Glyphosate Free Beer / Grains

[grampamark]

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.

.

I'm a farmer and we raise cereal crops (among other things). The process of maturity isn't quite as straightforward as is described above.

Cereals (all cultivated crops, for that matter) reach a stage of development where the kernels are fully formed but the moisture content of the grain is too high for safe, long term storage. Maturity dates vary by specific variety (there are thousnds of varieties of wheat and barley), but most reach maturity in +/- 100 days after planting. Further drying, to reach the moisture content at which the grain can be safely stored, will usually take an additional week or two.

Most regions where cereals are widely grown have growing seasons long enough to provide the necessary number of frost free days for the crops to dry naturally. In some, more northern, regions, cereals are desiccated to reach the desired moisture content before a killing frost can damage the not-quite-dry kernels. In other areas, cereal crops may be desiccated to expedite harvest so that a subsequent crop can be planted a bit earlier (regions with long growing seasons, for example).

Since most cereals (corn being a notable exception) have relatively short growing seasons, desiccating isn't necessary. There are enough places where cereals can be grown, however, which have different climatic or agronomic situations, where cereals are desiccated. The fact that glyphosate is cheap and available worldwide is a factor when a grower is considering whether or not to dessicate.

We have never found it necessary to dessicate cereals. It's not a common practice, but it is done in some parts of the world. Whether it is a safe or desireable practice is a matter of opinion which won't be resolved on a homebrew forum.

Mark

 

[oldregulator]

I'm a farmer and we raise cereal crops (among other things). The process of maturity isn't quite as straightforward as is described above.

It's pretty straightforward. Most people bite the kernel to tell what stage of ripening it's in. Killing the plants and expending extra money to dry the grain is only justified in very limited situations.

 

[grampamark]

It's pretty straightforward. Most people bite the kernel to tell what stage of ripening it's in. Killing the plants and expending extra money to dry the grain is only justified in very limited situations.

I described the limited situations. I know-reading is hard. <sigh>

Mark

 

[oldregulator]

I described the limited situations. I know-reading is hard. <sigh>

Mark

Your descriptions are lacking as are your manners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_desiccation

 

[doug293cz]

Feel free to discuss and disagree on technical issues or opinions, but stop the personal sniping. Thread will be closed if it continues.

doug293cz
HBT Moderator

 

[hawkbox]

I'm a farmer and we raise cereal crops (among other things). The process of maturity isn't quite as straightforward as is described above.

Cereals (all cultivated crops, for that matter) reach a stage of development where the kernels are fully formed but the moisture content of the grain is too high for safe, long term storage. Maturity dates vary by specific variety (there are thousnds of varieties of wheat and barley), but most reach maturity in +/- 100 days after planting. Further drying, to reach the moisture content at which the grain can be safely stored, will usually take an additional week or two.

Most regions where cereals are widely grown have growing seasons long enough to provide the necessary number of frost free days for the crops to dry naturally. In some, more northern, regions, cereals are desiccated to reach the desired moisture content before a killing frost can damage the not-quite-dry kernels. In other areas, cereal crops may be desiccated to expedite harvest so that a subsequent crop can be planted a bit earlier (regions with long growing seasons, for example).

Since most cereals (corn being a notable exception) have relatively short growing seasons, desiccating isn't necessary. There are enough places where cereals can be grown, however, which have different climatic or agronomic situations, where cereals are desiccated. The fact that glyphosate is cheap and available worldwide is a factor when a grower is considering whether or not to dessicate.

We have never found it necessary to dessicate cereals. It's not a common practice, but it is done in some parts of the world. Whether it is a safe or desireable practice is a matter of opinion which won't be resolved on a homebrew forum.

Mark

It's done a fair amount in Canada due to the shortness of our growing seasons.

Glyphosate is one of the least toxic things a human being can ingest in the farming cycle.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Truth.

No offense, but some folks think that everything they read on the internet is gospel. Educate yourself from a variety of sources and then form your own opinions.

And remember, RDWHAHB cuz nobody gets out of here alive.

 

[SFC Rudy]

Breathing will also kill you.

 

[TanLang]

The thing about the scientific method is that there are rarely definite conclusions and always new developments. This is especially true of the health and biomedical sciences.

This article was just published, throwing into question the certainty so many claim surrounds the complete and utter safety of agricultural agents for human health and safety:

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...isrupt-microbiome-at-safe-levels-study-claims

"One of the report’s authors, Daniele Mandrioli, at the Ramazzini Institute in Bologna, Italy, said significant and potentially detrimental effects from glyphosate had been detected in the gut bacteria of rat pups born to mothers, who appeared to have been unaffected themselves.

'It shouldn’t be happening and it is quite remarkable that it is,' Mandrioli said. 'Disruption of the microbiome has been associated with a number of negative health outcomes, such as obsesity, diabetes and immunological problems.'

Prof Philip J Landrigan, of New York’s Icahn School of Medicine, and also one of the research team, said: 'These early warnings must be further investigated in a comprehensive long-term study.' He added that serious health effects from the chemical might manifest as long-term cancer risk: 'That might affect a huge number of people, given the planet-wide use of the glyphosate-based herbicides.'

Controversy has raged around glyphosate since a World Health Organisation agency – the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) – judged it to be a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015.

However, US and European regulators subsequently deemed it acceptable for use, a move campaigners condemned because of regulators’ use of secret industry papers and experts with alleged ties to Monsanto."​

This thread was initially brought up by someone with a legitimate concern and was shut down by cynicism and links to questionable and limited scientific data. I hope to re-open discussion for those who are seeking to ensure the safety and quality of the ingredients they use in their beer making.

Cheers.

 

[hawkbox]