The Truth About That Scary Glyphosate Report
A reminder to not believe everything you read.
A couple of weeks ago, an anti-science group called Moms Across America (MAA) published a report stating that a handful of popular gluten-free packaged foods contained high levels of glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide that helps control weeds and other unwanted plants.
Buried deep in the report was a separate claim that a few certified gluten-free packaged foods also contained levels of gluten higher than 20 parts per million (ppm), the threshold of how much gluten someone with celiac disease can safely consume.
Naturally, this sent the celiac and gluten-free community into a frenzy. After all, a few recalls of popular gluten-free items (from Feel Good Foods in the US and Universal Bakery in Canada) have occurred in recent months, so finding out that other products we loved might contain unsafe levels of gluten was understandably distressing.
However, when I first saw the report circulating, my spidey senses instantly started tingling. As someone who’s worked as a health writer and editor for close to 15 years now, I’m always skeptical when I see sensational, clickbaity information like this.
After reading the report, I had a couple of big questions: 1) How did Moms Across America test these products for gluten? And 2) What the hell does glyphosate have to do with gluten in packaged foods?
Below, I unpack what I learned during my deep dive into this bogus report.
Do your favorite gluten-free products actually contain gluten?
Let’s start with my first question: How did MAA test these products for gluten?
Moms Across America states that their testing was conducted by “Health Research Institute,” a “non-profit laboratory” that sells glyphosate testing kits for hundreds of dollars on its website.
I don’t know how a company that sells glyphosate testing kits would be qualified to test packaged foods for gluten. I’ve never heard of this company nor have I seen its logo on any certified gluten-free packaged foods in the US.
I’m also skeptical of any company that sells products like this on its website. IMHO, that’s not a sign of a neutral, third-party organization. Instead, that’s a sign of a company that wants to peddle its products and further an agenda.
On the other hand, the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), which is a program run by the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG), is the leader in gluten-free certification in the US. It’s an “independent, third-party certification program for gluten-free products” and doesn’t push products on its website.
GFCO has strict testing measures for gluten in place. In order for a packaged food to be awarded its gluten-free certification, the product must not contain more than 10 ppm of gluten.
Thankfully, GIG took swift action after being alerted to this report and issued the following statement on Instagram:
“Upon seeing this report, we promptly conducted a thorough investigation in partnership with the GFCO manufacturers who were named by Moms Across America, including a thorough evaluation of each client's compliance records, as well as retesting the specific lots mentioned in the Moms Across America report. We asked the manufacturers to run multiple tests on their retained samples from the lots named in the MAA report, in order to help rule out the possibility of hot spots. All testing was performed at ISO 17025 accredited laboratories that have GFCO-approved test methods on their scope of accreditation.”
As of this newsletter’s publication, GIG states that four of the products are gluten-free and meet its certification standards, clocking in at less than 5 ppm. GIG is still waiting to report on one additional product. I’ll update this post when more information on the final product becomes available.
What does glyphosate have to do with any of this?
Here’s where things get really interesting. Let’s take a look at my second question: What role does glyphosate play in all of this?
A quick Google search told me that Moms Across America has had a years-long agenda against glyphosate. In the past, they’ve launched campaigns against Impossible Foods, the wine industry, and even breast milk, stating that all of these have tested for high levels of glyphosate, which they claim causes everything from cancer to autism. I also noticed that MAA sells a variety of sketchy supplements on its website. These are huge red flags.
To give you some context, in 2019, Rachel Konrad, then-chief communications officer at Impossible Foods, wrote this after MAA came for the brand: “MAA classifies itself as a non-profit, but make no mistake: This outfit is a supplement-pushing e-commerce company that collects and sells consumer data, funded by the sale of utterly ridiculous products such as $60 bottles of ‘hydrogen water,’ coal extracts, and other junk. By MAA’s own admission, it gets a commission on sales of supplements from other affiliates—and none of the products it pushes has been evaluated or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or any other governmental authority. (The FDA confirmed last year it has no questions about the safety of Impossible Foods’ key ingredient.)”
Let’s get back to glyphosate. Does it actually cause cancer? While there’s an association between glyphosate exposure and cancer risk, this doesn’t mean glyphosate directly causes cancer. Remember: correlation doesn’t equal causation.
As reported in Medical News Today, a 2019 meta-analysis examined the connection between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The authors of the meta-analysis say that high levels of glyphosate exposure could up a person’s odds of developing this type of cancer by 41%. The authors also note that these results should be interpreted cautiously because of the differences between all of the studies they analyzed.
A 2021 review also found a link between glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, the study authors say more research needs to be done to reach any sort of definitive conclusion.
FactCheck.org, a non-partisan, non-profit consumer advocate website run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center from the University of Pennsylvania, explains that while there’s some evidence to suggest that exposure to very high doses of glyphosate may cause cancer, it’s unlikely that the low levels of glyphosate found in foods would do so. Additionally, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there’s currently no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans.
, a public health scientist and the host of the Unbiased Science podcast, explains in a recent Instagram post that glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, doesn’t accumulate significantly in the human body and is quickly excreted, typically within 24 hours.
She notes that Banza’s chickpea pasta—one of the gluten-free products Moms Across America named in its report as having high levels of glyphosate—contains well below the EPA’s safe threshold for glyphosate in chickpeas.
MAA found Banza to have 2,963 parts per billion (ppb) of glyphosate, while the EPA’s safe threshold for chickpeas is 5,000 ppb. “An average adult would need to eat over 50 pounds of this pasta daily to reach concerning levels,” writes Steier on Instagram.
What’s more, Steier highlights the fact that glysophate is “crucial for modern agriculture.” She says in her post that it “targets plant-specific enzymes, with minimal impact on animals and humans,” and that while it may have some effects on the environment, it’s “enabled farming practices with significant benefits, like reduced tillage and lower overall herbicide use.”
Eliminating glyphosate would “severely impact agriculture and food supply,” writes Steier—and currently there are no alternatives that match glyphosate’s efficacy and safety.
The bottom line
This is a good reminder to always do your due diligence and evaluate sources when presented with health information—especially when you hear something that sounds really alarming. Not all sources are created equally, and it’s very easy for misinformation like this to spread.
How can you tell if a source is credible? Trustworthy sources are backed by scientific evidence, peer-reviewed research, and credentialed experts. Trustworthy sources provide accurate information without bias.
MAA isn’t a trustworthy source. MAA sells questionable supplements and has a history of fear-mongering to push its products and promote its agenda.
According to GIG, the gluten-free products named in MAA’s report contain a safe level of gluten (under 10 ppm) for celiacs to consume. And at this time, there’s no research available that proves the low levels of glyphosate in food directly cause cancer or other health conditions in humans.
Moreover, the gluten content in packaged food products has nothing to do with glyphosate. MAA conflated two separate issues to stoke fear in the celiac community and promote its agenda.
I’ll leave you with this quote from Steier’s Instagram post, which sums things up nicely: “While it’s natural to worry about what’s in our food, it’s equally important to base decisions on credible evidence and regulatory standards.”
Did you read the report? I’d be curious to hear what your initial response was and how your opinion has changed since then. And I encourage you to share this piece with anyone who might benefit from reading it!
First paragraph - referred to as a pesticide.
Great post and well thought out response to this fear-mongering reporting.