Our Stance On Glyphosate

To Our Seven Sundays Family, 

Recently many of you have reached out concerning glyphosate in our cereals. First and foremost, hearing from you makes us a better company, so thank you for caring and taking the time to be on this journey with us. We are a family-run, mission-driven company out to set the bar higher for people health, planet health, and the farmers that make it possible. We care deeply about your concerns. They’re ours too.

While we wish there was a quick black-and-white response, like most things in the food system, this is complex. Thank you for going deep with us. 

Here are the facts. Today, all 23 of our grain-based products (Oat Protein Cereal, Little Crispies, PB Puffs, Protein Oats, Muesli, and Oat Granolas) are Certified Glyphosate Residue Free by The Detox Project. The full product listing is available on their website here. We’ve been voluntarily testing since 2019 and have been enrolled in the certifying program since 2021 in response to the concern of prevalent glyphosate usage in oats and other grains. 

We have not yet enrolled our 5 grain free cereals (Sunflower Cereal, Grain Free Granolas) into the certifying program as those ingredients were historically considered lower risk for glyphosate usage compared to oats and other grains. In light of expanded glyphosate use recently, we will begin testing our grain free cereals immediately, with the goal of certifying by The Detox Project as soon as possible. If glyphosate is detected, we will work with our farmers to eliminate it from our supply chain, just like we did for our grain-based cereals. We’ve put a lot of work into our direct-trade farmer network and know many of our farmers by name, which allows us to work quickly to incentivize change at the farm level, if needed.

Please know that all of our ingredients are grown and produced according to federal and state guidelines and safe to consume. 

A Little Background on Glyphosate

Most people are familiar with glyphosate as its brand name, Roundup. It’s a weed killer. Well, that was its original purpose. It is commonly used on crops like corn and wheat, which are genetically modified to be able to withstand large amounts of this chemical. In more recent years, and due to the low cost, it's been used by farmers to dry out oats and other grains right before harvest. This is when glyphosate first hit most people's radar. It's hard to know how widespread glyphosate use is today. It's not illegal or well regulated in the US, but oats are usually the biggest culprit, along with legumes (e.g. chickpeas), wheat and soy. As usage becomes more widespread, it’s showing up in surprising places, like organic foods which can contain trace amounts from the drifts of nearby fields or entering our water streams, making the containment of the chemical difficult.

 

Our Stance

Glyphosate does not belong in our food system and water ways. Glyphosate usage on an increasing number of crops is a widespread and unregulated issue, and it has to change. We’ve made it a big part of our mission to roll up our sleeves and work directly with farmers to influence better farming practices to ensure that healthier food is grown in the Midwest.

We started Seven Sundays not only to build a better breakfast but to fix the broken food system, and we are committed to taking this head on. 

Next Steps

Here’s what we’re doing behind the scenes: 

• Deepening our work with The Detox Project. We will continue to regularly test our grain-based products that are already certified, enroll any and all new products into the testing program, and apply the knowledge of how we have eliminated glyphosate from these supply chains going forward.

• Thorough testing on our grain-free ingredients. We are formally expanding our testing program across all products with The Detox Project so we can feel assured in the testing protocols and lead with transparency.

• Continue to work with our farmers to eliminate the source. As mentioned, we know many of our farmers by name, which allows us to work quickly to incentivize change. We will work with them to increase transparency and reduce chemical inputs. If glyphosate is detected, we will identify the sources and restrict usage accordingly. 

Please feel free to reach out directly to realpeople@sevensundays.com with questions and feedback. With your support, we will continue to push to make the food system better and pave a new way. 

Hannah & Brady

Co-Founders, Seven Sundays