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Imagine you are “Emily”, a mom of two children in Ohio, who stumbled across a viral post warning that Thin Mints contained glyphosate—a chemical often dubbed a “probable carcinogen”—her heart sank. She had just stocked up on boxes from her daughter’s troop. Was she unknowingly feeding her family something dangerous?

If you’ve felt the same moment of panic scrolling through headlines or mom blogs, you’re not alone. In February 2025, a report citing trace levels of glyphosate, also known as RoundUp, and heavy metals in Girl Scout Cookies exploded across social media. The headlines were dramatic, but the data? Not so much.

How Did Glyphosate Get into Girl Scout Cookies?

First, it’s important to understand that glyphosate isn’t added to cookies. It gets there in ways that are both natural and inevitable in modern agriculture.

“Farmers don’t sprinkle glyphosate into cookie dough,” says an expert we spoke to who is a former USDA National Program Leader for Food Safety and a scientist with a background in pesticide toxicology. “It ends up there through pre-harvest applications, environmental drift, and trace exposure in processing equipment.”

Here’s why glyphosate gets detected on food and ag products:

• Pre-harvest desiccation: About 30% of farmers apply glyphosate shortly before harvest to dry out wheat and oats evenly. This ensures a uniform, high-quality yield.
• Environmental spread: Glyphosate can move through wind and water—just like pollen. Even non-treated fields can receive low levels from nearby farms.
• Cross-contamination: Milling and baking equipment may retain microscopic residues from previous processing cycles.

Still, our expert emphasizes, “Glyphosate is very unstable. It breaks down during processing. By the time it’s made into cookie dough and baked, most of it is likely destroyed.”

The Math behind the Scare: How Much is Too Much?

Let’s talk numbers, because context matters:

• EPA’s Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI): 1.75 mg/kg body weight/day
• For a 130-lb child: That’s 103 mg/day of glyphosate
• Thin Mints tested at: ~0.28 parts per million = 0.00896 mg per 4-cookie serving
• Glyphosate per cookie: ~0.00224 mg

Therefore, to hit the EPA’s daily limit, you’d need to eat: 103 ÷ 0.00224 = ~46,116 Thin Mints—in one day. How small is that? Our experts states:

That’s the level of sensitivity that triggered these headlines—not a real health risk.

Why Glyphosate is Still Essential to Farming—and the Planet

The Thin Mint headlines may be new, but glyphosate conversations are years old.

What often gets lost is why glyphosate exists in the first place—and why it’s still used.

• Reduces tilling: By replacing mechanical weed removal, glyphosate helps preserve topsoil, reduce erosion, and limit greenhouse gas emissions.
• Increases yield: Without glyphosate, crops are more vulnerable to weeds, pests, and droughts.
• Helps feed the world: According to a 2022 review published in Frontiers in Agronomy, glyphosate contributes to global food security by improving land efficiency and lowering the environmental footprint of food production.

What about Heavy Metals?

Heavy metals like lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury are naturally found in soil and water. Plants absorb them just as they absorb nutrients. This applies to conventional and organic crops alike.

You’ll find trace heavy metals in:

• Root vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots (especially the skin)
• Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and chard
• Grains, especially brown rice and oats
• Seafood, like tuna and swordfish, which can be high in mercury

The problem isn’t the presence—it’s repeated, high-level exposure over time, like eating the same thing for lunch every day, or having the same vegetable for dinner 3 nights a week. This is especially true for young children.

How to Minimize Heavy Metal Exposure:

• Eat a varied diet: Don’t rely on the same foods daily, especially high-risk ones like rice-based snacks, sweet potatoes, or leafy greens from the same source.
• Peel root vegetables: The skins can concentrate heavy metals—especially important for baby food.
• Rinse produce: Washing removes soil particles that may carry heavy metal dust. Adding some vinegar to the wash increases efficiency.
• Limit certain fish: Mercury-heavy fish like swordfish and king mackerel should be eaten sparingly, especially by pregnant women and children.

What are the FDA and EPA Doing?

While headlines often spark fear, it’s important to recognize the behind-the-scenes work being done to keep our food supply safe.

Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) play critical roles in protecting public health by monitoring, regulating, and reducing exposure to potentially harmful substances like heavy metals and pesticide residues.

Their efforts don’t just stop at setting limits—they’re advancing research, guiding manufacturers, and adjusting policies based on emerging science. Here’s how each agency is working to ensure transparency, safety, and continual improvement in the foods we eat every day.

FDA: Closer to Zero Program

This program targets lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury in foods consumed by infants and children. Their strategy is to:

• Set action levels (e.g. 10 parts per billion for lead in infant cereals)
• Guide manufacturers to reformulate and reduce toxic element exposure
• Continuously monitor, analyze, and revise safety thresholds

The FDA acknowledges that no amount of lead is safe for children—and they’re working across the industry to minimize it.

EPA: Pesticide Residue Oversight

The EPA’s most recent glyphosate review found:

• No cancer risk at dietary exposure levels
• Glyphosate is safe when used according to label instructions
• Ongoing studies are evaluating glyphosate’s metabolites for future review

These programs ensure consumers aren’t left in the dark—they offer transparency, data, and science-backed policy updates.

Here’s What Emily Can Do

Emily is not alone in wanting to keep her kids safe. The good news is, staying informed and proactive doesn’t have to be overwhelming. One of the most effective things you can do is encourage variety in your family’s diet.

Rotating your produce, trying different whole grains, and switching up your protein sources helps minimize the accumulation of any one type of contaminant. In short, dietary diversity is a powerful form of protection.

It’s also important to rinse all fruits and vegetables—yes, even the organic ones.

Pesticide residues and naturally occurring heavy metals can cling to soil dust on the surface of produce. Washing them thoroughly helps reduce that exposure.

And when it comes to processed treats, like cookies or cereal bars, the key is moderation.

They’re meant to be enjoyed as occasional snacks, not everyday staples. They shouldn’t be vilified, but they also shouldn’t crowd out nutrient-dense whole foods.

Navigating the Noise: Trust Science, Not Clickbait

“Don’t get your science from TikTok,” our expert says bluntly.

Instead, rely on reputable, evidence-based sources like FDA and EPA reports, peer-reviewed research in journals such as Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Frontiers in Agronomy, and Food Chemistry, and organizations like the National Institutes of Health, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/WHO).

Be skeptical of dramatic headlines or social media posts that lack proper sourcing. Context matters—trace detection does not mean danger. And beware of comparisons between food safety limits and water safety standards, which have entirely different risk profiles and thresholds. Understanding that distinction is key to separating fear from fact.

Remember, here’s what we know:

• Glyphosate is heavily regulated, essential for sustainable agriculture, and used in ways that significantly reduce environmental harm.
• The trace amounts found in food—especially in Girl Scout Cookies—are nowhere near harmful.
• Our testing capabilities are more sensitive than ever, but that doesn’t mean our food is more dangerous—it just means we know more about it.
• The real focus should be on reducing overall processed food consumption and embracing a diet built on whole, varied, nutrient-dense foods.

Emily’s concern is valid. But panic isn’t the answer—context, science, and variety are.