Urinary Glyphosate Concentrations among Pregnant Participants in a Randomized, Crossover Trial of Organic and Conventional Diets

BACKGROUND: Consumption of an organic diet reduces exposure to a range of agricultural pesticides. Only three studies have examined the effect of an organic diet intervention on exposure to the herbicide glyphosate, the most heavily used agricultural chemical in the world. Despite its widespread use, the primary sources of glyphosate exposure in humans are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the effect of an organic diet intervention on urinary glyphosate concentrations among pregnant individuals. METHODS: We conducted a 2-wk randomized crossover trial in which 39 pregnant participants living near (≤0:5 km) and far (>0:5 km) from agricultural fields received a 1-wk supply of conventional groceries and 1 wk of organic groceries, randomized to order. We collected daily first morning void urine samples and analyzed composite samples from each week for glyphosate. We examined differences in urinary glyphosate concentrations between the conventional week and the organic week among all participants and stratified by residential proximity to an agricultural field. RESULTS: Median specific gravity–adjusted glyphosate concentrations were 0:19 lg/L and 0:16 lg/L during the conventional and organic weeks, respectively. We observed modest decreases in urinary glyphosate concentrations from the conventional to organic week among far-field participants, but no difference among near-field participants. In secondary analyses excluding participants who did not meet a priori criteria of compliance with the intervention, we observed significant decreases in urinary glyphosate concentrations, particularly among far-field participants (p <0:01–0:02, depending on exclusion criteria).