These Popular Cereals Are Full of Glyphosate Pesticides, Including Your Kids Oatmeal!

I about fell over when I saw the results from this study! Pesticides in Oats?!?!

Huge amounts of pesticides were found in popular oat-based cereals, oatmeal, granola, and snack bars your kids are likely eating.

In my household, my son needs to eat gluten free, so oats are a staple, and many gluten-free products contain oats instead. To learn that many popular oats products are high in pesticides is alarming! I buy organic, and the majority of those were low in pesticides, thank goodness! Please take a look at the data yourself (see table below).

Glyphosate Does Not Belong In Cereal, Or In Your Body

Pesticide residue in oats is so common that 43 of the 45 samples studied contained the pesticide glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup). Glyphosate is the most heavily used pesticide in America, and it’s linked to cancer and so many other terrible health conditions.

Almost three-fourths of the popular products tested in this study had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health (160 ppb). 31 of the 45 samples made with conventionally grown oats had more than 160 ppb of glyphosate per serving.

Don’t take glyphosate in your food lightly – it’s patented as a pesticide, antibiotic and chelating agent (binds minerals). On top of that, it’s one of many hormone disruptors, which mimics estrogen in your body. Glyphosate was originally developed as a cleaner to remove the calcium deposits off big machines, so no wonder it’s so detrimental to our body. Glyphosate isn't the only harmful substance we're exposed to just about every.single.day. Here are 13 other hormone-altering chemicals and how to avoid them.

Levels of glyphosate in your body are cumulative because it stores in fatty tissues—fat cells. Your liver will detoxify it if your liver is healthy, but it might need some help. Here are some great ways to support healthy detoxification for infants and children.

What Constitutes Dangerous Levels of Glyphosate?

Each year more than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are sprayed on American crops, primarily on “Roundup-ready” corn and soybeans genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide.

The Environmental Working Group’s benchmark for daily exposure to glyphosate for protecting children’s health is 160 ppb. The Environmental Working Group calculated a one-in-a-million cancer risk would be posed by ingesting 0.01 milligrams of glyphosate per day. To reach this maximum dose, you would have to eat a single 60-gram serving of food with a glyphosate level of 160 parts per billion, or ppb.

Is Glyphosate In The Conventional Oats You Buy?

Take a look at this chart…the majority of samples of conventional oat products exceeded 160 ppb – Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats, Quaker Steel Cut Oats, Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Quaker granola – they all FAILED miserably.

If a child eats one product that exceeds 160 ppb per serving, or they eat two of these foods or a larger portion per day, they’re far exceeding what’s healthy. Those amounts add up very fast!

Type of Food	Product Name	Glyphosate (ppb)*
Type of Food	Product Name	Sample 1	Sample 2	Sample 3
Granola	Nature's Path Organic Honey Almond granola	ND**	ND
	Back to Nature Classic Granola	620	170
	Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey, Raisins & Almonds	430	400
	Back to Nature Banana Walnut Granola Clusters	30	30	340
	Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats 'n Honey	220	170
	KIND Vanilla, Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds	50	60
Instant Oats	Giant Instant Oatmeal, Original Flavor	760
	Simple Truth Organic Instant Oatmeal, Original	ND	ND
	Quaker Dinosaur Eggs, Brown Sugar, Instant Oatmeal	620	780
	Great Value Original Instant Oatmeal	450
	Umpqua Oats, Maple Pecan	220	220
	Market Pantry Instant Oatmeal, Strawberries & Cream	120	520
Oat Breakfast Cereal	Kashi Heart to Heart Organic Honey Toasted cereal	ND	ND
	Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal	490	470	530
	Lucky Charms****	400	230
	Barbara's Multigrain Spoonfuls, Original, Cereal	340	300
	Kellogg’s Cracklin’ Oat Bran oat cereal	250	120
Snack Bar	Cascadian Farm Organic Harvest Berry, granola bar	ND	ND
	KIND Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut	ND	120
	Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats 'n Honey	340	120
	Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip granola bar	120	160
	Kellogg’s Nutrigrain Soft Baked Breakfast Bars, Strawberry	30	80
Whole Oats	365 Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats	ND	ND
	Quaker Steel Cut Oats	530	290
	Quaker Old Fashioned Oats	390	1100	1300
	Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats	300	ND
	Nature's Path Organic Old Fashioned Organic Oats	30	20
	Whole Foods Bulk Bin conventional rolled oats	10	40
	Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (4 samples tested)	ND	10	20, 20***

Source: EWG, from tests by Eurofin Analytical Laboratories

*EWG's child-protective health benchmark for daily exposure to glyphosate in food is 160 ppb.

** ND = none detected

*** Two product samples tested both had 20 ppb glyphosate concentration.

**** Lucky Charms Frosted Toasted Oat Cereal with Marshmallows. Marshmallows were manually removed from the samples prior to shipping to the lab and testing for glyphosate.

How Does Glyphosate Get Into Organic Food?

Glyphosate was detected at concentrations of 10 ppb to 30 ppb in five of 16 samples made with organic oats. This could be because glyphosate drifts from nearby fields of conventionally grown crops, or by cross-contamination during processing at a facility that also handles non-organic crops. Glyphosate is able to adhere to water and soil particles long enough to travel through the air or in a stream to nearby organic farms.

What Can Parents Do?

Parents shouldn’t have to wonder whether feeding their children oat-containing foods will also expose them to a pesticide that increase the risk of cancer.

1. Definitely purchase only organic oats and organic cereals since those did have lower glyphosate levels overall.

I always use one particular organic brand, so I emailed the company to ask questions about their oats, such as whether the oats are tested for glyphosate, and if so, what were the results. It's time-consuming, but definitely worth it!

2. There are urine tests that can measure glyphosate levels in the body. An Organic Acid test has a glyphosate tox screen on it.

3. Support your kiddo's liver and gut microbiome through diet and kid-friendly supplements. Cruciferous vegetables promote normal detoxification, so serve those at least a couple times per week. I like this gut supporting powder that tastes great and provides so many great nutrients the gut needs to maintain a healthy balance.