Glyphosate Warning: Keep Out of Reach & Mouths of Children

Overview - Glyphosate & Gluten

The MAHA Commission's Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy (MAHA Report Strategy) should: 1) reassess the safety of using Glyphosate as a pre-harvest weed killer on crops including Gluten containing grains (Wheat, Barley, Rye and Oats), and 2) require the labeling of Gluten containing grains on all packaged foods in the United States, just like Gluten must be declared as a Priority/Major Food Allergen on all food labels in 87 other countries. The MAHA Report Strategy is set to be released on August 12, 2025.

Given the adverse health effects that 3.3 million Americans with Celiac Disease face from Gluten ingestion as well as the potential adverse health effects for the general population, all Americans have a right to know what ingredients are in their food, including Barley, Rye and Oats (which are not currently required to be labeled on packaged foods in the US). It's about transparency. Gold standard research also needs to be conducted to understand whether there is any causation between the use of Glyphosate and the rising number of chronic childhood diseases including Celiac Disease, Gluten allergies, Gluten intolerances, and cancer.

Glyphosate's Intended Use: Pre-Harvest Application Used as a Desiccant to Make Harvesting Gluten Containing Grains Easier

Glyphosate is the active chemical in the weed killer Roundup, and it is the most widely used herbicide on the planet. According to Bayer, which acquired Monsanto and its Roundup products in 2018, "Preharvest glyphosate is a tool for managing perennial weeds in cereal crops (wheat, barley, and oats)." This is consistent with Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, "Glyphosate is labeled as a pre-harvest weed control treatment in wheat and other cereal grains."

Glyphosate's Adverse Health Effects: Probable Human Carcinogen

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, classified Glyphosate as probable human carcinogen. Fast forward to June 2025 and Environmental Health published new animal research which the Environmental Working Group summarized -- the widely used weed killer Glyphosate, introduced by Monsanto in the 1970s as an herbicide, "causes multiple types of cancer, and may do so at doses considered safe by regulators."

Make America Healthy Again Commission Report

The MAHA PAC has called 12-year-old Jax Bari the MAHA Kid, and Jax applauds the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment (MAHA Report Assessment) which was released on May 22, 2025 and declared that "the health of American children is in crisis":

• "Today, over 1 in 4 American children suffers from allergies, including seasonal allergies, eczema, and food allergies.

  • Eczema (atopic dermatitis) and skin allergies increased from 7.4% of children under 18 from 1997-1999 to 12.7% from 2016-2018.

• Between 1997 and 2018, childhood food‑allergy prevalence rose 88%.

• Celiac disease rates have increased 5-fold in American children since the 1980s."

We greatly appreciate that the MAHA Report Assessment expressly mentioned Celiac Disease, food allergies and autoimmune diseases.

"The U.S. government is committed to fostering radical transparency and gold-standard science to better understand the potential cumulative impacts of environmental exposures. We must understand and ameliorate any potential links between cumulative chemical exposure and childhood chronic disease." -- MAHA Report Assessment

Common Sense Solution is Actionable Now: Protect 3.3 Million American Celiacs & the General Population by Requiring Gluten Labeling

Celiac Disease is a potentially life-threatening and life-debilitating food allergy, auto-immune disease, and digestive disease. Celiac is triggered by eating Gluten, a protein found in Wheat, Barley, Rye and most Oats. The only known treatment for Celiac Disease is a strict Gluten Free diet for life.

Since 2006, only Wheat has been required to be labeled in the United States, but not Barley, Rye and Oats. That's just nonsense since 87 other countries require the labeling of Gluten. Jax's FDA Citizen Petition presents a common sense solution to address part of the chronic childhood disease crisis pertaining to Gluten grain food allergies (FDA-2023-P-3942). The U.S. is so far behind the rest of the world!. It's time to for the United States to catch up to the rest of the world and require Gluten labeling on all packaged foods in the US, just like Gluten must be declared on all food labels in Canada and across Europe. This will better protect the estimated 729,000 American children with Celiac Disease.

This is also consistent with what Secretary Kennedy told Special Report with Bret Baier on May 8, 2025: "We're going to label [food] so that when you go into the grocery store to buy food for your children, you know what you're giving them."

"Crop Protection Tools: including pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. Some studies have raised concerns about possible links between some of these products and adverse health outcomes, especially in children, but human studies are limited. For example, a selection of research studies on a herbicide (glyphosate) have noted a range of possible health effects, ranging from reproductive and developmental disorders as well as cancers, liver inflammation and metabolic disturbances." -- MAHA Report Assessment

MAHA Dad's Perspective

I am a MAHA Dad, and proud to be the father of the MAHA Kid who has a common sense solution to require the labeling of Gluten grains on all packaged foods in the United States, just like Gluten must be declared on all food labels in 87 other countries. The U.S. is so far behind the rest of the world!

As a MAHA Dad, I have seen how awful Celiac can be, especially for a child, and how the government has failed to protect Celiacs over time. In addition to requiring the labeling of Gluten on all packaged foods in the United States, I want to find out whether Glyphosate caused Celiac to activate in my son and the many members of our Celiac Journey community.

History will judge our society on how we care for our children, especially those with chronic diseases. I do not think that time will be kind to Bayer and other steadfast proponents of using Glyphosate use as a pre-harvest desiccant. It reminds me of how the NFL aggressively fought to undermine the science and common sense on concussions causing brain injuries and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).  It also reminds me all too well of how big tobacco resolutely fought claims and the science that nicotine was addictive and smoking caused cancer. To that end, it's not lost of me that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the two largest U.S. tobacco companies (Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds) transformed into major players in the packaged food industry through aggressive acquisitions (Kraft, General Foods and Nabisco).

High Risk of Digestive Cancers in Patients With Celiac Disease

In December 2024, "Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology" published in-depth research that confirms high risks of lymphoma and small bowel cancer in Celiac patients, as well as indicates increased risks of pancreatic, esophageal, gastric, and colonic cancers. Additionally, the research demonstrated significantly increased risk for Celiacs to develop Type 1 diabetes, thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. The research also found that Celiac patients had a higher risk for pernicious anemia, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and noninfectious enterocolitis, which included microscopic colitis as well as nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis.

The study examined data from 27,114 hospitalized Celiac patients over a nine-year period. When compared to non-Celiac controls, individuals with Celiac Disease had significantly higher risks for small bowel cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, colon cancer and gastric cancer.

Previous research published in the journal "Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology" demonstrated that following a strict Gluten Free diet can reduce the cancer risk in individuals with Celiac Disease.

The Link Between Gluten & Colorectal Cancer in the General Population (Non-Celiac)

In June 2020, the American Cancer Society published research from Caroline Um, PhD, MPH, RD, and her ACS colleagues on the link between Gluten and Colorectal Cancer (CRC). According to the American Cancer Society, this matters because "this is the first time that any research has linked Gluten intake to a higher risk of proximal colon cancer." Using the Cancer Prevention Study (CPS) - II Nutrition Cohort study, the researchers looked at both Gluten intake and whole grain intake in 50,118 men and 62,031 women. The researchers found:

• "Eating more whole grains was associated with a decreased risk of CRC in men but not in women.

• Eating more gluten may increase the risk of cancer in the first and middle areas of the colon (called proximal colon cancer) in both sexes."

EWG's Research Found High Levels of Cancer-Linked Glyphosate in Oat-Based Cereals, Granola, Snacks & Snack Bars

Given the extensive use of Glyphosate on Gluten containing grains including Oats, that is another reason why Gluten containing grains should be required to be labeled so that everyone in the United States, not just those with Celiac, can know whether those ingredients are in the foods that they may consume.

According to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Guide to Avoiding Glyphosate in Food, EWG's testing by Anresco and Eurofins Central Analytical Laboratories revealed:

• Average Glyphosate Level for Conventional Oat-Based Cereals: 711 parts per billion.

• Average Glyphosate Level for Conventional Oat-Based Granola: 298 parts per billion.

• Average Glyphosate Level for Conventional Oat-Based Snacks and Snack Bars: 318 parts per billion.

According to EWG's press release on October 2, 2018, "the Food and Drug Administration failed to include oats and wheat products in its glyphosate testing program, leaving Americans largely in the dark about their exposure through food to the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer. After sitting on the data from its glyphosate tests for more than a year, the FDA finally made the results public. Tests found glyphosate on 63 percent of corn samples and 67 percent of soybean samples. But FDA did not test any oats and wheat, the two main crops where glyphosate is used as a pre-harvest drying agent, resulting in glyphosate contamination of foods such as Cheerios and some brands of granola."

"FDA's failure to test for glyphosate in the foods where it’s most likely to be found is inexcusable." -- Olga Naidenko, Ph.D, Senior Science Advisor for Children’s Environmental Health, EWG.

2006 Marks the Year When Gluten Allergies & Celiac Began Exploding

In a 2020 conversation with Dr. Mark Hyman on the Doctor's Farmacy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. talked about the explosion in the number of cases of Celiac and Gluten allergies. According to RFK, Jr., the year 2006 marked the first time when farmers started spraying Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, on crops like Wheat right before harvest.

"And so 2006 marked the date when suddenly these Gluten allergies began exploding, and Celiac Disease and all these kind of Wheat problems that we started seeing in this country. If you measure back and say when did it start, you can look and draw a red line and that's 2006, and it's the year that they began spraying it [Roundup] on Wheat."-- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

In 2018, Jax was diagnosed with Celiac when he was 5-year-old. At the time of his diagnosis, Jax had severe damage (Marsh 3 level) to his small intestine from Gluten ingestion, was anemic and suffering from failure to thrive.

It's instructive to listen to the Joe Rogan Experience with Bobby Kennedy discussing the correlation between the increase in the number of cases of Celiac Disease and the increased use of Glyphosate. We also appreciate Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson for hosting Bobby Kennedy in a discussion on how chronic immune diseases like Celiac are impacting Americans.

While there have been some research on Glyphosate and its potential adverse health effects [1], gold standard research needs to be conducted to understand whether there is any causation between the use of Glyphosate and the rising number of chronic childhood diseases including Celiac Disease, Gluten allergies, Gluten intolerances, and cancer.

Food Babe Calls for End of Pre-Harvest Application of Glyphosate

On June 11, 2025, Vani Hari (@thefoodbabe) posted: "Just yesterday, a comprehensive global study was published that found Roundup weedkiller capable of causing MULTIPLE forms of cancer, at exposure levels that are currently deemed 'safe'. They’ve found Roundup weedkiller residues in Cheerios, Quaker Oats, Oreos, and more iconic American food products…  And a major reason why is the pre-harvest application, where it’s used as a desiccant to make harvesting crops easier. If we stopped allowing just this one practice, we could greatly reduce the amount of this toxin in our food supply… and would bring us in line with Europe and other countries who already don’t allow preharvest applications."

Moms Across America - Testing of Gluten Free Foods Found Glyphosate

In June 2024, Moms Across America tested 46 samples of Gluten Free foods, including bread, pasta, crackers, snacks, flour, dessert mixes, and chips for Glyphosate/AMPA, 236 pesticides, minerals, and Gluten. The results were disturbing and affect at least 20 million people who eat Gluten Free food in America. This includes about 3.3 million Americans with Celiac Disease, a potentially life-threatening food allergy and auto-immune disease, that is triggered by eating Gluten, and must refrain from eating any Gluten, a protein found in Wheat, Barley, Rye and most Oats.

"We had hoped to find that gluten-free foods that were also organic would be free of glyphosate and pesticides. They were not. The prevalence of glyphosate and agrochemicals in our food supply, even in organic and even in foods made for people with American Disability Act (ADA) recognized disability, such as Celiac disease, is disturbing for many reasons. This contamination is avoidable. As the EU has done, all our policymakers need to do is disallow the spraying of glyphosate and other agrochemicals as a drying agent on crops. The result would be that 80% of our exposure to glyphosate would be eliminated from food consumption. We urge food manufacturers to join us in calling for better regulation of the food supply." --Zen Honeycutt, Founder and Executive Director, Moms Across America

Glyphosate Girl's Perspective

Kelly Ryerson, @GlysophateGirl, is one of America's thought leaders on Glyphosate and Glyphosate's impact on health and well being. Prior to the Biden Administration's White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in 2022, Ryerson submitted a powerful video documenting her family's experience with Gluten intolerance and autoimmunity caused by Gluten ingestion.

MAHA Report Assessment - Why Children are Uniquely Vulnerable to Environmental Chemicals

According to the MAHA Report Assessment:

"Children are not 'little adults' when it comes to environmental chemicals. Exposure to these substances can begin at conception and continue throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood, accumulating over time. The placenta and umbilical cord do not serve as impenetrable barriers; they can allow hundreds of industrial chemicals and pollutants to reach the developing fetus. Once children are exposed to these substances, several unique characteristics make newborns, children, and adolescents particularly vulnerable. Here are some key factors that heighten their risk:

• Sensitive Developmental Windows: Even minor exposures during critical periods in utero, infancy, early childhood, and adolescence -- can result in developmental delays or permanent harm.

• Developing Immune Systems: Young children have maturing immune systems, making them susceptible to chemical exposures that can disrupt lifelong immune development.

• Detoxification Challenges: Babies struggle to detoxify chemicals as effectively as adults, allowing chemicals to accumulate in their smaller bodies.

• Accelerated Brain Development: Early childhood is marked by rapid brain development, with up to one million new neural connections forming every second. Toxic exposures during this time can derail neurodevelopment, leading to lifelong learning disabilities and behavioral disorders.

• Endocrine Disruption: Multiple developmental stages, from fetal growth to onset of puberty, are regulated via exquisitely sensitive hormonal signaling that can be disrupted by endocrine disrupting chemicals, impacting growth trajectories and outcomes from conception through early adulthood.

• Adolescent Brain Remodeling: The brain undergoes a second phase of remodeling during adolescence, particularly in regions responsible for impulse control and emotion. Neurotoxic substances -- such as solvents and heavy metals -- can have lasting effects that extend well beyond the teenage years."

  
  

Roundup Warning Labels Advise of a Potential Immunological Reaction

Bayer's consumer products on the market today exclude Glyphosate but include warning labels such as "keep out of reach of children," "kills the roots guaranteed," and "prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause allergic reactions in some individuals."

While it appears that there is a correlation between the use of Glyphosate and the rising number of chronic diseases including Celiac and Gluten food allergies, more research is needed to determine if there is causal relation.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been the only HHS Secretary to talk about Celiac Disease and the rising number of cases. Moreover, Secretary Kennedy has talked about how America's food system is broken and how the FDA has failed to protect our kids. From Celiac Journey's research on food allergen labeling, the FDA has not cared about the health and well-being of Celiacs since 1985. In particular, the Biden Administration failed to protect the Celiac community. Former HHS Secretary Becerra and former FDA Commissioner Califf were totally uninterested in Celiac and quite dismissive in fact during in person meetings and repeated follow up. We are hopeful for meaningful change to Make America Healthy Again!

Notes

[1] "Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance," Samsel A, Seneff S., Interdiscip Toxicol. 2013 Dec;6(4):159-84. doi: 10.2478/intox-2013-0026. PMID: 24678255; PMCID: PMC3945755.

"Facts and Fallacies in the Debate on Glyphosate Toxicity," Mesnage R, Antoniou MN. Front Public Health. 2017 Nov 24;5:316. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00316. PMID: 29226121; PMCID: PMC5705608.

"Separating the Empirical Wheat From the Pseudoscientific Chaff: A Critical Review of the Literature Surrounding Glyphosate, Dysbiosis and Wheat-Sensitivity," Barnett JA and Gibson DL (2020), Front. Microbiol. 11:556729. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.556729

"Roundup Ready Wheat – An Overview Based on Advancements in the Risk Assessment of Genetically Engineered Crops," by Doug Gurian-Sherman, Ph.D. Center for Science in the Public Interest