An interesting speech was given in Washington that may be shocking to many people. It turns out that the corporations that currently produce weedkillers commonly used in agriculture are the same companies that supplied chemicals used in Nazi nerve agents and gas chambers during World War II. How is this possible? Unfortunately, when the wars ended, such corporations still needed a market for their products, so they switched to killing insects and pests. The amount of pesticides in food has been steadily increasing for many years, and at the same time, the number of diseases is increasing at a dizzying pace around the world. Courtney Swan’s noteworthy lecture makes us realize how contaminated our food is.
It started with huge stomach pains
Courtney Swan is a nutrition scientist and host of The Real Foodology podcast. It all started in 2009, when she started experiencing terrible stomach pains. For two years she went from doctor to doctor and none of them could tell what was the cause! Finally, in 2011, she was diagnosed with gluten intolerance and advised to avoid soy and corn. At the time, she says, she had no idea how it was related to the food system, so she started looking for more information.
Our current agriculture system origin story involves large chemical companies, not farmers, chemists. 85% of the food that you’re consuming started from a patented seed sold by a chemical corporation that was responsible for creating Agent Orange in the Vietnam war.
Courtney Swan
Further we hear a disturbing facts sum-up of Courtney Swan:
Why are chemical companies feeding America?
“Corn, soy and wheat are not only the most common allergens, but are among the most heavily pesticide-sprayed crops today. In 1974 the US started spraying our crops with a herbicide called glyphosate, and in the early 1990s, we began to see the release of genetically modified food into our food supply. It all seems to begin with a chemical company by the name IG Farben, the later parent company of Bayer. IG Farben provided the chemicals used in nazi nerve agents and gas chambers. Years later, a second chemical company Monsanto, joined the war industry with the production of Agent Orange – a toxin used during the Vietnam war. When the wars ended, these companies needed a market for their chemicals, so they pivoted to killing bugs and pests on American farmlands. Monsanto began marketing glyphosate with the catchy name „Roundup”. They claimed that these chemicals were harmless and they safeguarded our crops from pests! So, farmers started spraying these – supposedly safe – chemicals on our farmland. They solved the bug problem, but they also killed the crops. Monsanto offered a solution with the creation of genetically modified – otherwise known as GMO – crops, that resisted the glyphosate (in the Roundup) that they were spraying. These Roundup-ready crops allow farmers to spray entire fields of glyphosate to kill off pests without harming the plants, but our food is left covered in toxic chemical residue that doesn’t wash, dry or cook off. Not only is it sprayed to kill pests, but in the final stages of harvest it is sprayed on the wheat to dry it out. Grains, that go into bread and cereals, that are in grocery stores and homes of Americans, are heavily sprayed with these toxins. It’s also being sprayed on oats, chickpeas, almonds, potatoes and more. You can assume, that if it’s not organic, it is likely contaminated with glyphpsate.”
Food with pesticides is fueling the chronic disease epidemic
Courtney Swan continues to list threats coming from food:
“In America organic food by law cannot contain GMOs and glyphosate and they are more expensive compared to conventionally grown options. The Americans are being forced to pay more for food that isn’t poisoned.
The Environmental Working Group reported a test of popular wheat-based products and found glyphosate contamination in 80-90% of the products on grocery store shelves. Popular foods like Cheerios, Goldfish, chickpea pasta like Banza, Nature Valley bars were found to have concerning levels of glyphosate.
If that is not alarming enough, glyphosate is produced by and distributed from China. In 2018 Bayer bought Monsanto. They currently have patented soybeans, corn, canola and sugar beets and they are the largest distributor of GMO corn and soybean seeds.
Americans deserve a straight answer: why does an agrochemical company own where our food comes from.
Currently 85% to 100 % of corn and soy crops in the US are genetically modified. 80 % of gmos are engineered to withstand glyphosate and a staggering 280 million pounds of glyphosate are sprayed on american crops annually. We are eating this Roundup-ready corn but unlike GMO crops humans are not Roundup-ready. We are not resistant to these toxins and it’s causing neurological damage endocrine discruption. It’s harming our reproductive health and it’s affecting fetal development.”
Glyphosate is classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organizations’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is also suspected to contribute towards the rise in celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. They’re finding glyphosate and human breast milk, placentas, our organs and even sperm. It’s also being found in our rain and our drinking water.
~ Courtney Swan
Calling for attention, Courtney Swan continued:
“Until January of 2022 many companies made efforts to obscure the presence of GMOs and pesticides in food products from American consumers. It was only then that legislation came into effect mandating that these companies disclose such ingredients with a straightforward label stating made with bioengineered ingredients. But it’s very small on the package. Meanwhile glyphosate still isn’t labeled on our food. Parents in America are unknowingly feeding their children these toxic food. Dr Don Huber, a glyphosate researcher, warns that glyphosate will make the outlawed 1970s insecticide DDT look harmless in comparison to glyphosate. Why is the US government subsidizing the most pesticide sprayed crops using taxpayer dollars? These are the exact foods that are driving the epidemic of chronic disease.
These crops heavily sprayed with glyphosate are then processed into high fructose corn syrup and refined vegetable oils which are key ingredients for the ultra-processed foods that line our supermarket shelves and fill our children’s lunches in schools across the nation. Children across America are consuming foods such as Goldfish and Cheerios, that are loaded with glyphosate. These crops also feed our livestock, which then produce the eggs, dairy and meat products, that we consume. They are in everything…
Pick up almost any ultra-processed food package on the shelf and you will see the words: contains corn, wheat and soy – on the ingredients panel. Meanwhile, Bayer is doing everything it can, to keep consumers in the dark, while our government protects these corporate giants. They fund educational programs at major agricultural universities, they lobby in Washington. And they collaborate with lawmakers to protect their profits over public health. Two congressmen are working with Bayer right now on the „Farm bill” to protect Bayer from liability despite already having to pay out billions to sick Americans, who got cancer from their product. They know that their product is harming people.
Chronic illnesses are on the rise and half of our population is obese. This is a national security issue!
77% of young Americans are ineligible for military service. We have industrialized our food at the expense of our health, prioritizing profits over people to the point where our bodies can no longer cope with this chemical assault. We must stop subsidizing the foods that make us sick. We must prioritize people over profit. This is not just about policy. It’s about survival. Let’s create a future, where our food system is designed to nourish us, and not destroy us.”
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Photo and text source:
Courtney Swan, Waszyngton (2024) https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEcc72EOwKl/?igsh=enM3MjF1ZnJ5dmtz
Courtney Swan – a nutrition scientist and host of The Real Foodology podcast.
