glyphosate ?

Glyphosate is a very powerful weedkiller that can be found for example in Monsanto's Roundup. For some farmers, impossible to do without, while others simply want to ban it in the European Union.

The sulfatant is known to be an ecotoxicity factor, but not only… — if not, it's too simple - There are strong presumptions about glyphosate and its carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting effect. Despite these risks, it has become the most widely used pesticide in the world. Introduced in 1974, the patent expired in 2000 and we find glyphosate in some 750 pesticides.

Monsanto Company, chemicals giant, has been singled out again since the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a "probable carcinogen" in humans in March 2015. This is simply the highest level before it is classified as a "definite carcinogen".

Glyphosate in California

California recently recognized the carcinogenic effect of Monsanto's Roundup product. Numerous laboratory studies have indeed demonstrated the harmful effects of Roundup on human health.. As the worry grows more and more, large amounts of glyphosate are found in everyday consumer products.

In the USA, they are close to 2,6 million tonnes of this carcinogen that have been spilled over the past two decades. Result, the Ministry of Health has ordered tests on many consumer products to determine their contamination rate.

After tests, positive, made on German beers in Munich, a laboratory in Saint Louis in the United States decided to launch a similar study, but on the wines. The results of this study send shivers down your spine. The 10 cuvées of wines tested show traces of glyphosates… You want sensational ? Even so-called "organic" wines have tested positive in the test.…

How can we find pesticides in these wines ?

Spraying glyphosate is meant to kill weeds. Who says spray, also said volatility. With this treatment, the whole plant is affected : buds and leaves directly, but also the roots which will absorb the chemicals contained in the soil and will transmit them to the leaves and especially to the fruits.

How can organic wines have a positive level of glyphosate ? The explanation is quite simple. Although the organic winegrower does not treat his vines, the neighbor does it for him thanks to the volatility of pesticides. Another reason may explain the presence of Roundup in organic wines. According to several scientific studies, glyphosate can remain active in soils for up to 20 years. Vines undergoing organic conversion will therefore not really be during this period of time..

The presence of a potentially dangerous toxin remains a matter of concern for all consumers and even more so for wines claiming to be organic. A Cabernet Sauvignon from 2013, from a conventional vineyard, present 28,4 times more glyphosate than other wines tested. The quantities found range from 0,6 to 18,7 parts per billion. Fortunately, the lowest amount was found in an organic wine. In the USA, there is no limit on the glysophate in wine. However, there is a limit of 200 parts per billion in grapes.

The most amazing in this story, is that Roundup and its glyphosates are regularly assessed as possessing "clean" chemical invading properties. This discovery risks harming California's major wine regions :Napa Valley, SoNoMa, Mendocino, so many major wine producers and exporters who are increasingly playing the wine tourism card.

The problem of pesticides remains global, but Californian wines will certainly face a serious crisis of confidence in their quality.