In this episode of the Fast Lane with Sara Jayne podcast, Sara Jayne speaks with Henry Rowlands of The Detox Project about testing people for chemical exposure, health problems caused by glyphosate, the history of glyphosate, and the importance of making chemical exposure a personal issue. This episode provides valuable insight into how chemicals affect us and what we can do to change the current system.
Episode Highlights:
- Henry describes The Detox Project, which started as a testing organization.
- They concentrate on hair testing. They test for agricultural pesticides.
- They do testing on lots of people in different populations.
- The other side of their work is about food testing to check for pesticides in food products.
- Henry grew up on an organic farm in rural Wales.
- He created his own platform, Sustainable Pulse, to publish articles about pesticides.
- Glyphosate was designed in the 1960s to clean out metal pipes. In the 1970s people began using it as a weedkiller.
- It changed agriculture forever because it became easier to kill weeds and produce the same crop over and over on the same land.
- In 2015 it was found that glyphosate causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- Glyphosate causes many different problems.
- It's a chemical that everyone should know about because it's something found in the majority of the population.
- 93% of the population have this chemical in their bodies.
- The main argument for using glyphosate is that we're getting larger yields to feed the growing population. However, in reality, that's not true because we don't just eat wheat, oats, soybeans, and corn.
- The seed/chemical cycle has caught up farmers in this specific business system. It's a system that benefits only the chemical companies.
- Using these chemicals has nothing to do with the amount. It's all about regular use.
- Ask if the weeds are really causing you a specific problem.
- In lawsuits, the EPA has shown to be working with the chemical companies.
- The EPA does not do any safety testing on toxic chemicals.
- Many people don't think they're personally affected.
- They tested politicians in Europe and then saw a huge change in agricultural policy in the EU.
- Hair testing empowers people to try to avoid the chemicals that will actually cause them a health issue in the future.
- Learn how to get a testing kit online through The Detox Project website.
- They focus on finding out about the exposure and doing the research on where the chemicals are.
- The ultimate aim to educate as widely as possible.
3 Key Points:
- Hair testing can help you learn about your long-term chemical exposure.
- Glyphosate is a widely used pesticide that causes numerous health problems.
- When thinking about chemical exposure, what’s important is what you’re exposed to on a regular basis.
Resources Mentioned:
