Glyphosate Free Beer / Grains

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shane_painter

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It seems that Roundup (Glyphosate) is now being found in virtually everything - from breakfast cereal to 99% of German males' urine.

As a designated class 2A Carcinogen this is concerning.

Of particular concern, is the fact that our beloved barley is one of the crops that routinely undergo the practice of 'desiccation' - which greatly increases the amount of glyphosate passed on to the consumer.

With this in mind - my question is this: Does anyone here know where one might find 'Glyphosate Free' malts? Or at least malts derived from grains which have not been 'dessicated' during production?

Cheers,
-Shane
 
It seems that Roundup (Glyphosate) is now being found in virtually everything - from breakfast cereal to 99% of German males' urine.

As a designated class 2A Carcinogen this is concerning.

Of particular concern, is the fact that our beloved barley is one of the crops that routinely undergo the practice of 'desiccation' - which greatly increases the amount of glyphosate passed on to the consumer.

With this in mind - my question is this: Does anyone here know where one might find 'Glyphosate Free' malts? Or at least malts derived from grains which have not been 'dessicated' during production?

Cheers,
-Shane

I believe most of the big online vendors have organic 2-row. Not sure about specialty grains.

This is the only all organic vendor that I know if.
https://www.breworganic.com/
 
I don't know if round up (trade name) is used to kill barley, it is not labled for that and the pre harvest window is too great for that. I farm but don't raise any small grains, but I don't think that barley and wheat come in a roundup ready do to trying to export wheat and the barley market is too small for the investment.
 
Check this out: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/al...found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/

From the article: "There are two reasons that a farmer wants to [use glyphosate on non-GMO crops]. It is for late season weed control in situations where he has patches of green weeds in the field that came up late. [This is commonly done with wheat and barley.] It is a little slower to harvest when weeds are present.

The other reason involves late season snow. In the northern region such as in the Dakotas, in certain parts of Montana, and in the Prairies of Canada, there is a very short growing season. If it snows on the crop at harvest then you may lose the crop, because you can’t get back into the field to do the harvest.

In these regions, 70% of the wheat and barley are desiccated with glyphosate before harvest. [This kills the plant so that it will wilt and dry]. Farmers don’t want to take a risk in losing their entire wheat and barley crop, so they will take a cut in yield and quality by using glyphosate a few weeks before harvest, and then harvest the crop early.

Farmers don’t realize how much they are contaminating that food or feed product when they do this. They will accept the cut [in quality and quantity of the crop], because that can buy them a week advantage in harvest. It’s really more done for ease and planning. However, it is just the dumbest thing you could ever do from a health and safety standpoint.

In fact, beer brewers are having a problem with glyphosate. A few years ago, when one of my colleagues wanted to get more Abraxis test strips for testing materials for glyphosate residue, he was told that they had a 3 month backlog. He asked, what was causing this? He was told that every load of malt barley coming out of North Dakota has to be tested, because the glyphosate levels were so high that it kills the yeast in the brew mix."
 
Check this out: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/al...found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/

From the article: "There are two reasons that a farmer wants to [use glyphosate on non-GMO crops]. It is for late season weed control in situations where he has patches of green weeds in the field that came up late. [This is commonly done with wheat and barley.] It is a little slower to harvest when weeds are present.

The other reason involves late season snow. In the northern region such as in the Dakotas, in certain parts of Montana, and in the Prairies of Canada, there is a very short growing season. If it snows on the crop at harvest then you may lose the crop, because you can’t get back into the field to do the harvest.

In these regions, 70% of the wheat and barley are desiccated with glyphosate before harvest. [This kills the plant so that it will wilt and dry]. Farmers don’t want to take a risk in losing their entire wheat and barley crop, so they will take a cut in yield and quality by using glyphosate a few weeks before harvest, and then harvest the crop early.

Farmers don’t realize how much they are contaminating that food or feed product when they do this. They will accept the cut [in quality and quantity of the crop], because that can buy them a week advantage in harvest. It’s really more done for ease and planning. However, it is just the dumbest thing you could ever do from a health and safety standpoint.

In fact, beer brewers are having a problem with glyphosate. A few years ago, when one of my colleagues wanted to get more Abraxis test strips for testing materials for glyphosate residue, he was told that they had a 3 month backlog. He asked, what was causing this? He was told that every load of malt barley coming out of North Dakota has to be tested, because the glyphosate levels were so high that it kills the yeast in the brew mix."

Tropical Traditions glyphosate scare seems to be more of a promotion for all their products than real science. Do you have any other source than Tropical Traditions to confirm their science?
 
It seems that Roundup (Glyphosate) is now being found in virtually everything - from breakfast cereal to 99% of German males' urine.

As a designated class 2A Carcinogen this is concerning.

Of particular concern, is the fact that our beloved barley is one of the crops that routinely undergo the practice of 'desiccation' - which greatly increases the amount of glyphosate passed on to the consumer.

With this in mind - my question is this: Does anyone here know where one might find 'Glyphosate Free' malts? Or at least malts derived from grains which have not been 'dessicated' during production?

Cheers,
-Shane
I special order organic grain for that reason. Vote with your dollar. Don't buy that crap and they will have to change their methods.

Organic grain is Roundup free.
 
Check this out: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/al...found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/

From the article: "There are two reasons that a farmer wants to [use glyphosate on non-GMO crops]. It is for late season weed control in situations where he has patches of green weeds in the field that came up late. [This is commonly done with wheat and barley.] It is a little slower to harvest when weeds are present.

The other reason involves late season snow. In the northern region such as in the Dakotas, in certain parts of Montana, and in the Prairies of Canada, there is a very short growing season. If it snows on the crop at harvest then you may lose the crop, because you can’t get back into the field to do the harvest.

In these regions, 70% of the wheat and barley are desiccated with glyphosate before harvest. [This kills the plant so that it will wilt and dry]. Farmers don’t want to take a risk in losing their entire wheat and barley crop, so they will take a cut in yield and quality by using glyphosate a few weeks before harvest, and then harvest the crop early.

Farmers don’t realize how much they are contaminating that food or feed product when they do this. They will accept the cut [in quality and quantity of the crop], because that can buy them a week advantage in harvest. It’s really more done for ease and planning. However, it is just the dumbest thing you could ever do from a health and safety standpoint.

In fact, beer brewers are having a problem with glyphosate. A few years ago, when one of my colleagues wanted to get more Abraxis test strips for testing materials for glyphosate residue, he was told that they had a 3 month backlog. He asked, what was causing this? He was told that every load of malt barley coming out of North Dakota has to be tested, because the glyphosate levels were so high that it kills the yeast in the brew mix."
Wow! I'm going organic on all grain. Thanks for that...
 
.

Glyphosate.jpg
 
Organic grain is Roundup free.
Maybe, but maybe not....
This from an article mentioned earlier:
Next, Tropical Traditions tested the USDA certified organic grains from suppliers they had been using, sourced mainly from western states such as Montana and Idaho. Sadly, the presence of glyphosate residue was found in organic wheat and other organic grains, including organic barley, oats, spelt, and einkorn. The range was from 0.03 to 0.06 mg/kg, just slightly lower than the conventional grains that were tested.

Here's the whole article:
http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/al...found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/
 
Fyi - barley and wheat used for malting is not supposed to be desiccated with roundup.

The amount of Glyphosate that remains on cereal grain hasn't been shown to have detrimental health effects, but it's possible very large amounts might.

The reason it is not used for malt though is that the roundup kills the grain and can hinder the malting process since the chemical could kill the the sprouting grain. The 'malt' produced would end up with no/low diastatic power.
 
Maybe, but maybe not....
This from an article mentioned earlier:
Next, Tropical Traditions tested the USDA certified organic grains from suppliers they had been using, sourced mainly from western states such as Montana and Idaho. Sadly, the presence of glyphosate residue was found in organic wheat and other organic grains, including organic barley, oats, spelt, and einkorn. The range was from 0.03 to 0.06 mg/kg, just slightly lower than the conventional grains that were tested.

Here's the whole article:
http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/al...found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/
Well that's completely f'ed up. Thanks Monsanto for cross contaminating everything.......
 
"My name is Richard Simpson, from Simpsons Malt. Apologies for not getting back sooner, but we didn't pick up your post as quickly as we would have a message. I have put your question forward to our resident experts and will get an answer to you ASAP. I do know that our raw materials are fully traceable and that we will not take anything other that fully certified barley that has been grown and harvested correctly, legally and in line with the best available practices and recommendations. Best Regards, and thanks for contacting Simpsons Malt, Richard.
OCT 14TH, 9:03PM

You accepted Richard's request.
Thank you Richard. I appreciate your follow up. Please let me know if I can assist or clarify. Have a great weekend!
WED 9:40AM

I can confirm that in line with industry guidance, farmers growers for Simpsons Malt may use Glyphosate only if used responsibly and in line with manufacturer recommendations. Simpsons Malt and its merchanting division, MSP, call for accurate logging of all inputs which are reviewed by our qualified agronomists.

We understand that the 18 month licence issued by the European Health Commissioner in June 2016 will give the industry a period of time to prove scientifically that the product is safe to use, or not. Simpsons Malt will monitor the outcome of this investigation carefully and make any changes to our guidelines should this be required.

Any questions please get back to me

\Basically - we follow the European guidelines/rules and therefore the UK ones."
 
I really like the fact that this is being discussed. There should be a Glyphosate free option. I would opt to buy it everytime. Believe it or not, there is a growing movement away from chemical/ pesticide growing for our food supply. It has been linked to the spike in illnesses like Celiac disease, which my wife has. Call me a nut, but I am fully behind the movement.
 
I really like the fact that this is being discussed. There should be a Glyphosate free option. I would opt to buy it everytime. Believe it or not, there is a growing movement away from chemical/ pesticide growing for our food supply. It has been linked to the spike in illnesses like Celiac disease, which my wife has. Call me a nut, but I am fully behind the movement.

I'm sorry but that's just not true.
 
My first response is a true first world problem, but then again everyone needs to assess their own personal risk level. Parts per million/billion of a possible/probable human carcinogen versus a drunk behind the wheel....We ARE talking about alcohol, a KNOWN health risk, when used in excess.

Worked for several years as a pesticide specialist while in grad school. Read way too many pseudo-scientific studies with a bias advancing an agenda. That includes environmental groups AND industry groups! Life is too short, RDWHAHB...
 
Denny, re-read the original post and watch the documentary " What's with wheat". Google it. At least watch the movie trailer.

Why would you say, "that's just not true". Please explain.

drksky, please watch too. Become informed...

Everyone should watch it.

I think the part he was responding to was the ceilac spike. I would call bull on that too. Part of the "ceilac" spike is it simply being popular to be gluten free. The problem with that is if you stop eating gluten long enough you body stops producing the enzyme to break it down making you gluten intolerant. Many of the people on this site are very smart, don't assume they are ignorant just because their viewpoint differs.

My mother-in-law is a claims manager, and has had to authorize payment on a couple dozen claims involving roundup.
 
Propaganda from a pro GMO website, several years old.

Just keep believing the poisons they spray on our foods aren't harmful.

I'm done.

Having just looked into this a little further, you do realize you are making a argument for no pesticides on grain with a movie that is a blatant copy of the "Wheat belly" diet? The website even sells "no wheat for six weeks" versions of the movie for $97.
 
I'm not sure there are many that understand just how non-toxic glyphosate is to non-plants:
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/glyphosate-ext.html

Denny, re-read the original post and watch the documentary " What's with wheat". Google it. At least watch the movie trailer.

Why would you say, "that's just not true". Please explain.

drksky, please watch too. Become informed...

Everyone should watch it.

Propaganda from a pro GMO website, several years old.

Just keep believing the poisons they spray on our foods aren't harmful.

I'm done.
So why is the side against your opinion just Propaganda from a pro GMO website, but the information from What's With Wheat should not just be taken a propaganga from anti-GMO.
Looking at the bios of the "experts" in the What's With Wheat website you have a lot of nutritionist, neurologist, organic farmers , Computer scietists, authors and a physicist and a lot of people involved in the organice/GMO-free/Paleo industry. While these people may be experts in their chosen field, experts in biology and assessing the carcinogenic effects of substances in humans I would bet they are not.

Where as the info from drksky was undertaken by Cornell University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, and University of California at Davis with funding provided by the USDA/Extension Service/National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program.
 
Having just looked into this a little further, you do realize you are making a argument for no pesticides on grain with a movie that is a blatant copy of the "Wheat belly" diet? The website even sells "no wheat for six weeks" versions of the movie for $97.

I agree it is a bit hypocritical to call something propaganda when the information provided is blantant propaganda to press the agenda of the "experts" involved :D
 
So why is the side against your opinion just Propaganda from a pro GMO website, but the information from What's With Wheat should not just be taken a propaganga from anti-GMO.
Looking at the bios of the "experts" in the What's With Wheat website you have a lot of nutritionist, neurologist, organic farmers , Computer scietists, authors and a physicist and a lot of people involved in the organice/GMO-free/Paleo industry.

Where as the info from drksky was undertaken by Cornell University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, and University of California at Davis with funding provided by the USDA/Extension Service/National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program.

Don't forget chiropractors!

And of course the obvious response to my link is that all those scientists are in the pocket of "big wheat" and are just shills.
 
So has anyone found a source of verified Glyphosate-free grain or are we still focused on trolling each other for believing/not believing other's accusations and claims about this chemical?
 
This looks encouraging,

"Glyphosate free in all steps of our production

While the German public is being confronted with new confusing information about the herbicide “glyphosate” lately, BESTMALZ® can undoubtedly renew its quality guarantee given last week when the first rumors of glyphosate in German beer appeared in the press. All of the barley, wheat and spelt grains used by BESTMALZ® as well as the water used in the malting process are free of glyphosate.

Consequently, malts from BESTMALZ® do not contain glyphosate which was proven in the most recent analyses of various malt types from the current crop. None of the randomly selected BESTMALZ® samples showed traces of glyphosate when analyzed by a reputed German food testing authority.

“The current glyphosate discussion may well keep the German media busy for a few more weeks,” says Dr. Axel Goehler, CEO of BESTMALZ® in Heidelberg/Germany. “Naturally, we will continue to analyze our raw materials and our malts by heart as a matter of professional routine. However, it is good to know that we can rightfully promise our customers that malts from BEST are ‘simply the best’.”
March 5th, 2016"

from http://www.bestmalz.de/en/glyphosate-free-in-all-steps-of-production/
 
This looks encouraging,

"Glyphosate free in all steps of our production

While the German public is being confronted with new confusing information about the herbicide “glyphosate” lately, BESTMALZ® can undoubtedly renew its quality guarantee given last week when the first rumors of glyphosate in German beer appeared in the press. All of the barley, wheat and spelt grains used by BESTMALZ® as well as the water used in the malting process are free of glyphosate.

Consequently, malts from BESTMALZ® do not contain glyphosate which was proven in the most recent analyses of various malt types from the current crop. None of the randomly selected BESTMALZ® samples showed traces of glyphosate when analyzed by a reputed German food testing authority.

“The current glyphosate discussion may well keep the German media busy for a few more weeks,” says Dr. Axel Goehler, CEO of BESTMALZ® in Heidelberg/Germany. “Naturally, we will continue to analyze our raw materials and our malts by heart as a matter of professional routine. However, it is good to know that we can rightfully promise our customers that malts from BEST are ‘simply the best’.”
March 5th, 2016"

from http://www.bestmalz.de/en/glyphosate-free-in-all-steps-of-production/

This is actually really good news. With 7 Bridges (Brew Organic) going out of business, I've been at a loss as to where to find more organic or even "chemical reduced" grains. Seeing as I like my results using Best Malz anyway, I'll definitely be working them into the rotation.
 
My LHBS carries their Red X variety which has me totally stoked to try with my Pumpkin Ale. Has anyone used this grain? Results?
 
Here's another:

IREKS - Bavarian Craft Brewing Malts

IREKS - Largest Family owned Bavarian Maltster
Top Quality Base, Speciality and Wheat Malts at competitive prices
From Pallets to Containers
55lb Bags, 500kg & 1000kg Super Sacks, Bulk Loads for Silo Fills
Mix and match styles to make your own pallet (no extra fees)
No handling fees or pallet charges
All IREKS Malts: Certified Glyphosate free malts
The exclusive Malt of the VLB Institute in Berlin
 
Much ado about nothing...... Glyphosate is broken down very rapidly, normally within days. This is one of the reasons it is popular. By the way, I live in Montana, and many of my friends are grain farmers.......NONE uses glyphosate to kill the plants to accelerate grain harvest. NOT a single one. This has a strong ring of BS to it. Where I do see it used is prior to planting to kill weeds. You can spray and plant a day or two later because it breaks down so rapidly.

H.W.


TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Acute Toxicity
Glyphosate is a moderately toxic herbicide and carries the signal word WARNING on the label. Even though the LD50 values show the compound to be relatively non-toxic it can cause significant eye irritation. The toxicity of the technical product (glyphosate) and the formulated product (Roundup) is nearly the same. The acute oral LD50 in the rat is 5,600 mg/kg. Other oral LD50 values for glyphosate are 1,538 to greater than 10,000 mg/kg for mice, rabbits mg/kg, and goats (1, 5).

In a number of human volunteers, patch tests produced no visible skin changes or sensitization.
Chronic Toxicity
Subchronic and chronic tests with glyphosate have been conducted with rats, dogs, mice, and rabbits in studies lasting from 21 days to two years. With few exceptions there were no treatment-related gross (easily observable) or cellular changes (5). In a chronic feeding study with rats, no toxic effects were observed in rats given doses as high as 31 mg/kg/day, the highest dose tested. No toxic effects were observed in a chronic feeding study with dogs fed up to 500 mg/kg/day, the highest dose tested (8). Mice fed glyphosate for 90 days exhibited reduced body weight gains. The lifetime administration of very high amounts of glyphosate produced only a slight reduction of body weight and some microscopic liver and kidney changes. Blood chemistry, cellular components, and organ function were not affected even at the highest doses.

Hens fed massive amounts over three days and again 21 days later showed no nerve related effects.
Reproductive Effects
Most of the field and laboratory evidence shows that glyphosate produces no reproductive changes in test animals. It is unlikely that the compound would produce any reproductive effects in humans.
Teratogenic Effects
In a teratology study with rabbits, the maternal NOEL was 175 mg/kg/day and no developmental toxicity was observed in the fetuses at the highest dose tested (350 mg/kg/day) (8).

Rats given doses up to 3,500 mg/kg on days 6 to 19 of pregnancy had offspring with no teratogenic effects, but other toxic effects were observed in both the mothers and the fetuses. No toxic effects to the fetuses occurred at 1,000 mg/kg/day.
Mutagenic Effects
The compound does not cause mutations in microbes. The tests on eight different kinds of bacterial strains and on yeast cells were all negative. The compound poses little mutagenic risk to humans (6).
Carcinogenic Effects
Rats and dogs and mice fed glyphosate over a wide range of doses showed no cancer related effects directly due to the compound (4). EPA has stated that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that glyphosate is not carcinogenic in humans (8).
Organ Toxicity
Glyphosate caused no changes in the rate of body weight gain, in blood, nor in kidneys or liver. The studies were conducted at doses up to 500 mg/kg (3).
Fate in Humans and Animals
Glyphosate is poorly absorbed from the digestive tract and is largely excreted unchanged by mammals. Ten days after treatment there were only minute amounts in the tissues of rats fed glyphosate for three weeks (3).

Cows, chickens, and pigs fed small amounts had undetectable levels (less than 0.05 ppm) in muscle tissue and fat. Levels in milk and eggs were also undetectable (less than 0.025 ppm). Nearly all glyphosate residues were rapidly eliminated by fish that had been exposed for 10 to 14 days once these fish were transferred to glyphosate-free water. Glyphosate has no significant potential to accumulate in animal tissue (9).
ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Glyphosate is only slightly toxic to wild birds. The LC50 in both mallards and bobwhite quail is greater than 4,500 ppm. The bioaccumulation factor in chicken muscle, fat, eggs, and liver was as low as 1/10,000 (4).

Glyphosate is practically non-toxic to fish. However, Roundup was more toxic to fish than was glyphosate. In rainbow trout, for instance, the 96-hour LC50 was 8.3 mg/l with Roundup and 38 ppm with glyphosate. The LC50 for glyphosate was 120 mg/l for bluegill sunfish. An additive used in the Roundup formulation (modified tallow amine used as a surfactant) is apparently more toxic to fish than many common surfactants. For this reason, the formulation for use in aquatic situations (Rodeo) omits this ingredient. The surfactant is used to allow the compound to readily dissolve in solution and to keep the compound from balling up on the leaf surface.

There is a very low potential for the compound to build up in the tissues of aquatic invertebrates or other aquatic organisms. Glyphosate is relatively non-toxic to honeybees. Its oral and dermal LD50 is greater than 0.1 mg/ bee (7).
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
Glyphosate is highly adsorbed on most soils especially those with high organic content. The compound is so strongly attracted to the soil that little is expected to leach from the applied area. Microbes are primarily responsible for the breakdown of the product. The time it takes for half of the product to break down ranges from 1 to 174 days. Because glyphosate is so tightly bound to the soil, little is transferred by rain or irrigation water. One estimate showed less than two percent of the applied chemical lost to runoff (4). The herbicide could move when attached to soil particles in erosion run-off. Photodecomposition plays only a minor role in environmental breakdown.

In water, glyphosate is strongly adsorbed to suspended organic and mineral matter and is broken down primarily by microorganisms also. Its half-life in pond water ranges from 12 days to 10 weeks.

Glyphosate may be extensively metabolized by some plants while remaining intact in others (2). Once in the plant tissue, the chemical is translocated throughout the plant, including to the roots.
 
1.) Wheat and Barley go through a ripening stage in which the plant naturally dies, artificially killing the plant before this happens would result in unripened grain and unusable straw. Different varieties ripen in different numbers of days. It would make absolutely no economical sense to kill the plant before it ripened.

2.) Herbicides are generally used in the spring to kill weeds before planting.

As the general population grows further away from the farm it gets easier and easier to publish BS propaganda.
 

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