The Big Ag and Food Money Trail, Solutions and Ideas
Part III: From lab-grown meat and crickets to tampons and toilet paper
Big Ag, Major Food Companies, and Who Owns What
Ownership, content influence, media literacy, and being informed extend beyond Big Media, Big Tech, and Big Social industries. Applying the same critical media literacy lens, especially financial literacy to Big Agriculture or “Big Ag” and industrial farming, and the major food companies is just as important, if not more. Who owns, funds, and/or subsidizes Big Ag and controls food production plays a significant role in our food and product supply chain. Like Big Media, Big Ag’s ownership model and financial holdings are not necessarily transparent unless you dig further.
Who are the Big Six Ag companies?
“Some of the companies are well known, such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Monsanto, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. Others, such as Bunge or PotashCorp, Cargill or Wilmar, stay mostly out of the public eye. Yet others you know by their brands—Dentyne, Grey Poupon, Jell-O, or Toblerone—probably without knowing that they’re all held by a single company, Kraft (or, outside the United States, by the company’s alter ego, Mondelēz International). Most of these megafood conglomerates have roots going back a century or more, but ever-increasing consolidation means that their current corporate owners may have been established only a few years ago.
Welcome to the complex world of Big Ag.
Start with the so-called Big Six [PDF]. Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Bayer, and BASF produce roughly three-quarters of the pesticides used in the world.”
Source: https://spectrum.ieee.org/everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-big-ag
The snapshot below is part of what Monsanto’s BioTech has infiltrated. Hopefully, RoundUp, the most broadly used industrial chemical herbicide/weed-killer, will be banned in our lifetimes!
Part of the globalist agenda is their “Great Reset” which controls how and where we source our food and water supply. Pay close attention to the World Economic Forum initiatives and language surrounding food and water. Some examples of where this is all headed include Bill Gates, his foundation investments, and his dual push and agenda toward fake lab-grown meats and bug-based meals that are driving this crazy train forward.
Tyson Foods recently announced its partnership with Protix to produce more “sustainable protein production” AKA eating bugs and crickets. They’re quite sneaky with food labels - those with anaphylactic shellfish allergies need to be highly cautious with cricket products such as flours, crickets used in protein bars, and supplemental ingredients in health and other packaged or processed foods. Look for stealth cricket ingredients (acheta domesticus and grilles sigillatus), mealworms (tenebrious molitor), and grasshoppers (locust migratura). Products that contain cricket or crustacean pieces pose a serious threat to people with shellfish allergies.
Gates and Apeel
Bill Gates also owns 269,000 acres of farmland in the United States. His interconnected web of business and health interests is also quite elaborate. Bill Gates owns Apeel Technology, Inc. which produces an “edible” wax coating on produce, even organic produce, “to extend the shelf-life on crops without refrigeration and protect them from being eaten by pests.” Apeel is coated with ethyl acetate, a solvent used in cleaning agents, paint, perfumes, glue, and nail polish, and heptane, an industrial solvent. Doesn’t sound edible at all! (The FDA and EPA claim that if produce has a coating, it’s required to be labeled; given their track record, are they even trustworthy and credible?) Bill Gates recently bought Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. Things that make you go hmm…
Learn which grocery outlets will *not* carry any Apeel-treated products and ask your local grocery stores if they do. Another current store and produce farm list that tracks Apeel use can be found here. For more info on Apeel, Weston A. Price covered this topic back in 2018. Apeel’s website provides details on their “plant-based protection” to research further and make an informed decision.
What brands do major food companies own and which brands they purchase might not be known to the average consumer. Understanding who owns what can be a powerful consumer tool and certainly relevant during current times where we can still vote with our dollars and choose to support companies we are aligned with and whose philosophies match. Who owns who and how this affects products, quality, research, and consumer trust is something to strongly consider. Applying media literacy and general life literacy layers to the food industry becomes another layer of empowerment and consumer choice.
11 major food companies own 400 smaller brands and control what most households buy. Some examples of larger companies buying up smaller brands include Colgate-Palmolive’s 2006 purchase of Tom’s of Maine for 100 million. Proctor & Gamble who also owns Clorox owns Brita water filters. Hormel Foods acquired Applegate Farms, one of the nation’s leading organic and natural meat companies. Did you know that Pfizer acquired the ChapStick brand in 2009, owns the Centrum Vitamins (the #1 vitamin brand in the world), and bought Emergen-C in 2012?
The dominant food companies are discreet in informing the public about their complicated web of industry and brand ownership, especially when they gobble up smaller, well-respected brands, leverage the smaller company’s brand loyalty, and then compromise their product quality and ethical ingredient sourcing.
Pet Food Company Cross-Ownership
Concern over quality and how the ingredients are processed extends to pet food companies and who owns them. The corporations that have owned pet food brands influence the quality and the health of your pet. The illusion of choice matters for our beloved four-legged family members too! This useful site tracks pet food recalls.
Image source: Dr. Judy Morgan’s Naturally Healthy Pets on Instagram
There are endless resources and recipes on how to prepare DIY pet foods and for reputable “cleaner” pet food brands. Recently I made a “puploaf” recipe from the book, Bone Appetit 50 Clean Recipes for Healthier, Happier Dogs by Deborah Robertson, for our three dogs and they loved it! The book’s illustrations alone are incredibly creative and impressive!
Major food companies and which brands and products they own:
Roundup/Glyphosate
The top crops sprayed with glyphosate (the main ingredient found in RoundUp weed-killer), are cotton, soybeans, corn, sugar cane, barley, and wheat, and hundreds more such as strawberries, almonds, beans, apples, and spinach. Glyphosate has infiltrated and penetrated our food, soil, and water supply. Now there’s a whole new tier of chemical and ingredient food testing and labeling — not just declaring it’s USDA organic, non-GMO, gluten and allergen-free, but Biochecked non-glyphosate certified, regenerative organic certified, and Demeter certified biodynamic.
For excellent resources to learn more about Roundup/glyphosate and how it contributes to health issues such as cancer and impacts our food supply, visit the Organic Consumers Association, Moms Across America, and follow The Glyphosate Girl on Instagram.
Not sure about you, but I already avoid additives, and ingredients I cannot pronounce, and prefer to buy whole foods and products that have been tested for industrial synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, and other allergens. The winning lawsuits linking RoundUp to cancer keep rolling in…
“The Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean 15” from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) are a couple of my favorite yearly lists to advise what produce to buy the organic varieties of since pesticides are heavily used, and which ones have less pesticide/herbicide and chemical residue. I highly recommend you buy organic wherever possible and financially feasible and wash your produce (even organic!) using baking soda, vinegar, or a designated produce wash, or sanitize your food with ozone (if you’d like a discount on an affordable ozone machine ($99 retail), reach out).
Nutrition research and how lobbyists control our governmental agencies and influence regulations, laws, and non-profit organizations play a pivotal role in what products are allowed on the market and in shaping public opinion. The debate about which was worse for you, fat or sugar, was manipulated and steered by industry “research” and claims from the 1960s.
Seed Oils
The same interference of hiding risks and lying to the public applies to seed oils, and their toxicity and negative health effects; seed oil manufacturers instead blame fats such as butter, meat, and eggs. In another episode of follow-the-money trail,“The American Heart Association was paid off by Proctor & Gamble to state heart disease was caused by saturated fat, not seed oils.”
Seed oils are highly inflammatory, heavily processed, and washed primarily with hexane (made from crude oil) to extract the oils from seeds. Seed oils cause gut disruption and other health disasters, including coronary heart disease and inflammation. Common seed oils to avoid are canola, corn, soybean, vegetable, grape seed, cottonseed (rapeseed), rice bran, peanut, and sesame - even if organic. Other seed oils to avoid which are frequently added to organic snacks and nut butter are sunflower and safflower oils. Seed oils are high in linoleic acid; the lower the percentage, the better. Alternative oils to use are unrefined avocado, coconut, and olive, but be on the lookout for blends and oils cut with other seed oils.
Not toilet paper and tampons too!
It’s not solely food products that can be abundant with toxins and chemicals and have negative health implications, it’s the day-to-day consumer products. From toilet paper to tampons, to greenwashed cleaning and skin care products, and laundry detergents. There’s warranted concern around per- and polyfluoroalkyl or PFAS “forever chemicals” in 21 major toilet paper brands and personal hygiene products, underwear, and leggings. It’s not just the synthetic toxins detected in water and food, it’s literally what we put on or in our bodies, what we wear, and what we wipe our butts with!
Some in the natural community have shifted to using bidets and washable/reusable cloth fabrics for panty liners/feminine hygiene pads, toilet paper, and paper towels to minimize PFAS exposure and for environmental reasons. Making conscientious and healthy choices surrounding the fabrics worn in clothing is also a growing movement. Chemically treated (formaldehyde, stain repellants, etc.) plastic and polyester clothing blends, including some cotton blends, are disturbing, unsettling, and unavoidable unless you’re buying 100% organic cotton fabric and other naturally woven materials that aren’t treated. Ditch the plastic and foreign blends and seek 100% cotton, wool, cashmere, linen, and fabrics not treated with harsh chemicals.
Resources, Solutions, and Ideas
Water - the essence of life!
→ Drink the purest water available to you. Bottled water testing has shown PFAS and leach into the water. Use glass and BPA-free plastic, if you’re using plastic at all. If your residence is on public water, does your municipality add fluoride? Visit this site to check your state’s fluoride status. What else does the water company add or filter out of your tap water? Is it even safe? Environmental Working Group has a useful resource here to investigate water quality, supported by research from local tap water testing reports. The Fluoride Action Network is a powerhouse organization too!
→ SimpleLab tests soil and water (groundwater, surface water, etc.) - air coming soon!
→ To view your local air quality, Airnow.gov provides up-to-date info.
→ Curious if you have glyphosate in your body, water, and to what degree? HRI Labs and MyLabsForLife.com offer this testing.
→ Spring water offers several benefits and still may need filtering, depending on the water source and environmental contaminants. Search for a spring in your area on this site.
→ Water distillers are an option, but for daily consumption, add back in trace minerals or a pinch of Celtic or Himalayan Sea Salt. (Distilling water is time-consuming; the 1.5-gallon/4L capacity one we own takes about three hours at 0.3 gallons/hour.)
→ We recently bought this countertop gravity filtration water machine and are quite pleased with its quality and taste! Use CURTIN15 for 15% off.
→ Learn about regenerative, biodynamic, and organic farming. Zach Bush, MD’s Farmer’s Footprint is a suggested starting place. Support small farms and farmers and those that incorporate organic and permaculture growing practices. Jim Gale who founded Food Forest Abundance is also a fantastic resource.
→ If you drink milk, discover where you can buy raw milk from local farms and also search here for options in your area.
→ Start a garden. Learn what grows and when to plant for your region.
→ Learn how to grow sprouts.
→ Find a local CSA and shop from local farms: https://www.localharvest.org
→ Connect with farms in your area: https://farmmatch.com and
→ Buy seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds or other non-GMO and organic seed supply companies.
→ Join a global seed movement: https://www.plantforchange.org
→ Build a local community and co-op network for gardening, soil health, and emergency preparedness.
→ Source your meat locally. Find a local butcher and network at farmer’s markets for local ranchers.
→ Research local beekeepers, beekeeping classes, and where to source local honey.
→ Raise farm animals and/or learn how to care for chickens for your own fresh eggs or locate a farmer that has pasture-raised poultry options.
→ Buy healthy foods and products in bulk to save money. Try Azure Standard and find the closest drop location to where you live.
→ Learn how to make more household products at home and shop from small businesses, friends, and families that make health, home, and beauty products.
→ Grow a sourdough starter and learn how to bake breads. (We love ordering from this organic Amish bakery that does not use seed oils or common allergens.)
→ Buy or plant fruit trees.
→ Learn about Demeter regenerative biodynamic foods and farming practices.
→ Search the Regenerative Farm map.
→ Create alternative food networks, and learn about canning, dehydrating, freeze-drying, food preservation, and proper food storage. Enroll in classes online or see what’s offered in your area. Excellent resource: Neighborhood Food Network
→ Find your local farmer’s markets, — it’s time to get to know your local farmers!
→ Apps/sites to locate which restaurants and eateries use seed and other oils/fats:
→ Apps to check ingredients and quality:
Farmish (a marketplace app for local food & farms)
Happy Cow (search gluten-free, vegetarian, etc. menu options)
Yuka (scan product ingredients - this app ranks from bad to excellent)
12 Spoons (a restaurant rating guide)
→ Shop at PublicSq. for businesses and services that align with freedom, family, and liberty.
→ Be also aware of the 5G towers in your area by visiting this antenna search site and this one by Ookla. Check out this informative article about 5G that a close friend of mine wrote. There are comprehensive resources available from Environmental Health Trust and Children’s Health Defense on the risks and implications of 5G.