Addressing Claims that Glyphosate Contributes to "Toxic Wheat"

The article “The Real Reason Wheat is Toxic” has recently become a topic of conversation on social media. While there is no GMO wheat commercially available in the U.S. (only these crops are), we are frequently asked about the use of glyphosate, an herbicide discussed in the article, and its safety. We would like to address some of the underlying concerns about glyphosate that have emerged from this article.

The post claims that farmers are “dousing” wheat crops with glyphosate, and that this practice is contributing to allergies, digestive issues and autoimmune responses.  The article references the research of Dr. Stephanie Seneff at MIT, her claims about glyphosate have been discussed in depth on GMO Answers.

Following are key excerpts from responses which discuss Seneff’s research posted to our Ask Section.

Dr. Kevin Folta, professor and chair of the University of Florida horticultural sciences department, provides context to the claim that glyphosate is harmful or toxic when used according to recommended application rates, and says, "Glyphosate is amazingly non-toxic to humans or any other animals. Acute effects are seen only at relatively high doses."

Dr. Folta also provides context to Dr. Stephanie Seneff's background and explains, "She is a computer scientist in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. She is not a plant scientist, molecular biologist or expert in human disease. Her evidence is largely correlation."

Seneff has also claimed that glyphosate causes or contributes to the increase of autism. Dr. Andrew Kniss, associate professor of weed ecology and management at the University of Wyoming, addresses concerns and explains, "There is simply no reason to believe that there is any link between increased use of glyphosate and increased prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Certainly, glyphosate use has increased due to widespread use of glyphosate-resistant crops. And there also appears to be an increase in the prevalence in ASD over the same time period. But just because two things happen at the same time, does not mean there is a causal relationship (or any relationship, for that matter)."

Kniss has directly addressed this "toxic wheat" article on his blog, Weed Control Freaks.

"The figure that the healthy home economist ses in her blog post was originally from a paper by Anthony Samsel & Stephanie Seneff, two people with no formal training in this area. Their paper claims that glyphosate is responsible for just about every disease imaginable. This particular figure shows the incidence of celiac disease diagnoses increasing as a rate proportional to glyphosate use in wheat. I think it is pretty well understood that just because two things are correlated, doesn’t mean there is any cause & effect relationship. The figure below really doesn’t mean anything other than two unrelated things increased at about the same time."

In addition to Andrew Kniss' post about the "toxic wheat" article, Ask the Farmers contributors Sarah Schultz and Jenny Rohrich wrote a post from the farmer perspective, sharing facts about how farmers grow and harvest wheat. 

"The problem lies in when we try and make blanket statements about all wheat production. For each different variety of wheat whether it be durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, or even soft red winter wheat, there are different production methods for each one. But here’s what is the same on every farm… As farmers, we do our best to follow safe practices for our farms, ensure we aren’t breaking the law, reading chemical labels. We are constantly scrutinizing our choices for productive, safe, and profitable decisions.”

Visit Ask the Farmers to learn more and get more information about glyphosate use in wheat production directly from the farmers who grow it. 

Looking for more answers to common questions about glyphosate?  

• Steve Savage Addresses Samsel and Seneff study, “Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance” by Steve Savage
• "Ultimate Gluten Free: Does Glyphosate Cause Celiac Disease? Actually, No!" by Peter Olins
• "Maybe GMO's aren't the problem. They are the only enabler in the case of Roundup Ready..." Answered by Kevin Folta
• "How does the GMO-friendly scientific community respond to the potential connection between increased Glyphosate use and Autism prevalence?..." Answered by Andrew Kniss
• "what about the possible link between rising rates of autism and the release of GMOs onto the market?..." Answered by Bruce Chassy