Another Dose of Chemophobia — This Time Orange Juice

Is your orange juice full of weed killer? No. Who is making that claim, and should you be concerned?

Kevin Folta | Medium | November 30, 2018

 

Five years ago we all were treated to data claiming that corn was not corn. More precisely, genetically engineered corn was actually a concoction of chemistry that it could not be remotely biological. According to the source, it was lacking carbon, but was packed full of glyphosate and formaldehyde (which are carbon based). It also had a substantially lower “cation exchange capacity” than its non-GMO equivalent, which is odd, because that’s a soil test, and not one done on corn. But it sure had it. Whatever it was.  The data seemed weird because they were. They were fake. Manufactured. ................Since 2013 the science communication community and wacky food activists learned something important — you can fill a table with creepy numbers, ignite a great media scare, and the facts simply don’t matter.

 

Over the next few years we’d be treated to reports of glyphosate showing up everywhere from beer …. to breakfast cereal …. It is brilliantly devious. Most of these claims have been made by Moms Across America, an organization that knows that people will pay attention to numbers in a chart …. Charts look quite official and sciencey.

 

Now the Moms Across America claims that orange juice is full of high levels of glyphosate, which is odd, because oranges are not genetically engineered to withstand it. Glyphosate is used in some citrus operations to control weeds, but it is not applied to trees ….The lab that did the detection is not an independent operation. It is run by John Fagan, a guy connected with the Maharishi cult and a staunch opponent of biotechnology ….To Read More...