Glyphosate in Beer and Wine
Research Article
Summary
Introduction
Roundup is everywhere. As the most commonly used agri-chemical in the world. Roundup and its main active ingredient, glyphosate, is showing up in places people do not expect, such as food and drinks. In this report, researchers tested beer and wine and found glyphosate in beer and wine from the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Researchers even found glyphosate in some unexpected places, such as in some organic varieties.
While glyphosate is found in many places, for many years scientists were uncertain if glyphosate was a public health problem. But that changed in 2015, when the World Health Organization (WHO) found that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen. In 2017, the state of California also decided to list glyphosate as a probable carcinogen based on the WHO study.
Method
20 products were tested: 5 wines and 15 beers. The wine brands tested included Beringer, Barefoot and Sutter Home. Beer brands tested included Budweiser, Coors, Miller Lite, Sam Adams, Samuel Smith Organic, and New Belgium.
Results
Notable findings:
- Of the 20 samples, 19 contained glyphosate. The highest level of glyphosate found was in Sutter Home wine, at 51 parts per billion (ppb).
- 3 of 4 organic beer and wine contains glyphosate. Although glyphosate is not allowed or used in organic farming, several types of organic products were contaminated, such as Samuel Smith Organic (at 3.5 ppb). Inkarri Estate organic wine contained 5.2 ppb.
- Large, conventional brands such as Coors, Tsingtao, and Miller Lite showed glyphosate levels above 25 ppb.
- One brand, Peak Beer, did not contain detectable levels of glyphosate.
Conclusion
Findings suggest that it is very difficult to produce beer or wine without glyphosate contamination, even for organic producers. Due to glyphosate’s many health risks and its ubiquitous nature in our food, water, and alcohol, the use of glyphosate in the U.S. should be banned unless and until it can be proven safe.