Nonprofit organization GMO Free USA today published the report, “Eating Out: A Date with Glyphosate.” The report details the results of food tests for glyphosate residue, across fifteen popular fast food and casual restaurants in the U.S. 

A sample from Panera Bread, whose primary marketing claim is, “100% of our food is 100% clean,” had the highest level of glyphosate of all 44 restaurant foods tested. Other restaurants tested include Chili’s Grill & Bar, Domino's Pizza, Dunkin' Donuts, IHOP, Le Pain Quotidien, McDonald’s, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, Pret a Manger, Subway, Taco Bell, and Whole Foods Market.

Dr. Mark Hyman, Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine and bestselling author said, “The unregulated use of GMO seeds and the herbicide glyphosate is a significant uncontrolled experiment on the human population. Glyphosate is being used in increasing quantities and shows up in our food and water. It has been linked to cancer, disturbances in the microbiome and the depletion of our bodies’ ability to detoxify.”

A growing body of peer-reviewed science links glyphosate to numerous health harms at levels found in some restaurant foods tested. A 2017 study found that Roundup can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects 30 to 40% of Americans. Another study published in 2018 found that glyphosate may be genotoxic to human lymphocyte cells at low doses under the Acceptable Daily Intake set by the EPA. Glyphosate was classified as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s cancer arm in 2015. 

“Our report shows that the presence of the genotoxic chemical, glyphosate, and its toxic metabolite, AMPA, is ubiquitous in foods across the U.S., not just in the processed, packaged foods reported on by other organizations. As our nation faces rising rates of chronic disease, it’s high time the food industry look into solutions to remove this dangerous chemical from its products,” says Diana Reeves, Executive Director of GMO Free USA.

Jaclyn Bowen MPH, MS, food safety quality and systems engineer and Executive Director of Clean Label Project stated, "GMO Free USA's findings further shed light on the fact that marketing departments do an effective job at selling comfort and security. Consumers feel duped when products are tested and fail to live up to their brand promises." 

Read the report and download the white paper HERE.

GMO Free USA

GMO Free USA

GMO Free USA’s mission is to harness independent science and agroecological concepts to advocate for sustainable food and ecological systems. We will educate consumers and other stakeholders about the potential hazards of genetically engineered organisms and advance the application of the Precautionary Principle.

More from GMO Free USA