How the Corporate Food System and FDA Betray Humanity — and The Need to Reclaim Our Power

How the Corporate Food System Betrays Humanity

1. Non-Organic Fruits & Vegetables Contain Poisons — “The Environmental Working Group’s annual consumer’s guide reveals that almost three-fourths of non-organic fruits and vegetables sampled contained traces of toxic pesticides while the “dirty dozen” — including strawberries and spinach — tested at levels closer to 95%… Four out of five of the most frequently detected pesticides found on the twelve most-contaminated produce items were fungicides that could have serious health impacts.”
2. Toxic Weed Killer Found in Most Foods Sold in the U.S. — “Few people had detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine in 1993, but by 2016, 70% had detectable levels. Between 1993 and 2016, the glyphosate levels in people’s bodies increased by 1,208%… It’s been found to disrupt or destroy your microbiome, methylation pathways, thyroid health, protein synthesis, cell health and your mitochondrial function.”
3. U.S. Food System Far More Corrupted than Other Countries, including the UK — This article demonstrates how products with the same name have different ingredients in the U.S. vs the U.K., including the addition of corn syrup to the U.S. version of Heinz ketchup, for example. See also: Epoch Times article
4. 7 Food Additives Banned in Europe, Commonly Used in the US — “The stark contrast between food quality in the United States and Europe is often immediately apparent to those who travel abroad.”
5. Titanium Dioxide, Banned in Europe is One of the Most Common Food Additives in the U.S. “Titanium dioxide, a food additive in chewing gum, cakes, candies, breads and ice cream, is linked to a wide range of adverse health effects, particularly genotoxicity (a precursor to cancer) and intestinal inflammation. It is banned in the European Union but found all over grocery shelves in the U.S.”
6. Carcinogenic Added to Baked Goods for Decades in the U.S. is Banned in Many Countries — “Potassium bromate is commonly used as a food additive in baked goods, including breads, pastries, bagels, and crusts. It has been linked to various cancers, along with thyroid disease, kidney damage, gut irritation and reproductive abnormalities. In 1999, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), categorized potassium bromate as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” It has been banned as a food additive in Europe since 1990, in Canada since 1994, and in India since 2016. Other countries that have banned potassium bromate include Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Peru, China, and Sri Lanka.”
7. Hundreds of Unnatural Ingredients in American Food System — “Hundreds of novel ingredients never encountered by human physiology are now found in nearly 60 percent of the average adult’s diet and nearly 70 percent of children’s diets in the United States… The unprecedented consumption of these ultra-processed foods in the standard American diet may be the new ‘silent’ killer.”
8. Corn Syrup is in Infant Formula, and that’s Okay with the FDA — “Major formula companies use corn syrup… Research links corn syrup formula to negative effects on gut bacteria that, according to studies, can contribute to childhood obesity, food fussiness, and diminished food satisfaction… Unlike U.S. companies, formula makers in countries in the European Union (EU) are prohibited from replacing lactose with corn syrup.”
9. Ultra-Processed Foods Make People Very Sick — A large peer-reviewed meta-analysis of 14 studies published in the British Medical Journal examined the link between ultra-processed foods and adverse health effects. “Significant intake of ultra-processed foods results in increased risk of all-cause mortality… increased risk of heart disease-related death… increase in the risk of most types of cancer… increase in having sleep problems… increase in anxiety… increase in common mental disorders (including depression, OCD, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder), increases in risk for asthma, Crohn’s disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and so on.” More sources: 13-min video, BMJ research report, Lancet (2024) report, AboutLawsuits.com article, The Epoch Times article, Environmental International report, News Medical article
10. Ingredients in Processed Foods Harm Microbiome Health & Increase Risk of Cancer — “French researchers reported that emulsifiers added to improve the texture and shelf-life of processed foods wreak havoc on the gut microbiome, leading to inflammation and possibly cancer. Their investigation included 92,000 adults enrolled in the French NutriNet-Santé study and followed for an average of 6.7 years… During the study period, 2,604 cancer cases occurred… Higher intakes of mono- and diglyceride emulsifiers were associated with a higher risk for all cancers… Carrageenan emulsifiers were associated with additional breast cancer risk.”
11. Junk Food ‘Brainwashes’ You so You’re Wired to Eat More — “Did you know this food component rewires the brain, changes how you think and negatively affects memory and learning?… Researchers found participants who ate high-fat, high-sugar snacks experienced changes in neural encoded responses so they no longer preferred low-fat, low-sugar snacks and they subconsciously preferred a lot of fat and sugar. Data show bingeing on sugar for just six weeks can slow brain function, memory and learning. One study showed sugar affected the reward system in a “manner similar to that of drugs of abuse.” Eating junk food for one week can impair your appetite control; data also show the more sugar you eat, the lower your nutrient intake. Eliminating sugar is a quick and clear route to better health. Metabolic flexibility is a key to better health; it is also important to avoid industrial vegetable oils or seed oils, margarine, shortening and any fake butter and spreads. Instead, choose from a list of healthy fat foods that include olives, avocados and coconut oil.”
12. As Addictive as Tobacco, Alcohol, Cocaine: Corporations Get Children and Adults Addicted to Fake Food — Food corporations know that chemically engineered products provoke overeating and addiction and harm health, and they capitalize on it to drive sales. U.S. Right to Know link New York Post link The Guardian link Epoch Times link
13. Lead-Tainted Applesauce Poisoned 400 Hundred Children in 2024 — February 2024, cinnamon applesauce pouches linked to 400 childhood lead poisoning cases. More Sources: New York Times article Epoch Times Nov 14, 2023 article and Nov 5, 2023 article
14. Parents Need to Know the Heavy Metal Content of Processed Foods & the Affect on their Children’s Health, including ADHD and Autism — “Educating women about the heavy metal content of ultra-processed foods, or junk foods, can reduce the risks of chronic diseases across generations, according to a U.S. study… Symptoms of autism or ADHD worsen as mercury and lead accumulate in an affected person’s blood.”
15. “Nutritional Criminology” — Published in January 2024, the authors note, “In recent years, there has been growing recognition that higher ultra-processed food consumption is associated with multiple forms of harm, including those related to mental health and behavior.”
16. Kids Who Consume Energy Drinks Suffer “Alarming Health Risks” — “New research reveals alarming health risks like heart problems, mental distress, and risky behaviors in kids who consume caffeinated, sugar-laden energy drinks.”
17. Researchers Link Energy Drinks to Suicidal Thoughts in Children — “Energy drinks could pose a risk to young brains, said UK researchers.”
18. Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Depression — “Nonsugar sweeteners found in ultra-processed foods, such as certain breads, yogurts, and protein bars, can increase your risk of depression, according to research.”
19. Diet Drinks Increase Risk of Heart Condition — “Drinking two liters or more per week of artificially sweetened beverages — the equivalent of a medium-sized fast-food diet soda a day — raised the risk of an irregular heartbeat by 20% when compared to people who drank none, a new study found.”
20. 80 Percent of Americans Exposed to Fertility-Lowering Chemicals in Cheerios, Quaker Oats — “Exposure to the chemical can result in lower fertility and harm developing fetuses even at doses below acceptable levels set by regulators. Researchers detected chlormequat in 80 percent of urine samples collected between 2017 and 2023, with ‘a significant increase in concentrations for samples from 2023.’ “
21. Toxic Heavy Metals, Glyphosate, and Pesticides in Popular Breakfast Cereal — “Testing by Moms Across America (MAA), an organization dedicated to educating and empowering others to create healthy communities, found the artificially flavored creme-filled breakfast food contains measurable levels of aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, lead, glyphosate, and pesticides shown to be harmful to humans.”
22. Wheat Intolerance Could be Due to Glyphosate, According to Canadian Study — “A scientific review identifies identifies glyphosate as a possible cause of the global rise in wheat intolerance.” See also: 1-min video below on wheat processing in Italy.
23. U.S. Food Manufacturers Can Label a Product “Whole Grain” Even if Only 51% of it Actually Is — “So you have no way to know how much you are actually getting.”
24. Farmed Salmon Are a Toxic ‘Junk Food’ — “Salmon farming is a disaster both for the environment and for human health, and tests show farmed salmon is about five times more toxic than any other food tested. In animal feeding studies, mice fed farmed salmon developed obesity and diabetes — effects researchers believe are related to toxic exposures. Besides pesticides and antibiotics used in fish farming, the most significant source of toxic exposure is the dry pellet feed, which contains dioxins, PCBs and other toxic pollutants. Farmed salmon also does not have the nutritional profile of wild salmon, containing more than three times more omega-6 fat than wild salmon, which further skews rather than corrects most people’s omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.”
25. 90% of U.S. Cheese Contains GMO Made by Pfizer — “Rennet is used as a clotting agent to curdle the milk into cheese, separating the liquid parts of milk from the solids. Pfizer makes a genetically modified rennet, but because of a labeling loophole, cheese containing Pfizer’s rennet does not have to be labeled as containing a genetically modified organism.”
26. “Just Eggs” Isn’t Eggs at All — “How do they get away with it? How can they be selling a product labelled ‘Just Eggs’ and now, ‘Just Eggs-Folded,’ that doesn’t contain a single egg. In fact, the first two products of “Just Eggs” are mung beans and canola oil… Farmers, ranchers, backyard chicken raisers, and all hungry people are on the front lines of the food wars.”
27. Nutrella Advertising vs. Reality — “Advertised as a hazelnut spread with a touch of chocolate, Nutella actually contains a large dose of refined sugar and refined palm oil, both with known carcinogenic properties.”
28. Ultra-Pasteurization Robs Milk of Its Nutrients — Processing and storing “massive amounts of milk produced by factory farms robs it of its natural nutrients — but today, unprocessed milk is making a comeback.”
29. More on Milk Processing — “A 2019 study from China found that all forms of milk processing tested caused ‘formation of protein oxidation products which impair spatial learning and memory in rats.’ … As noted by Fallon, ultrapasteurization exposes the milk to far higher heat than boiling (284 F compared to 212 F). So, clearly, ultrapasteurized milk doesn’t even come close to real milk… Damaged milk proteins may contribute to allergic reactions, Fallon notes, and milk allergy is now commonplace. An estimated 20 Americans die each year from anaphylactic shock caused by conventional milk — a shocking reminder of just how far modern milk has strayed from real, raw milk, which rarely causes any allergic reactions.”
30. Plastic Nanoparticles Pass into Individual Cells, Damaging Health — Researchers found concentrations that ranged from 110,000 to 370,000 particles per 1 liter of water. The size of the nanoparticles creates the most questions and concerns as they can get into individual cells and cause dysfunction in major organs when they deposit endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Municipal wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to filter out plastic particles and one study using older technology estimated we consume an average of one credit card’s worth of plastic each week. There’s evidence that plastic chemicals are harming the health of future generations through intergenerational endocrine disruption. We can all have an impact on plastic pollution by not adding to it, such as avoiding plastic bags and water bottles, and washing synthetic clothes less frequently.”
31. Chemicals Leaking from Plastic Food Packaging Harmful to Health — “Norwegian researchers reported that chemicals leaching from plastic food packaging may cause more concerning and widespread harm to health than previously realized, including developmental problems and hormone-related cancers.”
32. Plastics in Food Packaging Leak into Foods & Drinks, and “BPA Drives Childhood Obesity” — “BPA is a component of food packaging plastics that leaches into foods and drinks, so diet is the principal source of human exposure. Researchers cultured stool samples from 106 children (median age 7.7) to determine their bacterial microbiome composition. Cultured bacteria were then exposed to various concentrations of BPA… endocrine disruptor that promotes obesity through several mechanisms, including interfering with hormones that affect appetite and satiety… BPA exposure affects specific gut taxa and drives microbiota dynamics in childhood obesity… The study found that a child’s body mass index (BMI) determines how they process BPA, which in turn affects their gut microbiome composition in ways that drive further weight gain. In other words, it’s a vicious cycle.”
33. 61 Unauthorized ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Food Packaging — This March 2024 article in the Scientific American highlights a global study that “identified 61 PFAS chemicals in food packaging that are not authorized for use in such products.”
34. Antibiotic and Contraceptive Drugs Found in Fast Food Lab Results — “According to a recently published lab report, food samples from McDonald’s and several other national food chains were found to have detectable levels of animal antibiotics, as well as animal contraceptives. Although the sample size in this particular study was small, it does highlight a much larger issue — the fact that all of these chemicals and drugs that go into our livestock might very well be ending up on our plates.” More Sources: Lab results link Study on additives in animal feed link
35. Lawsuit Filed Against Nestle for Describing Perrier as “Mineral Water” When in Fact the Spring Now Contains Bacteria & Pollutants — The lawsuit claims “the company is misbranding its Perrier brand of bottled water because the French spring it comes from is contaminated and must be treated and filtered, violating French and U.S. regulations governing mineral water. Kevin O’Rourke filed a proposed class action against Nestle, claiming it was misleading customers by selling Perrier as a mineral water when the company knew the naturally carbonated underground spring in Vergeze, France, where it comes from contains bacteria and pollutants. The filtration and treatment that the water requires means it no longer qualifies as natural mineral water under either U.S. or French rules, the lawsuit claimed. The lawsuit follows a stir in France over mineral water bottling processes that began when a whistleblower came forward in 2020, alleging the companies’ manufacturing methods did not conform with French regulations.”
36. “The Sugar Conspiracy: Papers Expose Industry Plot to Frame Fat for Heart Disease” — “It sounds like a movie plot – men with dubious intentions, a trove of secret documents, and a red herring to distract people from the truth. But unlike cinema, this story is 100% real-like the dangers of sugar that industry execs tried to hide.”

A study published in the British Medical Journal finds people who consume high amounts of ultra-processed foods have an increased risk of anxiety, depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, certain cancers and premature death. The data come from more than 9 million people who participated in dozens of studies.

– NPR

Apeel: Chemical Formulation that May Be Put on Organics & Cannot Be Washed Off

FDA, EPA, Food Supply Chain Are Corrupted

“Crony Capitalism” (Corruption) Defines the American Food System

The fact that the food industry and the agency responsibility for regulating that industry are in lockstep when it comes to defending a possible carcinogen that millions of Americans are consuming every day is yet another example of the crony capitalism that is threatening our health and the health of our children.

– Alliance for Natural Health

1. FDA Took No Action on Poisons in Infant Formula — “Two out of the four formulas subjected to testing by the FDA yielded concerning results, showing the presence of toxic metals and even radioactive uranium. Despite these alarming findings, no discernible actions were taken by the FDA in response to this critical issue.
2. Known Risks Associated With Genetically Engineered Foods Ignored By The FDA — “By slipping it into our food without our knowledge, without any indication that there are genetically modified organisms in our food, we are now unwittingly part of a massive experiment. . . . Essentially, the FDA has said that genetically modified organisms, or food, are basically not much different from regular food, and so they’ll be treated in the same way. The problem is this: Geneticists follow the inheritance of genes, in what we call a vertical fashion . . . [but] what biotechnology allows us to do is to take this organism, and move it, what we call horizontally, into a totally unrelated species.”
3. Government & Non-Governmental Organizations Entrusted to Protect People Have Betrayed Them & Instead Obey Corporations— “The FDA and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) are beholden to industry and put the interests of junk food giants over public health… A symbiotic relationship exists between AND and junk food corporations like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills and Kraft. Trade group American Beverage launched a coordinated campaign to downplay the aspartame-cancer finding by paying registered dietitians and other health professionals to promote aspartame on social media.”
4. Corruption of Organizations in the “System” is Rampant — “The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), a group instrumental in sculpting the nation’s eating habits, finds itself in controversy as new evidence suggests a tangible, disconcerting link between our dietary guidelines and the financial interests of major food and pharmaceutical entities.” More Sources: Cambridge University Press report, How Corporations Corrupted Nutrition Guidelines in the USA 10-min video, U.S. Right to Know, Nearly Half of Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Have Conflicts of Interest article
5. Numerous Organizations Claiming to Provide Health Information are Actually Propagandists for Corporations— “The Food Compass, unveiled in 2021 by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, appears to be a propaganda tool in disguise… [Despite] claims that it’s a science-based tool to rank the healthfulness of foods, it actually promotes ultraprocessed junk.”
6. EPA Illegally Hid Health, Safety Data — The EPA was sued “for allegedly withholding data on toxic forever chemicals.”
7. EPA Catered to Chemical Manufacturers Rather than Defending Food Safety — “Following a 2019 application submitted by chlormequat manufacturer Taminco, the EPA proposed in April last year to allow the use of chlormequat on oats, barley, wheat, and triticale grown in the United States.”
8. EPA Spending its Resources to Discredit Testimony of Expert Witness Describing Studies that Prove Fluoride Is a Neurotoxin — EPA seeks to protect industry instead of preventing potential harm to people, called for based on such evidence as the following: “The release of the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) systematic review of fluoride’s neurotoxicity was concealed from the public… Prior to the NTP report’s scheduled release in May 2022, it was shared with members of dental groups like the American Dental Association, which urged officials to alter the report. After a court order, the NTP report was released, showing that out of 55 studies included, 52 found that increased fluoride exposure was associated with decreases in child IQ.” [source] “Fluoride is a highly toxic substance. Consider, for example, the poison warning that the FDA now requires on all fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S. or the tens of millions of people throughout China and India who now suffer serious crippling bone diseases from drinking water with elevated levels of fluoride… Fluoride has long been used in rodenticides and pesticides to kill pests like rats and insects… Over-ingestion of fluoridated dental products…can cause serious poisoning incidents, including death.” [source]  Research found that fluoride “readily accumulates in the human pineal gland.” [source and source and source]
9. FSA Ignored U.K. Citizens’ Opposition to GMOs / PBOs — “The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has just published the final report on its public consultation on the sale of genetically modified precision bred (PBOs) food and animal feed in England…. They are openly disdainful of citizen (‘consumer’) views and fail to live up to the FSA’s mandate to protect the public interest… Citizens in the UK are – and have been for decades – consistent in their rejection of unlabelled, unmonitored, unregulated GMOs in the food system. It is in the public interest to respond to and act on these views, but that is not what the FSA has done.”

Just as Academic Institutions and Establishment Medicine Have Been Captured by the Pharmaceutical Industry, Academic Nutrition Departments Do the Bidding of “Big Food” Corporations

Much of the funding of many academic nutrition departments is from the food industry or its intermediaries, which helps drive research agendas. ⁴ The medical world learnt the hard lessons on influence from the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries, but it has yet to recognise fully the influence of food and drink companies, which have far greater impact on our health. This influence has indirectly ensured that it took 40 years for the first quality randomised controlled trial of the effects of junk food in humans.⁵

– Dr. Tim Spector and Dr. Christopher D. Gardner

Health-Degrading Propaganda Delivered as Nutritional Advice

The Food Compass seems like a bad joke (only they aren’t kidding.) Are Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs healthier than meat and eggs? That’s what the new Tufts Food Compass ranking system would have you believe. In a recent editorial on this topic, independent journalist Nina Teicholz rightly asks: “What kind of dystopian world has nutrition ‘science’ entered into whereby a university, a peer-reviewed journal, and one of the field’s most influential leaders legitimize advice telling the public to eat more Lucky Charms and fewer eggs?” Perhaps the fact that Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition receives funding from 60 companies, including several that ranked highly on the Food Compass, has something to do with it? 

– Chris Kresser, Email Feb 10, 2023

“A Few Powerful Transnational Companies Dominate Every Link of the Food Supply Chain: From Seeds and Fertilizers to Slaughterhouses and Supermarkets”

A handful of powerful companies control the majority market share of almost 80% of dozens of grocery items bought regularly by ordinary Americans, new analysis reveals. A joint investigation by the Guardian and Food and Water Watch found that consumer choice is largely an illusion – despite supermarket shelves and fridges brimming with different brands. In fact, a few powerful transnational companies dominate every link of the food supply chain: from seeds and fertilizers to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to cereals and beers.The size, power and profits of these mega companies have expanded thanks to political lobbying and weak regulation which enabled a wave of unchecked mergers and acquisitions. This matters because the size and influence of these mega-companies enables them to largely dictate what America’s 2 million farmers grow and how much they are paid, as well as what consumers eat and how much our groceries cost. It also means those who harvest, pack and sell us our food have the least power: at least half of the 10 lowest-paid jobs are in the food industry. Farms and meat processing plants are among the most dangerous and exploitative workplaces in the country. Overall, only 15 cents of every dollar we spend in the supermarket goes to farmers. The rest goes to processing and marketing our food… “It’s a system designed to funnel money into the hands of corporate shareholders and executives while exploiting farmers and workers and deceiving consumers…” said Amanda Starbuck.

– The Guardian, July 14, 2021

1. Loss of Farming Diversity Increased Use of Poisons in Soils & Therefore in the Food — “The modernization and mechanization of agriculture accelerated the loss of diversity of American farms. It became a common practice to no longer raise livestock on the same farms where crops were grown. Without animal manure to provide nutrients to crops, synthetic fertilizer was needed. Today, most farms grow crops or raise livestock, not both; only a small percentage produce more than four crops. When a farmer grows only a single crop year after year, more chemicals are required to keep the soil fertile. The result is a specialization in a few commodities destined for the production of processed food, animal feed, and ethanol, and it’s all dependent on synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides that sink into the soil, transferring into the food we eat. Ms. Matte encourages her patients to develop relationships with local farmers. “Ask them questions about their farming philosophies. Because of the various farming styles, some need less pesticides and fertilizers than others.”
2. ‘Enough Is Enough’: US Factory Farm Takeover Continues With 1.7 Billion Animals — “Critics of factory farming renewed demands for U.S. policy reforms… The USDA’s new data show that without policy changes, factory farms will continue to get bigger and bigger, wreaking havoc on public health, the environment, and the climate.”
3. Despite Horrific Downstream Consequences, Farm Animals Routinely Given Antibiotics for Prevention & Growth — “As of 2020, 69% of the U.S. antibiotic supply was bought up by the meat industry, and most of these antibiotics are given to animals that aren’t sick; rather, they’re used for prophylactic and/or growth promotion purposes… When animals are given antibiotics, it causes unnatural growth by altering their gut microbiome. In the process, some of those gut bacteria become antibiotic-resistant. Contaminated meat can then become a source of drug-resistant infections. The death toll attributed to drug-resistant infections is thought to be around 4.95 million annually… Natural antimicrobials that do not appear to promote drug resistance include garlic, ginger, echinacea, goldenseal, myrrh oil, thyme oil, oregano oil, clove extract, olive leaf extract and colloidal silver.”
4. Conventional, Chemical-Intensive Farming is at the Root of Human Crises — “Growing environmental, climate and health problems can be traced back to modern food production, including food insecurity and malnutrition amid mounting food waste, and rising obesity and disease despite growing health care outlays. Conventional, chemical and energy-intensive farming is also depleting fresh water supplies, while toxic agricultural chemicals pollute air, soil and waterways, thereby threatening the entire food chain from top to bottom. Answers to pressing global problems hinge on the widespread implementation of regenerative farming and decentralized food distribution.

Solutions & What You Can Do

There is Universal Agreement that the Food System is Toxic & People Must Take Great Care to Get Clean Food

Unbeknownst to many people, the foods we buy have a lot of toxic additives lurking in them. This means they’ve been altered in ways that actually make you hungrier and hijack the brain to worsen your emotional eating habits. As a Harvard-trained nutritionist, I always remind people to read the food labels.

– CNBC

Maine Town Declares Food Sovereignty

Sedgwick, Maine has done what no other town in the United States has done. The town unanimously passed an ordinance giving its citizens the right “to produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing.” This includes raw milk, locally slaughtered meats, and just about anything else you can imagine. It’s also a decided bucking of state and federal laws.

– Mar 15, 2011