Weed killer in your wine and beer?
That's what a new U.S. PIRG study found
[color=var(--body-font-color)]Zlati MeyerUpdated 5:45 p.m. ET Feb. 25, 2019[/color]
Your favorite cereal, instant oatmeal or granola bar might also contain the main ingredient for weed killer. USA TODAY
A new report by the public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG reveals that tests of five wines and 15 beers, including organic ones, found traces of the controversial weed killer glyphosate in 19 out of the 20.
They include brands like Coors Light, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Corona, Heineken, Guinness, Stella Artois and Samuel Adams.
“The levels of glyphosate we found are not necessarily dangerous but are still concerning given the potential health risks,” U.S. PIRG said.
Glyphosate, a pesticide and herbicide best known as an ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, is a probable human carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization.
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Noting the report's acknowledgment that levels are below EPA risk for beverages, a spokesperson for national trade association the Beer Institute responded to USA TODAY saying, "Our members work with farmers who go to great lengths to raise their crops sustainably and safely. ... The results of the most recent federal testing showed farmers’ use of glyphosate falls well below federal limits."
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)][img=540x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/22/USAT/2564d5b6-63cc-4dc3-b9ef-ac69603d693a-GettyImages-921709018.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp[/img]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)]The public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG said it tested five wines and 15 beers, including organic ones, and found traces of weed killer in 19 of them. (Photo11: Getty Images/iStockphoto)[/color][/color]
![[Image: 2564d5b6-63cc-4dc3-b9ef-ac69603d693a-Get...&auto=webp]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/22/USAT/2564d5b6-63cc-4dc3-b9ef-ac69603d693a-GettyImages-921709018.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp)
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"An adult would have to drink more than 140 glasses of wine a day containing the highest glyphosate level measured just to reach the level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has identified as 'No Significant Risk Level,'” wrote a spokesperson for the Wine Institute in a statement to USA TODAY.
USA TODAY reached out to companies whose products were tested. Many contested the accuracy of the PIRG study. Others acknowledged the potential for the presence of herbicides in "trace amounts" beyond their control.
Organic winery Frey Vineyards noted that, while no herbicides "have ever been used" in its farming practices, "glyphosate in trace amounts is now found in rainwater because of its application to conventionally farmed agricultural land. Glyphosate in trace amounts can be found in many food products across the United States. We urge consumers to speak up to ban all use of glyphosate.”
Stating that a pesticide is "the last thing you want to think about" as you raise a glass, PIRG wanted to highlight what it sees as a potential danger.
“No matter the efforts of brewers and vintners, we found that it is incredibly difficult to avoid the troubling reality that consumers will likely drink glyphosate at every happy hour and backyard barbecue around the country,” said U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s Kara Cook-Schultz, who authored the study.
The 2018 Sutter Home Merlot was the wine with the highest concentration of glyphosate at 51.4 parts per billion, or ppb, while in the beer category, it was Tsingtao from Hong Kong with 49.7 ppb. The American beer with the largest trace was Coors Light with 31.1. ppb.
![[Image: ef7f1f7d-1706-43cc-8c0a-51e466660256-022...nline_.png]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/25/USAT/ef7f1f7d-1706-43cc-8c0a-51e466660256-022519-beer-wine-new_Wine-online_.png)
[img=701x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/25/USAT/ef7f1f7d-1706-43cc-8c0a-51e466660256-022519-beer-wine-new_Wine-online_.png[/img]
Organic adult beverages were also implicated in the U.S. PIRG research. For example, A 2016 Inkarri Malbec had 5.3 ppb and a 2017 Samuel Smith Organic Lager, 5.7 ppb.
William Reeves, a toxicologist for Bayer, which now owns Monsanto, accused the group of publicizing misleading information about pesticide residues in food.
![[Image: d76007ad-80ae-4ada-af9b-aadd9487630b-022...online.png]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/25/USAT/d76007ad-80ae-4ada-af9b-aadd9487630b-022519-beer-wine-new_Beer-online.png)
[img=700x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/25/USAT/d76007ad-80ae-4ada-af9b-aadd9487630b-022519-beer-wine-new_Beer-online.png[/img]
"Assuming the greatest value reported, 51.4 ppb, is correct, a 125-pound adult would have to consume 308 gallons of wine per day, every day for life to reach the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s glyphosate exposure limit for humans," he said "To put 308 gallons into context, that would be more than a bottle of wine every minute, for life, without sleeping.”
The EPA regulates pesticides growers use on crops grown for human food and setting limits, called tolerances, on how much may remain in or on food in the U.S. For glyphosate, that ranges from 0.1 parts per million for coconuts and peanuts to 400 parts per million for certain non-grass animal feed.
The EPA "found no meaningful risks to human health, including infants and children, when the product is used according to the pesticide label," the EPA said in an email, adding the EPA has so far concluded that glyphosate is "not likely to be carcinogenic" to humans.
The EPA said it's currently reviewing public comments received on its draft human health risk assessment and plans to publish later this year.
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)][img=540x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/22/USAT/f0ab7481-8488-4bff-ae24-81968e8449fb-GettyImages-922999310.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp[/img]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)]The public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG said it tested five wines and 15 beers, including organic ones, and found traces of weed killer in 19 of them. (Photo11: Zakharova_Natalia, Getty Images/iStockphoto)[/color][/color]
![[Image: f0ab7481-8488-4bff-ae24-81968e8449fb-Get...&auto=webp]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/22/USAT/f0ab7481-8488-4bff-ae24-81968e8449fb-GettyImages-922999310.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp)
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The U.S. PIRG said it purchased all beers and wines in Denver and shipped them in sealed containers to a San Francisco lab they've declined to name.
The first court trial over whether Monsanto's Roundup causes cancer ended in October when a San Francisco judge upheld a jury's verdict that the weed killer did make a groundskeeper who used the herbicide sick but cut the amount due to him from $289 million to $78 million.
DeWayne Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in when he was 42.
This PIRG report comes as the first federal case brought against the company over this issue is to begin in federal court in San Francisco.
Plaintiff Edwin Hardeman alleges the Roundup he sprayed caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"With a federal court looking at the connection between Roundup and cancer today, we believe this is the perfect time to shine a spotlight on glyphosate," Cook-Schultz said. "This chemical could prove a true risk to so many Americans' health, and they should know that it is everywhere – including in many of their favorite drinks.”
More than 9,300 people have filed similar lawsuits across the U.S.
Should you start with a beer and then have some wine, or is it more prudent to do it the other way around? Buzz60's Tony Spitz has the details. Buzz60
Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer
Dig Deeper
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High-stakes trial starts in Roundup weed killer cancer claim
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)][img=736x0]https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/media:f3265ae0c43e4e38bfef9824f06a8c84/2000.jpeg[/img][/color]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A jury in federal court in San Francisco will decide whether Roundup weed killer caused a California man’s cancer in a trial starting Monday that plaintiffs’ attorneys say could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits.
Edwin Hardeman, 70, is the second plaintiff to go to trial of thousands around the country who claim agribusiness giant Monsanto’s weed killer causes cancer.
Monsanto says studies have established that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is safe.
“There is a mountain of evidence,” Hardeman’s attorney, Brent Wisner, said outside court.
“This company needs to get straight and be honest with its customers and say, listen, there is evidence it’s associated with cancer and let people make a choice about whether or not they use the product.”
A San Francisco jury in August awarded another man $289 million after determining Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A judge later slashed the award to $78 million, and Monsanto has appealed.
Hardeman’s trial is before a different judge and may be more significant. U.S. Judge Vince Chhabria is overseeing hundreds of Roundup lawsuits and has deemed Hardeman’s case and two others “bellwether trials.”
“If we are able to succeed here then it really sends a signal to Monsanto and specifically to Bayer that they have a real problem,” Wisner said.
The outcome of bellwether cases can help attorneys decide whether to continue fighting similar suits in court or settle them.
A jury verdict in favor of Hardeman and the other test plaintiffs would give their attorneys a strong bargaining position in any settlement talks for the remaining cases before Chhabria, said David Levine, a professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law who has followed the Roundup litigation.
Thousands of other Roundup lawsuits are pending in state courts around the country.
Many government regulators have rejected a link between cancer and glyphosate. Monsanto has vehemently denied such a connection, saying hundreds of studies have established that the chemical is safe.
Monsanto developed glyphosate in the 1970s, and the weed killer is now sold in more than 160 countries and widely used in the U.S.
The herbicide came under increasing scrutiny after the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified it as a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015.
Lawsuits against Monsanto followed. Monsanto has attacked the international research agency’s opinion as an outlier. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says glyphosate is safe for people when used in accordance with label directions.
Hardeman started using Roundup products to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his 56-acre Sonoma County property in the 1980s and continued using them through 2012, according to his attorneys. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015.
In a setback for Hardeman, Chhabria issued a ruling last month breaking his trial up into two phases. Hardeman’s attorneys will first have to convince jurors that his use of Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma before they can make arguments for punitive damages.
The trial is expected to last about a month.
That's what a new U.S. PIRG study found
[color=var(--body-font-color)]Zlati MeyerUpdated 5:45 p.m. ET Feb. 25, 2019[/color]
Your favorite cereal, instant oatmeal or granola bar might also contain the main ingredient for weed killer. USA TODAY
A new report by the public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG reveals that tests of five wines and 15 beers, including organic ones, found traces of the controversial weed killer glyphosate in 19 out of the 20.
They include brands like Coors Light, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Corona, Heineken, Guinness, Stella Artois and Samuel Adams.
“The levels of glyphosate we found are not necessarily dangerous but are still concerning given the potential health risks,” U.S. PIRG said.
Glyphosate, a pesticide and herbicide best known as an ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, is a probable human carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization.
Start the day smarter: Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox
Noting the report's acknowledgment that levels are below EPA risk for beverages, a spokesperson for national trade association the Beer Institute responded to USA TODAY saying, "Our members work with farmers who go to great lengths to raise their crops sustainably and safely. ... The results of the most recent federal testing showed farmers’ use of glyphosate falls well below federal limits."
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)][img=540x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/22/USAT/2564d5b6-63cc-4dc3-b9ef-ac69603d693a-GettyImages-921709018.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp[/img]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)]The public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG said it tested five wines and 15 beers, including organic ones, and found traces of weed killer in 19 of them. (Photo11: Getty Images/iStockphoto)[/color][/color]
Super Bowl aftermath: MillerCoors, Anheuser-Busch fight over farmers in aftermath of Bud Light's ad
Massive deal: Bayer wins EU approval for $62.5-billlion Monsanto buy
"An adult would have to drink more than 140 glasses of wine a day containing the highest glyphosate level measured just to reach the level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has identified as 'No Significant Risk Level,'” wrote a spokesperson for the Wine Institute in a statement to USA TODAY.
USA TODAY reached out to companies whose products were tested. Many contested the accuracy of the PIRG study. Others acknowledged the potential for the presence of herbicides in "trace amounts" beyond their control.
Organic winery Frey Vineyards noted that, while no herbicides "have ever been used" in its farming practices, "glyphosate in trace amounts is now found in rainwater because of its application to conventionally farmed agricultural land. Glyphosate in trace amounts can be found in many food products across the United States. We urge consumers to speak up to ban all use of glyphosate.”
Stating that a pesticide is "the last thing you want to think about" as you raise a glass, PIRG wanted to highlight what it sees as a potential danger.
“No matter the efforts of brewers and vintners, we found that it is incredibly difficult to avoid the troubling reality that consumers will likely drink glyphosate at every happy hour and backyard barbecue around the country,” said U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s Kara Cook-Schultz, who authored the study.
The 2018 Sutter Home Merlot was the wine with the highest concentration of glyphosate at 51.4 parts per billion, or ppb, while in the beer category, it was Tsingtao from Hong Kong with 49.7 ppb. The American beer with the largest trace was Coors Light with 31.1. ppb.
[img=701x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/25/USAT/ef7f1f7d-1706-43cc-8c0a-51e466660256-022519-beer-wine-new_Wine-online_.png[/img]
Organic adult beverages were also implicated in the U.S. PIRG research. For example, A 2016 Inkarri Malbec had 5.3 ppb and a 2017 Samuel Smith Organic Lager, 5.7 ppb.
William Reeves, a toxicologist for Bayer, which now owns Monsanto, accused the group of publicizing misleading information about pesticide residues in food.
[img=700x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/25/USAT/d76007ad-80ae-4ada-af9b-aadd9487630b-022519-beer-wine-new_Beer-online.png[/img]
"Assuming the greatest value reported, 51.4 ppb, is correct, a 125-pound adult would have to consume 308 gallons of wine per day, every day for life to reach the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s glyphosate exposure limit for humans," he said "To put 308 gallons into context, that would be more than a bottle of wine every minute, for life, without sleeping.”
The EPA regulates pesticides growers use on crops grown for human food and setting limits, called tolerances, on how much may remain in or on food in the U.S. For glyphosate, that ranges from 0.1 parts per million for coconuts and peanuts to 400 parts per million for certain non-grass animal feed.
The EPA "found no meaningful risks to human health, including infants and children, when the product is used according to the pesticide label," the EPA said in an email, adding the EPA has so far concluded that glyphosate is "not likely to be carcinogenic" to humans.
The EPA said it's currently reviewing public comments received on its draft human health risk assessment and plans to publish later this year.
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)][img=540x0]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/02/22/USAT/f0ab7481-8488-4bff-ae24-81968e8449fb-GettyImages-922999310.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp[/img]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)]The public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG said it tested five wines and 15 beers, including organic ones, and found traces of weed killer in 19 of them. (Photo11: Zakharova_Natalia, Getty Images/iStockphoto)[/color][/color]
Food safety: Why are chicken nuggets and other poultry products recalled?
Bye, everyone: These are the best places to retire in every state
The U.S. PIRG said it purchased all beers and wines in Denver and shipped them in sealed containers to a San Francisco lab they've declined to name.
The first court trial over whether Monsanto's Roundup causes cancer ended in October when a San Francisco judge upheld a jury's verdict that the weed killer did make a groundskeeper who used the herbicide sick but cut the amount due to him from $289 million to $78 million.
DeWayne Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in when he was 42.
This PIRG report comes as the first federal case brought against the company over this issue is to begin in federal court in San Francisco.
Plaintiff Edwin Hardeman alleges the Roundup he sprayed caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"With a federal court looking at the connection between Roundup and cancer today, we believe this is the perfect time to shine a spotlight on glyphosate," Cook-Schultz said. "This chemical could prove a true risk to so many Americans' health, and they should know that it is everywhere – including in many of their favorite drinks.”
More than 9,300 people have filed similar lawsuits across the U.S.
Should you start with a beer and then have some wine, or is it more prudent to do it the other way around? Buzz60's Tony Spitz has the details. Buzz60
Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer
Dig Deeper
You may also be interested in
High-stakes trial starts in Roundup weed killer cancer claim
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)][img=736x0]https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/media:f3265ae0c43e4e38bfef9824f06a8c84/2000.jpeg[/img][/color]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A jury in federal court in San Francisco will decide whether Roundup weed killer caused a California man’s cancer in a trial starting Monday that plaintiffs’ attorneys say could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits.
Edwin Hardeman, 70, is the second plaintiff to go to trial of thousands around the country who claim agribusiness giant Monsanto’s weed killer causes cancer.
Monsanto says studies have established that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is safe.
“There is a mountain of evidence,” Hardeman’s attorney, Brent Wisner, said outside court.
“This company needs to get straight and be honest with its customers and say, listen, there is evidence it’s associated with cancer and let people make a choice about whether or not they use the product.”
A San Francisco jury in August awarded another man $289 million after determining Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A judge later slashed the award to $78 million, and Monsanto has appealed.
Hardeman’s trial is before a different judge and may be more significant. U.S. Judge Vince Chhabria is overseeing hundreds of Roundup lawsuits and has deemed Hardeman’s case and two others “bellwether trials.”
“If we are able to succeed here then it really sends a signal to Monsanto and specifically to Bayer that they have a real problem,” Wisner said.
The outcome of bellwether cases can help attorneys decide whether to continue fighting similar suits in court or settle them.
A jury verdict in favor of Hardeman and the other test plaintiffs would give their attorneys a strong bargaining position in any settlement talks for the remaining cases before Chhabria, said David Levine, a professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law who has followed the Roundup litigation.
Thousands of other Roundup lawsuits are pending in state courts around the country.
Many government regulators have rejected a link between cancer and glyphosate. Monsanto has vehemently denied such a connection, saying hundreds of studies have established that the chemical is safe.
Monsanto developed glyphosate in the 1970s, and the weed killer is now sold in more than 160 countries and widely used in the U.S.
The herbicide came under increasing scrutiny after the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified it as a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015.
Lawsuits against Monsanto followed. Monsanto has attacked the international research agency’s opinion as an outlier. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says glyphosate is safe for people when used in accordance with label directions.
Hardeman started using Roundup products to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his 56-acre Sonoma County property in the 1980s and continued using them through 2012, according to his attorneys. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015.
In a setback for Hardeman, Chhabria issued a ruling last month breaking his trial up into two phases. Hardeman’s attorneys will first have to convince jurors that his use of Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma before they can make arguments for punitive damages.
The trial is expected to last about a month.