Imagine discovering that a toxic weedkiller—one the World Health Organization has classified as a probable carcinogen—was showing up in nearly nine out of ten children tested.
That’s exactly what a 2022 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed. Glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup—was detected in 87% of children sampled. And these weren’t kids from farming families. They were from ordinary homes, just like ours.
It was a wake-up call.
And here in New Zealand? We haven’t even checked.
The Everyday Spray We’ve Learned Not to Notice
When most people hear the word glyphosate, they don’t think of sprawling industrial farms or genetically modified soy fields. They think of weed spraying. The kind done around schools, sports grounds, council parks, berms, and backyards.
It’s the spray bottle in the garage. The contractor on the school field. The maintenance guy tidying up the carpark edges.
It’s so ordinary that most of us don’t give it a second thought.
But that’s exactly the problem.
Because what we’re not talking about is how children might actually be ingesting it.
Sprayed grass isn’t just something they walk across—it’s where they sit, eat, wrestle, and play. Glyphosate residues can be absorbed through the skin, inhaled from drifting spray or dried particles in dust, and even transferred from surfaces to hands and into mouths. A patch of grass becomes a picnic rug. A sprayed path becomes a crawling track. A hand in the dirt becomes a lick of the fingers at snack time.
Exposure isn’t theoretical. It’s built into the daily rhythm of being a child.
It’s Not Just the Playground—It’s the Pantry Too
And that’s before we even consider what they’re eating.
Glyphosate isn’t just on the grass—it’s on the plate. It’s used as a pre-harvest desiccant on wheat, oats, barley, and legumes. It’s been detected in cereals, bread, soy products, and even some fruits and vegetables. When children eat processed or non-organic foods, they’re potentially ingesting trace amounts of glyphosate with every bite.
So while spraying at school might be the most visible risk, it’s not the only one.
The Missing Data in New Zealand
Between 2015 and 2017, a biomonitoring study was conducted on over 500 school-aged children across urban and rural New Zealand. It tested for 20 pesticide biomarkers.
Glyphosate wasn’t one of them.
That wasn’t an accident. It was a decision—by choice or by design—to leave out the most widely used herbicide in the world. At a time when glyphosate was already under global scrutiny, it was omitted from a national health study on our own children.
In 2025, that’s not just a missed opportunity—it’s a glaring failure of public health leadership. It’s a failure to ask the most urgent question: How much glyphosate is getting into our kids?
We Know Enough to Be Concerned
Even without local data, international research is sounding the alarm.
Glyphosate has been shown to alter the gut microbiome, which is foundational to immunity, digestion, and even mood regulation.
It’s classified as a “probable human carcinogen” by the World Health Organization.
It acts as an endocrine disruptor in animal studies, potentially impacting puberty and development.
It’s been found in umbilical cord blood and breast milk, suggesting exposure begins before birth.
And still, it’s being sprayed on our school fields, playground edges, and roadside berms. Often while children are present. Often without protective equipment. Often with no stand-down period.
Why?
If We’re Not Testing, We’re Not Protecting
New Zealand schools are being asked to do more with less. We understand that. But when it comes to the health of children, silence isn’t neutral—it’s permissive.
Should children be playing on recently sprayed grass?
Are groundskeepers being properly trained and equipped?
Are parents being notified when herbicides are used?
Has anyone even asked these questions?
If we don’t know the answers, we need to start asking.
A Duty of Care Means Taking the Lead
Some schools have already chosen to go glyphosate-free. Others are waiting for direction from the Ministry, the board, or the next headline.
But you don’t need to wait for someone else to act.
You can stop. You can ask. You can switch to safer alternatives—like steam, mulch, or organic weed management options such as pine oil-based herbicides, acetic acid (strong vinegar formulations), or citric acid blends. You can signal to families that this school values precaution over convenience.
And you can be the school that started something bigger.
Final Thought: This Isn’t Just a Health Issue—It’s a Leadership Test
If glyphosate is showing up in 87% of children in the U.S., do we really believe New Zealand kids are any less exposed?
We don’t need to wait for a crisis to act. We just need the courage to rethink what “safe” really means—and what responsibility really looks like.
Let’s stop assuming and start protecting. Because our children deserve more than blind trust in a chemical they never chose.
Resources & References
This article draws on findings from a 2022 report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), based on biomonitoring data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In that large-scale study, glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup—was found in 87% of U.S. children tested. These weren’t children living near farms or industrial zones. They were part of the general population.
CDC Finds Toxic Weedkiller in 87 Percent of Children Tested
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2022/07/cdc-finds-toxic-weedkiller-87-percent-children-tested
Which raises an uncomfortable question for us here in New Zealand: Where’s our data?
Between 2015 and 2017, a national study tested over 500 school-aged children in New Zealand for pesticide exposure. The study measured 20 different chemical biomarkers—yet glyphosate was not one of them. That wasn’t an oversight. It was a decision. Whether made by choice or by design, it left a glaring gap in what should have been a foundational public health assessment.
Pesticide exposure in New Zealand school-aged children: Urinary concentrations of biomarkers and assessment of determinants
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001325
So while other countries are confronting the scale of glyphosate exposure, New Zealand has yet to ask the question. And as any parent or educator knows—if you’re not looking, you’re not going to find.
It’s time to stop assuming safety based on absence of data. Testing needs to catch up with the reality on the ground—and the responsibility to lead that call starts with those entrusted to protect our children.
Related Articles on nomoreglyphosate.nz
Time to Rethink Glyphosate Use at Schools
Glyphosate and Neurological Health: Are We Ignoring the Warnings?
How to Mobilize Your School Against Glyphosate Use
Image Source & Attribution
We’re grateful to the talented photographers and designers whose work enhances our content. The feature image on this page is by lopolo. You can find more of their work here: https://www.123rf.com/profile_lopolo.
