Moms Across America reveals alarming levels of glyphosate and pesticides found in top 20 fast food brand meals

ASHEVILLE, NC, Oct 11, 2023 - Moms Across America, a national nonprofit, today announced the results of testing for Glyphosate and pesticides in America’s fast food.

The educational nonprofit has initiated an extensive testing program on the country’s top twenty, highest grossing fast food brands, as listed by the QSR50, in addition to California’s In-N-Out Burger, which is ranked #33. Forty-two samples of 21 brands were tested for the most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate, 236 agrochemicals, 4 heavy metals, PFAS, phthalates, and mineral content. The top ten brands were additionally tested for 104 commonly used veterinary drugs and hormones, B Vitamins, and calories.

On Monday, October 9, Moms Across America reported alarming levels of veterinary drugs and hormones found in meals served at the top 10 most frequented fast food restaurants. Today’s report reveals results for the glyphosate and pesticide portion of the testing program.

Glyphosate results summary:

• 100% of the top 20 ( +1) fast food brands contained alarming glyphosate residues.
• Studies show that .1 ppb of glyphosate causes animal liver and organ damage.
• The highest levels detected- 213.58 ppb and 225.53 ppb, totaling 439.11 in two samples- were in Panera Bread, a self-proclaimed proprietor of "good food" and "clean, wholesome foods."
• The second highest levels of glyphosate were found in Arby's sandwiches- 124.2 and 99 ppb, totaling 223.33 ppb. Dairy Queen and Little Caesar’s were nearly tied for third highest, at 126 ppb and 128 ppb total glyphosate detected, respectively.
• The lowest levels were found in Chipotle meals, totaling 4.65 ppb for both samples, which is 94.4 times lower than the highest levels, 439.11 ppb, detected in Panera Bread. Chipotle was one of the first fast food restaurants to advertise non-GMO and organic ingredients.
• Next lowest were Panda Express and McDonald's at 4.75 and 5.58 ppb, respectively.The total amount of glyphosate detected in 42 samples was 2089 ppb, a level over 20,000 times higher than the amount (.1 ppb) that has been found to cause severe organ damage, specifically liver disease, in animal studies (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-014-0014-5.).

The full lab report on glyphosate and AMPA can be found here.

Pesticide results summary:

• 76% of fast food brands contained at least trace levels of 27 different kinds of harmful pesticides.
• The highest levels were found in Domino’s and Pizza Hut pizza.
• The “healthier” fast food companies, Panera Bread, In-N-Out and Chipotle, all had either trace or detectable and concerning levels of pesticides.
• The side effects from these pesticides in animal studies include symptoms such as loss of balance, irritable behavior, gut dysbiosis, metabolic disorders, coma, and death.

The full lab report of pesticide results can be found here.

“Moms Across America is concerned about the risk of consuming fast food, as the levels of glyphosate and pesticides found in these popular fast food brands may be a significant contributing factor to the rise of liver disease and organ damage in America,” said Zen Honeycutt, Founder and Executive director of Moms Across America. “Even more concerning are the potential effects of children eating school lunches provided by fast food brands on a daily basis.”

Commissioned by Moms Across America and its supporters, Children’s Health Defense and the Centner Academy, the Fast Food Testing Program tested two types of samples- three to four meals of each type- from each of 21 locations across the United States. Samples were shipped to the Health Research Institute in their original packaging, untouched and frozen.

Moms Across America is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
For press inquiries, contact Mara Quigley, Steve Allen Media at [email protected] or 661.255.8283

An Account of Our Research Process and Findings

By Irene Fearnley and the Moms Across America Team

It’s no secret that cooking meals at home are more cost-effective than going out to eat. But what if you want to eat 100% organic, isn't that more expensive? 

In our new research, we show that it is still more cost-effective even if the ingredients are 100% organic. In addition to helping your wallet, cooking meals at home also has the potential for significant health benefits; since you yourself are in control of the products and ingredients you buy, it is easier to make eating organic, non-GMO whole foods a priority. When it comes to eating your meals outside the home, you may be inundated with unhealthy and non-sustainably grown options like the fare offered at fast-food chains. Even at other restaurants, you can never be too sure about the types of ingredients being used and where they are sourced from. To put it plainly, when you decide to cook from home you are making the decision that is truly best for your health and that of your family. 

When a family member was recently diagnosed with kidney disease, I wondered if the pesticides sprayed in her HOA might have contributed to the illness. When I got the HOA's landscaping records, as you will see in the letter below, I was shocked. I realized that the thousands of gallons of these toxic chemicals, mostly sprayed around the community amenity center where the outdoor pool is located, were likely drifting into the pool. My family member swam in that pool several times a week during warm weather, which in Florida, was often. I believe that outdoor pool water could be a significant source of exposure to toxic landscaping and pest management chemicals, contributing to chronic health issues.

By going through this process I have realized that people all across the nation could benefit if we could test pool water in multiple HOAs for the toxic pesticides that they are using to kill weeds and pests. We could convince the HOA managers and landscaper to switch to safer alternatives (we provide a list of many choices) and we could make a difference in hundreds or thousands of communities being healthier.

It is our fervent hope that you will read the below letter, use a version of it for your HOA ( after you get your HOA records), and partner with us to create healthy communities!

New Discoveries
Press Release

2018

The discoveries by J Douzelet & GE Séralini:

A very first description of the tastes of 11 pesticides is proposed. They are detected first in water, diluted freshly at the levels found in wines, by 36 professionals from wine or cooking in 195 blind tests at different periods.

They are the most frequently found pesticides in wines in our experiment. Some animals can detect pesticides and change their behavior in response. In order to find out if humans can also detect pesticides by their taste in wines, a three-step experiment was conducted.

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday and get a chance to rest. Unfortunately, the FDA never ceases their shenanigans.

Moms all across America have tried to take care of their children by requesting to have their children's urine tested for glyphosate and their doctors have said they cannot do the tests. They have asked labs directly to do the glyphosate tests on urine and they have said no. American Moms have not been able to test their own children or their own urine for the most widely used chemical pesticides on the planet... until now.

Do you want to get your urine, tap water, breast milk, or other liquids tested for glyphosate and other toxins?

You can! It's easy. 

	HRI Labs The Health Research Institute was established in 2017, it is a 501(c)3 non-profit laboratory which offers research, education and service. It is a High Complexity CLIA Certified clinical laboratory and an ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 Accredited analytical laboratory.
	Detox Project Testing Home Glyphosate Tests for Food and Water Hair Tests for Glyphosate and other pesticides LC/MS/MS validated methodology. Glyphosate Residue Free certification. Ask your favorite brands to get certified!
	Great Plains Laboratories, Inc.   Offers tests for heavy metals and chemicals.  Ask for special pricing for Moms Across America supporters.
	Allergytest.co  We hear this lab does a good job testing hair for allergies.

Also, check out our Health Solutions Store for detox solutions. Thank you!

Claremont Courier, February 13, 2015. No More Pesticides in Claremont, CA?

Guest Blog By Evaggelos Vallianatos author of  "Poison Spring" and EPA Whistle blower

Evangellos will also be on our International Cofnerence Call to Action on May 2, 2015 at Moms Meetups at over 100  locations around the country. https://www.facebook.com/events/995523350463763/