At Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, Inc. we are proud of our continuous efforts to provide healthy whole grains to families worldwide.
Recently, some of our customers expressed concern regarding the use of glyphosate in the end stages of cultivation of agricultural commodities, particularly wheat. This practice is sometimes known as desiccation and is performed by some conventional farmers, particularly those located in regions with shorter growing seasons, in an effort to achieve more even ripening and an earlier harvest.
Because we at Bob’s Red Mill are dedicated to bringing all of our customers natural, healthy products, whether organic or conventional, we have inquired directly with farmers and with our suppliers to determine if glyphosate desiccation is used by the farmers supplying our products. The majority of our conventional wheat is grown close to home in the Pacific Northwest, where growing seasons are typically longer and the practice of desiccation is as such rarely used. We’ve been told desiccation is not a practice used by our individual farmers. The growing, harvest, and communal storage practices sometimes used by the wheat industry in general make it nearly impossible, however, for our multi-source suppliers to guarantee the practice of glyphosate desiccation is not used with all of the conventional wheat the suppliers sell to us.
We are able to assure our customers, however, that glyphosate desiccation is not a practice used for our organic products, as the use of glyphosate is not permitted at any time in the cultivation of our organically grown ingredients. Our customers who desire to be certain that glyphosate has not been used may wish to choose instead from our extensive line of certified organic products.
We believe food and the way it is grown should be simple. Bob’s Red Mill continues our commitment to providing you the best possible quality whole grain foods for your family: Good Food For All.
Questions? Please contact [email protected]
;)
Mike M
Thank you. We will pass along your request.
Thank you
You should work on releasing certified organic and wheat free oats
Ben
Thank you for your comments. At this time, organic gluten free oats are not being grown. I assure you, as soon as we can start offering them, we will.
Yes, we are working to get this product verified by the non-GMO Project. At this time, I can only tell you that we source non-GMO corn for this product. I have no additional information about glyphosate beyond the what is in the statement above. If you are uncomfortable using it, we hope to have it verified in the next year. Unfortunately, the verification process is long and time consuming. You can watch our progress here: http://www.nongmoproject.org/find-non-gmo/search-participating-products/browse-products-by-brand/search?brandId=3657
After reading your stance on glyophosphate, I'm sorry to announce that I have purchased my last BRM product.
:(
So sad that you've gotten to the point of just replying "thanks for your opinion" instead of the company standing up for what it claims to promote.
Thanks for the transparency.
I can't wait for BRM to finally begin testing for Roundup on their organic food so I can buy in confidence!
Nevertheless I look to companies like yours and Amy's and others to take a stand with transparency. Lundberg rice came clean on arsenic in rice and publish their numbers every year now - and there is indeed arsenic in the rice. They say it and explain what they are doing to lower it each year.
It turned out some years ago there is jet fuel in most water, and like I said almost everything has lead in it these days. And a lot of us do understand that wind blows and there may be some cross contamination from well-intentined good-practice farmers, so there may be extremely low glyphosphate numbers in even some truly organic farms. Long term people can handle the truth. It might be a bit jolting for some in the short term, but long term it is always better.
So I say go for it! Get it tested and let everyone know. You guys are around the best there is, if you guys can't get this figured out then we are all doomed :). Note that people are being hard on you in these comments because you are near the very top of what we hope is good in society and good for us physically. You can be a moral leader in dealing with these things and keeping everyone's faith that some people are just 'good' independent of profits and the rest.
Maybe give the Lundberg guys a call and ask about their process of letting everyone know about arsenic and what impact that has had to their business, they may be able to shed some light on the process and impact it has had on their business.
Note I also definitely agree with others here that you should feel free to have truly organic grains at any price that reflects the supply-chain and reasonable profit. People spend so much money on nonsense, fancy coffee, etc., if a bag of grains are even 8 dollars instead of 3 or 4 I think a lot of people don't care and as mentioned especially the allergic/sensitive diet folks. Maybe offer a higher level of fully 'tested' grains from very particular farms online only or in partner with Amazon to expedite delivery?
Well thought out and well written.
Thanks.
Reading the concerns about 'gluten free oats' made me think of the difficulty of producing a truly gluten-free product, which many of us forget when perusing the store aisles - the requirement of a Completely separate production facility & completely separate growth, storage & transportation.
However, with that said, there is SO MUCH spraying of glyphosate on conventional crops, including aerial spraying from cropduster airplanes, that even organically grown crops (all crops, not just oats) are starting to show up with glyphosate residues. In some parts of the country there is glyphosate in the rain. This is especially a problem in parts of the country that have short growing seasons, where the farmer may spray to kill and desiccate in order to quickly get a crop in before the snow.
As a mom, I am personally very disturbed by the increasing prevalence of glysophate in our food and water supply. I think it behooves all of us to put maximum effort into passing GMO labeling, which will increase market demand for non-Roundup-Ready crops. But we also need to support NGOs who are working to expose the issue of glysophate contamination and to hold companies accountable. Right now the Organic Consumers
Association, along with Beyond Pesticides and Moms Across America, are filing a lawsuit against General Mills for false advertising on the packaging and marketing material for Nature Valley granola bars because they claim they are “Made with 100% Natural Whole Grain Oats” when in fact they are made with conventionally grown oats that are desiccated before harvest with Roundup and therefor they have high levels of glyphosate in them. I encourage everyone who cares about this issue to support the OCA in their work.
I would personally like to figure out a way to get grain products that are not just certified organic but that have been tested for pesticide and herbicide residues and have the numbers available to their consumers. Short of that, I think sourcing these foods from CA grain mills that are milling locally grown organic crops may be the way to reduce exposure in these products.
I found one small organic grower/miller who I am going to check into. His operation is called Grass Valley Grains. Since he is growing and milling everything himself, or buying it from his neighbors and milling it, it is all CA grain. This makes for less danger of his product crop being hit by drift from a neighboring conventional field doing dry-down with Roundup. At this point all I can think to do is look for Certified Organic grains that are also grown in CA or other states with a long growing season.
King Arthur does NOT currently test for glyphosate either. Only Tropical Traditions does.
"Thank you for contacting NSF International. The Organic Testing under the National Organic Program does not include this testing.
If you need additional information or have further questions, please let me know.
Thank you for your inquiry.
Kind regards,
Mindy Costello RS MS
Consumer Information NSF International"
Knowing the dangers of glyphosate I am curious to know if you and your family consume grains which have been dessicated with Round up? Do you feed your grand children this poison? I emailed your company directly with these questions and received back a double talk response. Shame on you and your company! I don't mind spending more money on a product if I know it's a completely safe food but a half truth does not make it safe in my book! I will keep searching for safe grains. Until then your products are no longer on my "safe" list.
Regrettably, I've been consuming your gluten free oats daily for years now since oats increase testosterone which is needed for my health. However, paradoxically your apparently glyphosate tainted product has apparently been lowering my testosterone since I always feel sluggish and foggy after consuming it. And then there's also the other serious health risks that Eli mentions above.
It disgusts me that you apparently deceived me into believing that it's pure for profit. By claiming on the front of your package that it's "purity tested" as well as "wheat, gluten and dairy free." Therefore, it seems you duped me that it's healthy and safe to consume since it's pure and ostensibly also free of any far worse poisonous glyphosate contamination!
Tropical Traditions does.
I love you brand! I am a high consumer of soghum flour. Can i guarantee that the Sorghum flour you source is glyphosate free? Until otherwise specified. I will continue to buy organic starches and flours ie:potato, from suppliers who can guarantee it on the label or via their website post.
Thank you so much!
Lyane
Great article!! Love your research and dedication to the quality of your product and your sources. You have just won over two families for life and we will tell everyone we know. Thank you! Please keep up your great work. The world needs you!! -R
Bob's is my next purchase. Thanks for protecting our good sources.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-monsantos-roundup-pesticide-glyphosate-safe/
I have no affiliation to BRM - just a customer
"Eating organic can help you lower your exposure to even trace amounts of pesticides, says Sass, particularly for foods you eat daily. (It’s worth noting that in the most recent FDA oatmeal findings, the organic products tested—from brands such as Bob’s Red Mill, 365 Whole Foods, Sprout, and Nature Path—had no detectable levels of pesticides.)"
http://www.health.com/nutrition/pesticides-in-oatmeal
best to read the entire article ...
The more info we have the better off our decisions will be !
Caesar
After many years of illnesses, medications and hospital and Doctor visits involving my gut
I went off all gluten and lactose permanently! and the results are nothing short of amazing!! I have lost weight and the bloating and pain from gluten have subsided and I no longer am hungry all the time!
Bob's Red Mill products line my kitchen shelves because they are my gluten free choice.
However, after reading so many comments about your products also containing pesticides I am going to discontinue your products and seek out other 100% organic gluten free and pesticide products in hopes that these companies are being honest.
Your company went to all the work of producing these wonderful gluten free products yet we as consumers of your products are still eating poisons.
My food shopping list is already made out and your products are on it but today I will not be purchasing them.
Research people because there are a number of other companies who are dedicated to selling pesticide free products.
Hopefully Bob's Red Mill will come to the understanding that American's are trying to save our lives and that of our families.
These huge companies who produce pesticides are not going to stop nor are the huge corp. who grow mass food supplies will not stop using it either.
Best of health to you all!
Jan G.
“Eating organic can help you lower your exposure to even trace amounts of pesticides, says Sass, particularly for foods you eat daily. (It’s worth noting that in the most recent FDA oatmeal findings, the organic products tested—from brands such as Bob’s Red Mill, 365 Whole Foods, Sprout, and Nature Path—had no detectable levels of pesticides.)”
Glyphosate is as far as I know, not a pesticide but is a herbicide- used to kill plants. So testing to rule out the presence of pesticides in organic products would not rule out glyphosate. So the question is, is the FDA testing for the presence of herbicides?
Grains/seeds sprayed with glyphosate are dead. Period. It's not sprayed to dry them out, it's sprayed to kill the grain. Why? Industrial bakers do not want to work with sprouted grain under any circumstances. Sprouting degrades gluten development. But honestly, gluten is not the problem. The problem is the industrialization of our food supply. The solution is simple, look for people who grow and produce food the way our forebearers use to do it before industrialization. Organic? Sure, that's great. But I would also support biodynamic farmers and organic sustainable farmers. And for that matter, most Amish farmers who basically have no choice but grow food the way it has been grown for centuries.
Good god I am so sad at the sheer stupidity and or misinformation that has inflicted so many people in this country. This whole issue of gluten and gluten intolerance and glyphosate is so easy to address. From my point of view as a baker the solution is simple. You sprout the grain and you work with a natural leaven. That's all that is required to make a perfectly healthy loaf of bread. Goodbye gluten intolerance. Goodbye lectin/phytic acid issues, goodbye wheat sensitivity. Goodbye fear of glyphosate contamination.