Religious leaders to start pressure campaign around criminal justice reform

Politico   11/22/2018

Religious leaders buoyed by a successful alliance with the Trump administration are readying a pressure campaign with a new target: Senate conservatives who are blocking criminal justice reform.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, backed by Republicans with evangelical ties such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, is blocking a Trump-approved plan to revamp the criminal justice system, the latest priority of religious groups after they focused much of their earlier efforts on stocking the courts with conservative judges.

McConnell so far has resisted efforts to bring to the floor the bipartisan bill that would reduce maximum penalties for repeat offenders and give judges more discretion in handing down prison sentences, knowing it has already created deep divisions within the GOP caucus.

But religious leaders — who have the weight of President Donald Trump behind them — are preparing to pressure McConnell and other senators, such as Cruz and David Perdue (R-Ga.), to change their minds.

Starting next week, the Faith and Freedom Coalition will ask its 2 million members to flood Congress with letters and phone calls, said coalition Chairman Ralph Reed. Religious groups hope they can put enough pressure on Republicans with large evangelical constituencies to get a rare piece of major bipartisan legislation passed in a bitterly divided Congress.

Research: humans and animals sprang from single pair

Dailymail   24 November 2018

All modern humans descended from a solitary pair who lived 100,000 to 200,000 years ago, scientists say.

Scientists surveyed the genetic 'bar codes' of five million animals - including humans - from 100,000 different species and deduced that we sprang from a single pair of adults after a catastrophic event almost wiped out the human race. 

These bar codes, or snippets of DNA that reside outside the nuclei of living cells, suggest that it's not just people who came from a single pair of beings, but nine out of every 10 animal species, too.

Venezuela is rolling out a new, smart-card ID

Business Insider  Nov. 18, 2018

• Venezuela is rolling out a new, smart-card ID known as the "carnet de la patria," or "fatherland card," manufactured by Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp.
• The ID transmits data about cardholders to government computer servers, and is increasingly linked to subsidized food, health, and other social programs most Venezuelans rely on to survive.
• The fatherland card, critics argue, illustrates how China, through state-linked companies like ZTE, exports technological know-how that can help like-minded governments track, reward, and punish citizens.

Pope: let’s pledge to ban anti-Semitism from humanity

APNews  November 5, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging efforts to ensure that anti-Semitism is “banned from the human community.”

Francis lamented current anti-Semitic attitudes as he greeted visiting rabbis from the World Congress of Mountain Jews from the Caucasus at the Vatican Monday. He didn’t mention last month’s massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. But he referred to the upcoming 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when German Nazis attacked Jews and their property, and the recent 75th anniversary of the roundup and deportation of Jews in Rome, when the city was under Nazi occupation.

Francis said: “Sadly, anti-Semitic attitudes are also present in our own times. As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite; we share the same roots.”

He added: “We are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community.”

Merkel: EU leaders should one day consider “a real, true European army”

The Guardian   13 Nov 2018

Angela Merkel has said EU leaders should one day consider “a real, true European army” shortly after Donald Trump ramped up a Twitter attack on Emmanuel Macron over the same idea.

Speaking to the European parliament in Strasbourg, the German chancellor backed the bold step in European defence policy, as part of a speech extolling the need for EU cooperation in migration, climate change and counter-terrorism. “The times when we could rely on others is past,” she said.

To a mix of applause and jeers from Eurosceptic MEPs, she said: “We have to look at the vision of one day creating a real, true European army.” The chancellor said the idea would complement Nato, but gave no details on when the ambitious idea could become reality.

Her words echoed those of the French president, who in an interview said Europe needed to better defend itself.

Trump took umbrage at what he saw as a call by Macron for a European army as protection against the US, conflating earlier comments from the French president on cyber threats. The US president escalated his attack on Tuesday with a number of insulting tweets.

Scientist was thrown in prison after discovering evidence that deadly retroviruses are transmitted through vaccines given to humans.

Explain Life November 17, 2018

Molecular bioloist Dr. Judy A. Mgikovits was thrown in prison after discovering evidence that deadly retroviruses are transmitted through vaccines given to humans. 

In a disturbing true story first published by Natural News, Dr. Mikovits found evidence “that deadly retroviruses have been transmitted to 25 million Americans through vaccines.”

Dr. Mikovits worked with human retroviruses and focused on immunotherapy research and HIV. In 2009, she was doing research on neurological diseases, including autism, when she discovered many of her study subjects were suffering from serious medical issues. These issues included cancer, motor-neuron disorders and chronic fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Collective-evolution.com reports: She believed a virus may have been responsible for these symptoms, and through her research, she isolated the viruses that turned out to come from mice.

It looked like a virus, it smelled like a virus, a retrovirus, because those are the types of viruses that disrupt the immune system. And several other investigators back in the 90s had actually isolated retroviruses from these people but the government called them ‘contaminants,’ that they weren’t real and that they didn’t have anything to do with the disease. Well, we isolated a new family of viruses that were called xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus. So these viruses were murine leukemia viruses, mouse viruses.
So spin forward two years, our paper published in one of the best scientific journals in the world in Science, October 8th, 2009. Usually that makes one’s career, in my case it ended my life as a scientist as I knew it.

Virus Delivered Through Vaccines

Dr. Mikovits’ paper, in and of itself, did not immediately bring the wrath of the powerful pharmaceutical industry. However, when a paper published 2 years later made the connection between this new virus and vaccines, then Mikovits’ research findings became too dangerous for the Deep State. Here is how Mikovits explains it in the video:

So in 2011, another AIDS researcher in a journal called Frontiers in Microbiology wrote a paper that really cost me a lot; I didn’t know that he was going to write this paper, but it basically said the most likely way that these murine leukemia virus-related viruses, these types of viruses, entered humans, was through vaccines.

So when did we start vaccines? 1953, 1934, right in the 30s with the polio, and what we were doing to attenuate, to make the virus less pathogenic, less toxic, is we were passing them through mouse brains, so we were passing them through the brains of mice, and every scientist who works with these viruses, and worked at the National Cancer Institute recognized the possibility that if you put human tissue and mouse tissue together the possibility is that you’re going to pick up a virus that is silent, in the mouse, that is it doesn’t hurt the mouse, but it kills the human, or causes serious disease in the human.

Immigrants’ gut bacteria “westernize” soon after they move to the U.S

The Atlantic Nov 1, 2018

In Thailand, a small group of Hmong women lived in a rural village, far from the nearest town. They grew everything they ate, mostly rice and vegetables. They boiled most of their food, and they rarely consumed meat.

But then something happened to these Hmong women that shocked their systems, permanently altering, in just a short time, the course of their health—as well as the very germs that dwelled inside of them. They immigrated to the United States.

In their new homeland—Minneapolis—they began to eat more protein, sugar, and fat. They indulged, like most Americans do, in processed food. Within a generation, the Hmong women went from having an obesity rate of 5 percent to one of more than 30 percent.

That statistic reflects one of the most vexing things about the well-being of immigrants in the U.S.: Many people who come to the U.S. for a better life end up with worse health. Many different studies have now shown that the longer certain groups live in the U.S., the worse some of their health outcomes get, especially when it comes to obesity. One study found that after one year in America, just 8 percent of immigrants are obese, but among those who have lived in the U.S. for 15 years, the obesity rate is 19 percent.

Diabetes UK’s tie-up with sugar giant

The Times  November 24 2018

The country’s leading charity for people with diabetes has been criticised over a £500,000 partnership with the soft drinks giant Britvic, which sells brands such as Tango and Pepsi.

Diabetes UK said it has agreed the three-year deal with the beverage producer despite the link between consuming too many sugary soft drinks and the life-threatening disease.

There are 3.8m people in England with type 2 diabetes, with about 200,000 new diagnoses every year. About 90 per cent of people with the disease are obese or overweight and consuming sugary drinks can increase the risk. The disease is associated with heart disease, amputation and blindness.

Cancer treatments linked to cognitive decline

Cosmos Magazine 28 November 2018

Cancer treatments can lead to declines in cognitive function a few later, research suggests.

A study published in the journal Cancer looked at a cohort of 94 women who had undergone radiation treatments and chemotherapy for breast cancer between three and six years earlier, and found significant damage to their DNA, including to the repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end of a chromosome, known as telomeres.

In one sense, this finding was not surprising. Standard cancer treatments work by damaging the DNA of tumour cells, and collateral damage to normal cells is often unavoidable. Reduced telomere activity and loss of DNA vigour are also markers of biological ageing. 

They found that the answer was yes.

The researchers identified a correlation between levels of DNA damage and reduced telomere activity with a decline in lower executive function scores, worse attention and decreased motor speed.

“These findings are important because they provide further information about what might be happening after cancer treatment that impacts cognitive decline in some individuals,” says Carroll.

“The work is novel by identifying key factors in biological aging and connecting them to cognitive function, which initiates new avenues of research.”

The benefits of forest therapy

DrWeil July 25, 2018

In its simplest form forest therapy, also called forest bathing, is just spending time in the woods as an antidote to the sometimes-jarring sounds, sights, and smells of city life. Of course, you can get that kind of respite on your own, but a more organized version of forest therapy has now been introduced in the U.S. The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, founded in 2012, is currently training forest therapy guides. The group hopes to raise awareness of the benefits among health care professionals, and programs are being established nationwide.

As you note, forest therapy originated in Japan, where researchers have been studying its physiological effects for many years. It appears that forest therapy does have measurable health benefits; for example, it can lower levels of salivary cortisol, the hormone that rises when we’re under stress. One Japanese study showed that gazing at forest scenery for as little as 20 minutes reduced salivary cortisol levels by 13.4 percent. Forest therapy can also lower blood pressure and heart rate and trigger a dramatic increase in the activity of natural killer (NK) cells (produced by the immune system to ward off infection and fight cancer). Spending three days in the forest has been shown to increase NK activity by 50 percent, a beneficial effect that can last up to one month.

Study: Facebook Can Cause Depression

Zerohedge 11/16/2018

A new report conducted by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania have determined that an excessive amount of time on “social media” sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are making millennials depressed.

“It was striking,” said Melissa Hunt, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the study. “What we found over the course of three weeks was that rates of depression and loneliness went down significantly for people who limited their (social media) use.”

The study, “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression," is being published in December’s Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.

Researchers recruited 143 students for two different trials, one in the spring semester and one in the fall semester. Each subject was required to have a Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat account, plus an Apple iPhone. They collected data on the students for about a week to get a baseline reading of their social media usage, and also had them submit questionnaires that assessed their mental health according to seven different factors: social support, fear of missing out, loneliness, autonomy, and self-acceptance, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem.

“Here’s the bottom line,” Hunt explained to Science Daily. “Using less social media than you normally would leads to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness. These effects are particularly pronounced for folks who were more depressed when they came into the study.”

China unveiled its "artificial intelligence news anchor"

CNN November 9, 2018

Hong Kong. News anchors, beware. The robots are coming for your jobs, too.

China's state news agency has debuted a virtual anchor designed to be able to deliver the news 24 hours a day.

 

Xinhua unveiled its "artificial intelligence news anchor" Wednesday at an internet conference in the eastern city of Wuzhen.

 

"Hello, you are watching English news program. I am AI news anchor in Beijing," the computer-generated host announced in a robotic voice at that start of its English-language broadcast.

Americans find more meaning in money than friends or religion

BBC  22 November 2018

As Americans gather with their family and friends for Thanksgiving dinner, they're being fed some grim home truths from the Pew Research Centre.

Asked to rate what gave their life meaning, researchers found more people mentioned career and money, than friends or religion.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said family was a source of satisfaction.

But close to a third also cited work, while 23% said their finances made their lives meaningful.

Researchers conducted the survey late last year, asking nearly 5,000 Americans an open-ended question about what parts of their lives gave them satisfaction and fulfilment. Answers included pets, hobbies, grandchildren and travel.

The fallen angels would obscure, that Christ was the only begotten Son of God

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:4, 5.  

Angels were expelled from heaven because they would not work in harmony with God. They fell from their high estate because they wanted to be exalted. They had come to exalt themselves, and they forgot that their beauty of person and of character came from the Lord Jesus. This fact the [fallen] angels would obscure, that Christ was the only begotten Son of God, and they came to consider that they were not to consult Christ. 

One angel began the controversy and carried it on until there was rebellion in the heavenly courts, among the angels. They were lifted up because of their beauty. All should learn their lesson from this, that they are individually amenable to God. When they love God with all their hearts, they will be wise unto salvation. They will do His will, and their light will ever be their glory, and be undiminished because they recognize and fear and serve their Lord. The solemn work rests upon every soul to consider that he is a servant of Jesus Christ, solemnly pledged by his baptismal vows to clothe himself with the righteousness of Christ. Will we carry out the living example of the Lord Jesus?  

I am instructed that every believer must watch unto prayer, lest he fail in the Christian life battle. Every soul must daily seek the Lord with full purpose of heart, morning, noon, and night, and let the mind dwell upon the Word of God, to understand His requirements.    This Day With God, pp 128

BRI: We are dealing with a metaphorical use of the word “son.”

Eternal Sonship of Christ: Christ is the eternal Son of God. Paul wrote that “when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4). Christ was the Son of God before He was born of a woman. Through the preexistent Son, God “made the universe” (Heb. 1:2). However, the sonship of Christ is unique. Believers are spiritually born of God as children of God, but the Son is never described as being spiritually born of God; He is the Son, who came directly from the Father (John 16:28). He has life in Himself and is one with the Father in will (John 14:31; 15:10), character (John 14:8-11), purpose (John 15:16; 16:15; 17:4-8), and nature (John 8:58). Yet He is a different person. We are dealing with a metaphorical use of the word “son.”

Metaphorical Significance: In our humanity the image of a child conveys some obvious ideas. First, it indicates that a child is of the same nature as that of the parents; they are human beings. When Christ is called “Son of God,” we are being told that He, like the Father, is a divine being (John 5:18). Second, a child is distinguishable from their parents. The metaphor of sonship means that although Christ and the Father have the same nature, they are different persons, implying a plurality of persons within the Godhead. Third, the relationship between parents and children is unique. Their union is practically indissoluble. The metaphor is therefore a good symbol for the deep unity that exists within the members of the Godhead (John 17:5). Fourth, a human child comes from its parents through natural birth. In the case of the Godhead, however, the Son proceeded from the Father, not as a divine emanation or through natural birth, but to perform a work of creation and redemption (John 8:42; 16:28). There is no biblical support for the eternal generation of the Son from the Father. The Son came from God but was not generated by Him. Fifth, the father-son image cannot be literally applied to the divine Father-Son relationship within the Godhead. The Son is not the natural, literal Son of the Father. A natural child has a beginning, while within the Godhead the Son is eternal. The term “Son” is used metaphorically when applied to the Godhead. It conveys the ideas of distinction of persons within the Godhead and the equality of nature in the context of an eternal, loving relationship.

Ellen White wrote: “The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father.”²  This statement summarizes the main purpose of the metaphor.    Biblical Research Institute

Retreating toward Egypt

I am filled with sadness when I think of our condition as a people. The Lord has not closed heaven to us, but our own course of continual backsliding has separated us from God. Pride, covetousness, and love of the world have lived in the heart without fear of banishment or condemnation. Grievous and presumptuous sins have dwelt among us. And yet the general opinion is that the church is flourishing and that peace and spiritual prosperity are in all her borders.  

The church has turned back from following Christ her Leader and is steadily retreating toward Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power. Doubt, and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening our churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus. The testimonies are unread and unappreciated. God has spoken to you. Light has been shining from His word and from the testimonies, and both have been slighted and disregarded. The result is apparent in the lack of purity and devotion and earnest faith among us.  

Let each put the question to his own heart: “How have we fallen into this state of spiritual feebleness and dissension? Have we not brought upon ourselves the frown of God because our actions do not correspond with our faith? Have we not been seeking the friendship and applause of the world rather than the presence of Christ and a deeper knowledge of His will?” Examine your own hearts, judge your own course. Consider what associates you are choosing. Do you seek the company of the wise, or are you willing to choose worldly associates, companions who fear not God and obey not the gospel?      Testimonies for the Church Vol 5, pp 217

The Benefits of Thyme

Organic and Healty  

Thymus vularis ct. linalol is the best oil for beginners to use and it is the safest to use on the skin, in baths, and on children and the elderly. Other chemotypes (ct) such as thymus vulgaris ct. thujanol, thymus vulgaris ct. thymol, and thymus vulgaris c.t carvacrol should be left to qualified aromatherapists. Thyme is one of the most used and most useful oils in aromatherapy, but always use thyme oil with care, in moderation.

Thyme has remarkable antiviral, bactericidal, fungicidal, antibiotic, diuretic, antispasmodic, expectorant, and antiseptic properties that make it wonderful to have around during cold and flu season. In addition to killing microbes, thyme helps the body to eliminate toxins and boosts the immune system by supporting the formation of white blood cells, increasing resistance to invading organisms. Its familiar, warm, herbaceous aroma is powerful and penetrating, and the origin of its name, which comes from the Greek word ‘thymos’ meaning ‘to perfume.’

Other traditional uses of thyme include the treatment of respiratory infections. An excellent pulmonary disinfectant, thyme is useful against flus, colds, sore throats, asthma, catarrh, coughs, laryngitis, whooping cough, and bronchitis. Inhale for nose, throat, and chest infections; for mouth and gum infections (such as thrush, gingivitis), use in toothpaste or mouthwash/gargle. 

As little as a .1 percent solution is effective. After a study in Germany, many researchers believe the effectiveness of cough medicines is due to the exhalation (after swallowing) of the local action of the essential oil on the respiratory tract. 

Extensive research has shown the effectiveness of essential oils, including thyme, as expectorants and to increase mucus secretions to relieve dry coughs. Inhalation in small amounts worked best; too strong has the opposite effect. Inhaled treatments are especially effective when treating chronic infections that linger in the sinuses.

• Thyme is useful on infections of the urinary tract and bladder, and also acts as a diuretic, increasing its effectiveness
• Also use for candida and vaginitis
• Use to kill nail fungus
• Thyme is an ingredient in natural hand sanitizers
• Add thyme to a hot compress to relieve rheumatic pain, muscular aches and pains, sprains, sports injuries, sciatica, arthritis, gout
• Crush the fresh herb or use diluted oil as first aid on insect bites and stings
• Use on athlete’s foot. For this use, you can apply the oil neat, or undiluted, but protect the skin with some fatty cream. Other neat applications include animal bites and boils.
• Use a one percent solution as an antibacterial wash for fresh produce
• Use in hair and skin care regimes, as a hair tonic or in a face wash and for treatment of things like acne or warts
• Use thyme in a sitz bath or massage to stimulate menstruation for weak or missing periods
• Use to kill parasites
• Thymol, a chemical constituent in thyme essential oil, has been found to increase blood-flow to the skin, thought to speed healing
• Thymol has been found to protect and increase the percentage of healthy fats found in cell membranes
• Dietary consumption of thyme has been shown to increase the amount of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid) in brain, kidney, and heart cell membranes
• Thyme will discourage insects from invading your home
• Use thyme with rosemary, lavender, and cedarwood in a mixture of grapeseed and jojoba carrier oils to treat alopecia areata. According to the double-blind controlled clinical trial, massage the mixture into the scalp daily for several months.
• Because of the risk of irritation, it is a good idea to use thyme in blends. It blends particularly well with bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, lavender, rosemary and pine.

A new study finds that bacteria develop antibiotic resistance when exposed to Roundup

Phys October 12, 2018

A new study finds that bacteria develop antibiotic resistance up to 100,000 times faster when exposed to the world's most widely used herbicides, Roundup (glyphosate) and Kamba (dicamba) and antibiotics compared to without the herbicide. 

This study adds to a growing body of evidence that herbicides used on a mass industrial scale, but not intended to be antibiotics, can have profound effects on bacteria, with potentially negative implications for medicine's ability to treat infectious diseases caused by bacteria, says University of Canterbury scientist Professor Jack Heinemann, one of the study's authors. 

 "The combination of chemicals to which bacteria are exposed in the modern environment should be addressed alongside antibiotic use if we are to preserve antibiotics in the long-term," he says. 

An important finding of the new study was that even in cases where the herbicides increase the toxicity of antibiotics they also significantly increased the rate of antibiotic resistance, which the study's authors say could be contributing to the greater use of antibiotics in both agriculture and medicine.

Farmers Busted for Marketing Conventional Crops as Certified Organic

ACSH  October 12, 2018

Three farmers in Nebraska just plead guilty to a food fraud scheme in which they were selling conventionally grown corn and soybeans as organic. They pulled off this scheme from 2010 to 2017 and made nearly $11 million in the process. How could they get away with it for so long?

For starters, nobody can tell the difference between conventional and organic food. It's not as if organic corn and soybeans look, smell, or taste differently compared to their conventional counterparts. So, the only way to catch food fraud is by doing a chemical analysis. In this case, the analysis would look for the presence of pesticides that are banned according to organic agriculture's (completely arbitrary) rules.

These rules are supposedly enforced by the National Organic Program (NOP), which is part of the USDA. Obviously, it isn't doing a particularly good job. According to the Washington Post:

"[T]he [organic food] system suffers from multiple weaknesses in enforcement: Farmers hire their own inspection companies; most inspections are announced days or weeks in advance and lack the element of surprise; and testing for pesticides is the exception rather than the rule."

In other words, the USDA's policy is just to trust farmers and suppliers if they say their food is organic. As a result of such a lax attitude toward regulation, food fraud occurs, not just with homegrown crops but with imported ones, as well.

The organic industry is built upon a gigantic lie: that is, the notion that "natural" farming methods are safer and healthier while "unnatural" methods are dangerous. Worse, the organic industry perpetuates a myth that it does not use pesticides, when it absolutely does. It should surprise no one, therefore, that such a deceptive industry would attract its fair share of hucksters.

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More than a third of adults in the US will eat fast food

NY Times Oct. 22, 2018

More than a third of adults in the United States patronize fast-food restaurants and pizza parlors on any given day. And the higher their income, the more likely they are to do so.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released data on fast food consumption gathered from 2013 to 2016 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or Nhanes, a program that continuously monitors the health and nutritional status of Americans.

The Nhanes analysis relies on physical examinations and in-person interviews to produce demographic, socioeconomic and health data, including dietary information from a representative sample of about 10,000 adults over the four years.

Fast food — defined broadly in the survey as any item obtained from a “fast food/pizza” establishment — is eaten by 37 percent of American adults at some point during the day.

Among those who eat fast food, 44 percent do so at lunch and 42 percent at dinner. Men are more likely to grab fast food at lunch; women are more likely to snack on it.

The most enthusiastic consumers are 20 to 39 years old: 45 percent of them eat fast food on any given day. That figure declines sharply with age, to 38 percent among people 40 to 59, and to 24 percent among those over age 60.

The Monsanto Papers

Sunshine Is The Ultimate Protection Against Eczema

Prevent Disease  NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Babies who spend more time in the sun are less likely to develop eczema, but it may not be because it boosts their vitamin D levels as previously thought says a new study in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Is gluten in the wheat really the problem or is it actually the glyphosate residue sprayed on the wheat?

The Healty Economist May 24, 2018

Pre-harvest application of herbicides as a (toxic) drying agent on wheat is an established practice on many conventional farms. The method was first suggested as early as 1980, becoming routine in North America over the past 15 years or so. Use is also widespread in the UK.

Applying herbicides like Roundup 7-10 days before harvest is viewed as especially helpful for wheat that ripens unevenly, a common occurrence. It is also considered a helpful tool to initiate an earlier harvest when weather conditions threaten plant viability. Other benefits are earlier ripening for earlier replanting and reducing the green material in the field. This puts less strain on farm machinery during harvest.

Farmers euphemistically call the practice “desiccation”. When used during wheat harvest, it can result in slightly greater yield by triggering plants to release more seeds.

The result? Most non-organic wheat in North America is now contaminated with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and similar herbicides.

WHO: Glyphosate a Probable Carcinogen

A March 2015 report by the World Health Organization identified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Several EU countries have banned it as a result with more in the works.

However, in North America, glyphosate use shockingly continues to remain a popular farming tool.

And, as it turns out, use of Roundup as a drying agent on wheat prior to harvest is just the tip of the iceberg.

Dozens of other food crops are subjected to glyphosate dousing prior to harvest as well.

But Wait! Isn’t Roundup Just for GMO Crops?

It is well known that Roundup is sprayed directly on GMO crops like corn and soy because they are genetically engineered to withstand the toxic onslaught without withering. So much Roundup is used on GMO crops, in fact, that herbicide-resistant “superweeds” are now a huge problem little more than a decade later (1).

“If Roundup kills plants that aren’t genetically modified to resist it, then why use it on nonGMO crops?”

“Wouldn’t glyphosate kill a nonGMO crop?”

“Why would a farmer do this?”

Indeed, these common consumer questions indicate the ultimate irony of using Roundup for desiccation purposes on a food crop producing farm. Killing the crop and/or the greenery around it is actually the whole idea. For crops like wheat, it evens up the field, allows for an earlier harvest, protects machinery and/or increases profit.

The bottom line?

Pre-harvest treatment of crops with glyphosate helps farmers to harvest their crops more efficiently and at less cost (2)

Crazy as it may seem, Roundup is used everywhere in the North American conventional food supply and not just on GMO crops or to kill weeds!

Glyphosate is applied directly to dozens of nonGMO food crops, in many cases, right before they are harvested. This is the worst possible time to apply a herbicide because it causes the glyphosate to be absorbed into the food crop directly. In other words, the glyphosate can’t be washed off later as it has become part of the food. This toxin will then be ingested by those who consume it either directly as a “whole food” or via processed foods that contain it as an ingredient.

According to the Cornucopia Institute:

Ubiquitous in food production, glyphosate is used not just with row crops like corn, soybeans and wheat but also a range of fruits, nuts and veggies. Even spinach growers use glyphosate (3).