{"id":591011,"date":"2026-04-24T01:53:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=591011"},"modified":"2026-04-24T01:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:53:31","slug":"environmental-working-group-sues-epa-over-glyphosate-in-oats-citing-risk-to-childrens-health-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=591011","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Working Group Sues EPA Over Glyphosate In Oats, Citing Risk To Children\u2019s Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EPA is violating federal law by failing to respond to a petition about how current glyphosate levels in oats are putting children\u2019s and babies\u2019 health at risk, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. In 2018, two rounds of EWG-commissioned lab testing found widespread glyphosate contamination of foods containing oats, including popular children\u2019s cereals.<\/em><\/h2>\n
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by\u00a0Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is violating federal law by failing to respond to a petition seeking stricter glyphosate limits in oats, according to a\u00a0lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0filed Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).<\/p>\n

Oats have been found to contain\u00a0glyphosate<\/a>, the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller, at levels that put children\u2019s and babies\u2019\u00a0health<\/a>\u00a0at risk, according to EWG.<\/p>\n

EWG President and co-Founder\u00a0Ken Cook<\/a>\u00a0said in a\u00a0press release<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cParents shouldn\u2019t have to second-guess whether everyday foods like cereal and snack bars are putting their children at risk of cancer. The EPA\u2019s silence leaves families in the dark and falls far short of its responsibility to protect public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018, EWG petitioned the\u00a0EPA<\/a>\u00a0to tighten the allowable limits for glyphosate in oats. The petition also asked the EPA to ban the use of glyphosate as a preharvest drying agent.<\/p>\n

EWG\u2019s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, alleges the EPA is unlawfully delaying a response to the petition. The suit asks for a court order requiring the EPA to respond to the petition by a clear deadline and make a safety determination about glyphosate in oats.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint:<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress required EPA to ensure that\u00a0pesticide<\/a>\u00a0residues in food are safe, with particular protection for children. Yet, more than seven years after being presented with substantial scientific evidence that the current tolerance for glyphosate in oats may not meet that standard, EPA has failed to make any final, reviewable determination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor seven years, the EPA has left this critical issue unresolved,\u201d Cook said. \u201cIt\u2019s time for the agency to stop stalling and do its job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glyphosate \u2018widespread\u2019 in popular kids\u2019 cereals<\/strong><\/p>\n

EWG\u2019s lawsuit alleges the EPA violated the\u00a0Administrative Procedure Act<\/a>, which protects the public\u2019s right to petition the EPA and receive a timely, reasoned response.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EPA has a clear legal duty to act on this petition, and it has simply refused to do so,\u201d said\u00a0Caroline Leary<\/a>, EWG\u2019s general counsel and chief operating officer.<\/p>\n

The 1996\u00a0Food Quality Protection Act<\/a>\u00a0requires the EPA to ensure that pesticide residue limits in food are \u201csafe,\u201d meaning that there\u2019s a reasonable certainty of no harm, particularly for children.<\/p>\n

In 2018, two rounds of\u00a0EWG-commissioned lab testing<\/a>\u00a0found widespread glyphosate contamination of oat-based foods. The first round of tests detected glyphosate in nearly all nonorganic oat products tested, with most samples exceeding\u00a0EWG\u2019s health benchmark<\/a>\u00a0for daily glyphosate exposure of 160 parts per billion for children.<\/p>\n

The second round of tests found that 100% of\u00a0popular kids\u2019 cereals<\/a>\u00a0analyzed contained glyphosate, with most samples above EWG\u2019s health benchmark.<\/p>\n

Since young children eat more food relative to their body weight than adults, they can face disproportionately higher exposure levels, according to the EWG.<\/p>\n

EWG\u2019s\u00a0petition<\/a>, filed in 2018 and amended in 2019, presents scientific evidence showing that the EPA\u2019s current allowable levels of glyphosate on oats do not adequately protect children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

The EPA\u2019s seven-year delay has \u201creal consequences for families who rely on the agency to ensure children are not exposed to toxic farm chemical residues like glyphosate,\u201d Leary said.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as \u201cprobably carcinogenic to humans<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the EPA\u2019s assessments of glyphosate to date have reflected \u201cinternal disagreement, acknowledged data gaps, and shifting analytical approaches,\u201d according to\u00a0the complaint<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advocates to rally next week as Supreme Court weighs Bayer\u2019s plea for immunity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lawsuit comes less than a week before the\u00a0U.S. Supreme Court<\/a>, on April 27, will hear oral arguments in a case that could determine whether Bayer can be held liable for failing to warn people that\u00a0Roundup weedkiller<\/a>\u00a0may cause cancer.<\/p>\n

Bayer<\/a>, which acquired Roundup when it bought the agrochemical giant Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018, has already paid more than $10 billion to resolve lawsuits filed against Monsanto before the acquisition. The company still faces more than 60,000 lawsuits in the U.S.<\/p>\n

If the court rules in Bayer\u2019s favor, it would be nearly impossible to sue any pesticide maker for failing to warn consumers about health risks \u2014 even if the company knows about the risk \u2014 unless the EPA mandates a warning label on the product.<\/p>\n

Such a ruling would reshape the national regulatory landscape and effectively limit one of the largest waves of tort litigation in American history.<\/p>\n

On the morning of April 27, people are holding a safe food rally on the steps of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cThe People vs. Poison<\/a>,\u201d the rally will feature over 30 speakers, including Vani Hari, an author and food activist known as the\u00a0Food Babe<\/a>,\u00a0Informed Consent Action Network<\/a>\u00a0CEO\u00a0Del Bigtree<\/a>, several members of Congress, and\u00a0Children\u2019s Health Defense<\/a>\u00a0Senior Advocacy Manager\u00a0Stephanie Locricchio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our moment to come together and rise up against this crisis. Let\u2019s show Washington that enough is enough,\u201d according to the rally coalition\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., is a senior reporter for The Defender based in Austin, Texas.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u00a9 Children\u2019s Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of\u00a0Children\u2019s Health Defense, Inc. Want to learn more from\u00a0Children\u2019s Health Defense?\u00a0<\/em>Sign up<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Children\u2019s Health Defense.\u00a0Your\u00a0<\/em>donation<\/em><\/a>\u00a0will help to support us in our efforts.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The EPA is violating federal law by failing to respond to a petition about how current glyphosate levels in oats are putting children\u2019s and babies\u2019 health at risk, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. In 2018, two rounds of EWG-commissioned lab testing found widespread glyphosate contamination of foods containing oats, including popular children\u2019s cereals. Please… Continue reading Environmental Working Group Sues EPA Over Glyphosate In Oats, Citing Risk To Children\u2019s Health<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":590997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=591011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/590997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=591011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=591011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=591011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}