How misinformation is making us fear our food

I open up my Instagram feed to see a post describing “What it feels like trying to avoid toxins in 2024.” There’s a picture of one of those Little Tikes cars (the ones that our kids ride up and down the driveway like Fred Flintstone) being chased on a busy highway by real cars labeled seed oils, soy, heavy metals, Monsanto, blue light, tap water, receipts, microplastics and glyphosate.

A scary picture indeed, highly effective at appealing to our emotions. Social media algorithms are constantly feeding us content about the harms of everything we encounter in the real world. Videos of influencers with millions of followers running frantically down the aisles of the grocery store, reading off ingredients with a sense of urgency, warning us against buying Cheerios and oatmeal, drinking diet sodas or eating anything that’s been genetically modified or conventionally grown.

This content preys upon the idea that anything natural is inherently better and safer than things manufactured in a lab; that pretty much everything is toxic; and that Science is making (and keeping) us sick for profit. That’s capital “S” Science, which has become the catchall for anything related to the oft-conflated scientific, medical and pharmaceutical establishments.

As a parent, my mama bear instinct is activated. Maybe I should steer clear of these things? But as a scientist, I know better.

Anything can be toxic at a certain level — including water and air — and a “hazard”-based approach to risk fails to acknowledge the dose to which we are exposed. Most of these claims of toxicity originate in animal studies conducted using a handful of rats that were exposed to substances at orders of magnitude higher than any plausible human exposure.

Worried about Cheerios because you saw a social media post about the dangers of chlormequat, a plant growth regulator found on imported oats? Well, unless you consume more than 80 boxes of Cheerios per day for the rest of your life, you needn’t be. Aspartame? One health agency has classified it as “possibly carcinogenic,” putting it in the same risk category as pickled vegetables and aloe vera. Unless you’re drinking dozens of cans of soda every single day, you won’t come close to reaching the acceptable daily intake of aspartame. Seed oils? Don’t throw out your canola oil. There is no real-world evidence to support claims that seed oils cause chronic inflammation.

So why are people spreading this kind of misinformation? Look at the dynamics of social media and the attention economy. Fearmongering is sexy. People respond more strongly to all-or-none statements about what is good or bad for us. It’s easy, it’s actionable — and it gives people a sense of control over their health.

The reality is far more nuanced. It’s a lot less dramatic to hear that our health is multifactorial and influenced by a combination of (and interaction between) a host of genetic and environmental factors. What can we do with that? Instead, people are drawn to influencers such as “the Food Babe” who have amassed millions of followers by telling us what to eat and not eat based on pseudoscientific conjecture. People equate her notoriety with expertise.

What’s perhaps even more disappointing is when those who should know better get it wrong and spread misinformation. A recent example is the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and its position piece on GMO crops and foods. The authors, three pediatricians, reject decades of scientific evidence and expert consensus under the guise of “advocating for pediatric health.” This baseless fearmongering about the pesticide glyphosate harms public health by discouraging fruit and vegetable consumption, especially among lower-income individuals. These false claims also perpetuate a harmful narrative that equates affordability with inferior nutrition.

To be clear: Glyphosate, like all things, can be harmful at a certain dose — but not at the levels at which we are exposed through produce consumption, and not even at occupational doses that farm workers are regularly exposed to. The AAP should have reinforced the incredible safety of our food supply and encouraged people to eat more fruits and veggies — not dissuade them from it.

Research has shown that misinformation travels six times faster than credible information. Fear (fueled by misinformation, chemophobia and lack of context) is being shoved down our throats and shaping the decisions we make.

It’s a shame that rather than appreciating the science that has allowed us to have a robust and safe food supply, there are people who profit off of its weaponization. When it comes to health and science information, consumer beware!

Dr. Jessica Steier is a public health data scientist. She is CEO of Vital Statistics Consulting, a data science consultancy, and founder of Unbiased Science, a science communication organization.