Moms Across America, a nationwide nonprofit, tested and revealed the top fast food brands in America that contained “alarming” levels of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world.
Late last year, Moms Across America released its findings from an “extensive testing program” for glyphosate herbicide and other harmful metals and chemicals. The collective of mothers who support glyphosate-free and healthy eating initiated the effort to collect 42 samples from 21 fast food restaurants in America, including California’s In-N-Out Burger. With backing from supporters, the program’s results show that 100% of the top twenty fast food brands tested positive for glyphosate residues.
According to the EPA, food and animal feed crops are exposed to 280 million pounds of glyphosate yearly. The chemical, which is in products such as Roundup, is widely used to control weeds and grasses and to speed up harvesting on non-GMO plants such as grains, sugar cane, lentils, beans, potatoes and more.
Moms Across America explored the potential contamination of glyphosate in fast food brands and highlighted its effects on mental and physical health.
“Glyphosate and toxic agrochemicals used in industrial farming are severely impactful to gut health, mood, and behavior. In addition to causing liver disease and nervous system damage, neurotoxic, carcinogenic glyphosate acts as a chelator, an antibiotic, and an endocrine disruptor,” the release stated.
Among the top 21 fast food brands, the highest levels of glyphosate were detected in Panera Bread, Arby’s, Dairy Queen and Little Caesars.
On April 16, Panera Bread rolled out a new era of menu items, including a wide array of greens, salads and other crave-worthy items. The brand boasted, “We feel good about high-quality ingredients, and none of those we don’t because Panera is committed to serving our guests food that feels good.”
Before the rollout, Moms Across America found the highest levels of glyphosate in two Panera Bread samples: 213.58 ppb and 225.53 ppb, totaling 439.11.
Arby’s follows right behind Panera Bread in this research, having built a brand on meat sandwiches. The study also found the second-highest levels of glyphosate in Arby’s sandwiches, 124.2 and 99 ppb, totaling 223.33 ppb. The Georgia-based fast food chain has also announced new menu items, including three snap wraps and a limited edition of a Beyoncé-inspired chardonnay-infused sauce.
On the other hand, Minnesota-based Dairy Queen & Michigan-based Little Caesars fall closely together in glyphosate levels with 126 ppb and 128 ppb totals, respectively.
Furthermore, the release pointed out the lower levels of glyphosate in Chipotle meals, Panda Express and McDonald’s.
“Even the ‘healthier’ fast food companies, Panera Bread, In-N-Out and Chipotle all had either trace or detectable and concerning levels of pesticides,” the nonprofit organization uncovered after testing these brands for 236 pesticides, including glyphosate.
Brands with the highest levels of pesticides were pizza brands, such as Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut.
The results from the program have been gaining traction online.
Can you challenge yourself to wean off of fast food?
