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Drake Peterson
On today's episode of the Real Foodology.
Kelly Ryerson
Podcast, like, you go in and you meet with ag staffers, and you're like, gosh, have you seen page 798 in the farm bill? It says that you will no longer be able to sue if you get sick.
Courtney Swan
Hello, friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Real Foodology Podcast. This is your host, Courtney Swan, and I'm actually sitting down with Kelly Ryerson today for a short little podcast clip. You may know her as Glyphosate Girl. I've actually had her on the podcast before, and I've also posted about her a bunch on my Instagram. And I have Kelly on today to give us an update about what is happening currently with Bayer. Y'all have probably seen my stories and you know a little bit about it, but Bayer essentially is trying to go for the same immunity that vaccine companies have, which means that if anyone was to get cancer using their products. So let's say, like farmers using glyphosate, they are not. They would not be able to sue Bayer if they got cancer from their products. So let's talk about it. Kelly, I'm so happy you're here.
Kelly Ryerson
Oh, thank you for having me on. It's so fun to do this in person as well.
Courtney Swan
I know. It's super fun. Yay. Okay, so if you want to explain a little bit about what is going on and also, too, what bills people should be looking for and then what they can do.
Kelly Ryerson
Okay. Yes. So this is a huge, huge emergency that we are having right now. And it all stems from the glyphosate litigation in which this started in 2018. And there were a few lawsuits against Bayer, which was actually originally owned by Monsanto, purchased by Bayer in 2018, and they started losing these enormous lawsuits. And so Bayer kind of didn't think that this would be a problem. It ended up being an enormous problem where billions and billions. I think it's over $13 billion now. And settlements have been given to plaintiffs who have claimed and proven that glyphosate exposure likely caused their cancer.
Courtney Swan
Yeah, so there was that famous one. Sorry to interrupt you, but there was that famous groundsman. And I believe, wasn't he the first one that won?
Kelly Ryerson
Yeah. So Lee Johnson is the first one. 2018, the summer of. And he won. And then the next was man who Got Cancer. The third was a couple, and that was in 2019. And actually that couple was awarded. It was like this enormous headline because it was a $2 billion amount that the jury awarded to this Couple. So it was like, because it's so obscene when you dig in and you see just the corruption. And clearly the EPA knows this causes cancer and so it makes it pretty easy for the jury to decide that it likely causes cancer.
Courtney Swan
Well now iarc, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has classified it as a group 2, a carcinogen, which means that it probably causes cancer.
Kelly Ryerson
Yeah. And they looked at the independent research and so not even industry research. So.
Courtney Swan
Yeah.
Kelly Ryerson
So Bayer has a really huge problem and they got rid of that CEO, they brought in a new CEO and they launched this multi pronged approach to not going bankrupt effectively, because this can definitely bankrupt them. And rather than just saying, hey, let's put a label that maybe this can cause cancer on our product, they're not going to do that. So instead they have this fancy strategy that actually when it was announced it was like they could never pull this off. But they're actually looking pretty successful in pulling it off where they are going to 21 states I believe are on the list now. And they're going in and convincing the state legislature. So the different, the House of Representatives and the Senate in each of the states saying, hey, you know what? This is anti farmer. What if our farmers couldn't get chemicals anymore because Bayer couldn't make them?
Courtney Swan
Oh my God.
Kelly Ryerson
And so this is terrible. Like that will all starve this whole crisis that they're painting and for a lot. And this is also happening actually at the federal level. So for a year now they've been trying to slide this, this pesticide liability shield into an appropriations bill, like a separate bill that the Farm Bill, page 798. And what's crazy is like you go in and you meet with ag staffers and you're like, gosh, have you seen page 798 in the farm bill? It says that you will no longer be able to sue if you get sick. And they're like, what are you talking about? I mean, the farm bill is so thick.
Courtney Swan
Yeah, well, that's why they do that.
Kelly Ryerson
They just hide it.
Courtney Swan
They just slide all these other things in there and they make it so long that they assume that people won't even know that those bills are in there.
Kelly Ryerson
Totally. Which is outrageous and frustrating because what's at stake is so much.
Courtney Swan
Yeah, well, so are they still trying to put that into the farm bill as well or is this just a new way now to get this passed?
Kelly Ryerson
So it's both. And this is why it's so important that everyone start focusing on the state level. Right? Now, because as soon as they can get a state to pass one of these, then it's going to give more credibility to it being a federal law as well.
Courtney Swan
Wow.
Kelly Ryerson
And so they're definitely pushing on both fronts.
Courtney Swan
So since they're going state by state right now, is there a world in which maybe just a couple states will pass it, and then it won't ever actually be able to go to federally? And so then in certain states, if farmers get cancer, then they wouldn't be able to sue, but other states would still be able to. There's a possibility that that happened.
Kelly Ryerson
Yeah, there is a possibility of that happening. And I think if people get loud enough, like right now, it's not looking great. For example, in Georgia or Missouri, those are two states where it looks like it's likely gonna pass. And so those people will no longer have a right to sue. And let's not just say Bayer, because it's also Chem China.
Courtney Swan
Yes, And Chem China Magenta too. Right?
Kelly Ryerson
Yes. Which is Chemchina.
Courtney Swan
Oh, okay. Yeah.
Kelly Ryerson
They're connected. And. And so they manufacture paraquat. And they don't sell it in China, but they do sell it to the United States, and it is clearly linked to Parkinson's disease.
Courtney Swan
And in China, they don't use it because they have links to health conditions. Right. And so they don't allow them to. Yeah. I mean, this is so insidious.
Kelly Ryerson
So bad.
Courtney Swan
This is so bad.
Kelly Ryerson
And so there's also legislation or there's also a lot of litigation around paraquat and Parkinson's. And so that's something that they want to have protection from so they can keep on polluting and making us sick. So it's urgent. And what's so tricky about it? And you know, too, because you've been working on this, what's so tricky is that they are doing it so quietly at the state. So day to day, hour to hour, we don't have much visibility into what's happening because they're trying to trick us out of being able to have, like, a call campaign or like social media. By the time people are seeing our posts on social media, a lot of times, like, they change the data. They've already done it or whatever.
Courtney Swan
Yeah.
Kelly Ryerson
And so it's. It's really brilliant on their part, but horrible for us.
Courtney Swan
Yeah. So this is why I wanted to do this podcast episode, because there's so much nuance, and I've been trying to share this in my stories, and I wanted people to just have an episode where they could Listen to all of it, absorb it all, and then just be on high alert about it. Because we're in a little coalition of people, including Zen from Moms Across America, and there's a lot of other amazing people that are involved in this. And we're basically on an email chain and then sending around emails and texts, being like, okay, they're voting today, and then we get an email an hour later. Okay, wait, no, now it's not on the docket. So basically, it's chaos.
Kelly Ryerson
It's so chaos, I have to send out emails like, sorry, everyone, false alarm.
Courtney Swan
Oh, and there's another thing, too, that you told me about that people should also be aware of. So we're posting phone numbers and saying, call your senators. Call these people in different states. Which, by the way, even if you're not in that state, like I'm in Colorado and I'm calling people in Georgia. It doesn't matter. You don't have to be in Georgia. We just as Americans need to be sounding the alarm on this. But you also brought up a great point because they keep changing it and saying they're gonna bring it out, and then they didn't bring it out. If you call some of these people, they're not actually gonna maybe know what you're talking about. Not all the time.
Kelly Ryerson
That's so true. And so then you're in the position of having to educate this and teach them about what this bill even is. And I mean, so that can take several calls. And that's why many people should get on the phone and call. And it's so true what you're saying about calling from other states. Cause. Cause, for example, this isn't on the docket for California because they're not gonna get it in California. But there are tons of Californians that want to help. And so a lot of people are willing to call on behalf of Georgia or whatever it is.
Courtney Swan
Yeah, well. Cause this is an American emergency right now. This is. Once they get one in, like you said, there's a bigger possibility that they could pass this federally. And we really. I mean, we don't want it at any state, but we definitely don't want it federally.
Kelly Ryerson
We definitely don't.
Courtney Swan
So any way that we can sound alarm on this, we have phone numbers for senators that you can call, and we'll be posting periodically. So I want you all to make sure that you're paying attention to follow. Glyphosate girl. I'm assuming if you're listening to this, you're probably following me anytime there's anything on the docket. And anytime there's any way to call people, I'm just gonna start putting phone numbers in my stories. And also, we'll leave some links in the show notes so that y'all can start raising hell. I mean, let's just get a coalition of people that are calling and raising hell about this.
Kelly Ryerson
Yes. Because it works. And particularly the phone calls. And I mean, sometimes I've heard some feedback that people can be very rude when you call. They're like, I like this bill. Which is so weird.
Courtney Swan
That's so weird.
Kelly Ryerson
I mean, that person should be unseated.
Courtney Swan
Yeah. Yeah. Well. And then you can say back, okay, so you like that our farmers and also our babies are getting poisoned by glyphosate and getting cancer. That's weird. That's a strange take.
Kelly Ryerson
That seems pretty logical. Strange take.
Courtney Swan
Totally strange take. Okay, you love this bill. So that we can empower people when they call. So let's say someone calls and they get someone on the phone that's like, I actually have no idea what you're talking about. What's maybe a little like, elevator pitch that we could give them to say.
Kelly Ryerson
Yeah, so what I say when I call is I say the name of the bill. I say, vote no, and the bill number will change state to state. And I would say, you might not be aware, but this bill is actually not protecting our farm farmers in our communities. This bill is actually stripping personal rights away from your state members and your constituency to be able to have recourse if you get sick from pesticides, from pesticide exposure. And really that should be enough for them to be triggered. And the people that are aware of what happened with the vaccine immunity shield, there's also an immunity shield of some kind for 5G. So this is what these corporations do, is they go in and they make sure that you just can't sue, and then that gives them free reign to pollute as much as they want and make it the most toxic version of whatever it is.
Courtney Swan
Yeah, well, because if they're not held liable, then they can literally do whatever they want with this.
Kelly Ryerson
Totally.
Courtney Swan
And they don't. And that's what's so insidious about this, is the whole reason that they're going for this liability shield in the first place is because they know that this is causing harm. Yes, they already know that this is causing harm. So instead of finding a different chemical or finding a different way to farm regeneratively, which is what we need to be doing, they're just Doubling down and getting. Trying to get liability or, sorry, trying to get immunity from it so that they can't get sued because they know.
Kelly Ryerson
Yeah, they totally, totally. No, it's disgusting. And I have some. I had had some hope actually that Bear was going to be sued so much by just a class action lawsuit that is on behalf of investors. And so I actually years ago bought one Share Bear.
Courtney Swan
Oh my God.
Kelly Ryerson
Because I thought if one day there's a lawsuit, I want to be there. And so I got this call from. Or I got a postcard actually from a bunch of banks that are suing Bear for like. Yeah, for fraud. And everyone's like, great, I'm going to watch this and enjoy it.
Courtney Swan
Yeah, well. And what's so crazy, I want to. I want to mention this too, for when people call. So this is something that they're doing. They're also putting billboards out in certain places. Like I think in Georgia.
Kelly Ryerson
Right.
Courtney Swan
And I think there's billboards in, I.
Kelly Ryerson
Think in Missouri too.
Courtney Swan
Yeah. And maybe Texas too.
Kelly Ryerson
Oh, I think you're right. Yeah, someone saw Texas.
Courtney Swan
So people are starting to DM me saying that Bayer's putting out these billboards saying that our farmers need glyphosate, that we need to protect the farmers. That could not be more backwards when you look at all these litigations that we just talked about. And I've talked about this on many podcasts, but I just want to remind you that protecting farmers means also protecting their health. And we are not protecting their health right now with glyphosate. I mean, they are getting non Hodgkin's lymphoma, all different forms of cancer. Parkinson's, infertility. Infertility. Gabe Brown, the famous als. Yes. Just got ALS from the pesticide exposure. He's a farmer. If you don't know who he is, he's a farmer who was in Kiss the Ground, Common Ground. He's well known for his regenerative farming and rebuilding his ranch. Regeneratively. He's amazing. And I would highly recommend go back and listening to the podcast with him. He got ALS from using the pesticides. So this is. This is serious stuff here. This is not something that we can be playing around with. And I'm incredibly concerned about these farmers health.
Kelly Ryerson
Me too.
Courtney Swan
And the fact that these chemical companies are trying to say that they're protecting farmers and that also they're protecting our food supply. Well, we're also eating that food that's getting sprayed with glyphosate.
Kelly Ryerson
Totally.
Courtney Swan
And it's also harming our health. We're also seeing infertility and rising rates in everyone right now. We're seeing cancer rise. We're seeing so many different conditions rise. And a lot of those are being linked back to glyphosate. Yeah. So this is a huge.
Kelly Ryerson
This is an emergency.
Courtney Swan
This is an emergency. So have we gone over everything? I just want to make sure that this is, like, really comprehensive. Everybody understands. If you'll have any questions, please reach out to me. Reach out to Kelly Glyphosate girl. I'll have her linked in the show notes and yeah, I guess we'll.
Kelly Ryerson
And there's a way to, if you are interested, come to my site and up in my bio. You can sign a form and you put your name, your email and your state, and then I can send you targeted emails when your state comes up.
Courtney Swan
Oh, this is another one that we should talk about really quickly. If anyone actually wants to be involved on a state level and if they're able to make it to, like, the court hearings, they can do that, right?
Kelly Ryerson
Yeah. And a lot of times in these court hearings, they'll ask for members of the public to make comment. And so sometimes you don't know well in advance, but occasionally you do. And that happened one time recently in Montana. And I know there's so many people that would have loved to have spoken, but it was just so last second.
Courtney Swan
Yeah.
Kelly Ryerson
So that makes a big, big impact because I promise you, as was the case in Montana, Bear makes sure tons of people are there and they sound very official and very knowledgeable. And they always send in farmers who say, oh, yeah, well, it doesn't cause cancer. Look, I'm fine.
Courtney Swan
Wow.
Kelly Ryerson
I mean, terrible. They're like, yeah, it does look fine. You know, you're selling out all your fellow farmers here.
Courtney Swan
Well. And talk to some of farmers in 10 years, five years.
Kelly Ryerson
Right, totally.
Courtney Swan
Well.
Kelly Ryerson
And you know what's interesting is I went and had a big sit down one time in Iowa with a bunch of farmers during harvest, and I was just very cautiously asking about Roundup. And I was like, well, are you concerned that this causes cancer? And they're like, oh, I mean, my whole family's had cancer, but it's not because of Roundup.
Courtney Swan
No way. That's really sad.
Kelly Ryerson
And so it's so sad because they have this deep, deep trust in the epa. And of course, if you start looking, you're like, oh, you really shouldn't. You shouldn't trust anything that comes out of there at this point.
Courtney Swan
Exactly. Yeah. No, it's all corrupt and it's all being. They're lobbying in Washington. It's all being paid by these agrochemical companies to keep this all secret.
Kelly Ryerson
So sad.
Courtney Swan
It's really sad. I mean, it's incredibly heartbreaking. Okay, so if y'all are wanting to get involved on a state level, especially if you're in Georgia. So what are the main states that we're worried about right now? Obviously, Georgia.
Kelly Ryerson
Georgia. Missouri is a big one. Florida is coming up.
Courtney Swan
Okay.
Kelly Ryerson
I can imagine that. Actually, Florida will do okay, though, because we have a lot of people out there that don't like this kind of thing. Utah, or actually Utah might be, but Iowa is a big one. They have a pretty big coalition there. But any extra voices are great there, too.
Courtney Swan
Well, I can imagine in Iowa, there's a big farming community there, so there's.
Kelly Ryerson
Probably a lot of aggregate is just rampant there. It's terrible.
Courtney Swan
That's so sad.
Kelly Ryerson
Pediatric cancer, too, which is so sad. Oh, God.
Courtney Swan
Well, because it's getting. This is the other thing, y'all, is that it's getting into the water systems. It's showing up in our rain. It's all in our soil. I mean, this is. It's so ubiquitous now. It's. It's affecting everyone. This is why this is such an emergency.
Kelly Ryerson
It really. It really is. So, yeah, no matter where you live, just to protect your fellow Americans, it's a really important thing. And particularly our farmers that we depend on and are just trying to do their best.
Courtney Swan
And also, we shouldn't let these large corporations win. Large corporations that are knowingly poisoning humans for profit. Not. They don't care about human health. All these billboards that they're putting up saying, we care about farmers, we're protecting farmers. We're worried about feeding you. That is all bs.
Kelly Ryerson
It's totally bs.
Courtney Swan
And we should not let them win.
Kelly Ryerson
We should not let them win. It's not the truth. They are wrong.
Courtney Swan
Exactly. It's not the truth. They're evil. And this is like right versus wrong. And anyone that's paying attention to this and concerned, I feel like we have an obligation for our fellow humans to protect and help them.
Kelly Ryerson
Yes, Absolutely.
Courtney Swan
Yeah. Okay. Well, please. Well, we'll put it all in the show notes, but. So I guess we've shouted everything out already. But if there's anything else you feel like people need to know, I think.
Kelly Ryerson
This is just the priority right now, and we'll push through it. I think that in the next few months, we'll see if anything passes and then we'll refocus on federal level issues because they'll come there too.
Courtney Swan
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So. And we will, of course, keep you all updated on this. Maybe we'll do another podcast in a couple months, depending on where everything is and what's going on. Like I said, DM us. If you have any questions, go to Kelly's website. Sign up, especially if you're in those states that she mentioned, because you could have an opportunity. I get so many questions from people all the time. How can I get involved? Put me in, coach. This is how you get involved. Especially if you're in those states that we're incredibly concerned about. Go sign up, get on her email list and then she'll send you updates and let you know when they're voting on certain things. And maybe you can show up in court and make some comments, which would be amazing. Yes.
Kelly Ryerson
Awesome. More voices. Better.
Courtney Swan
Yes. Okay, awesome. Thank you all so much. And go make those calls and give me help.
Kelly Ryerson
Thank you.
Courtney Swan
Thanks, guys.
Drake Peterson
Thank you so much for listening to the Real Foodology podcast. This is a Wellness Loud production produced by Drake Peterson and mixed by Mike Fry. Theme song is by Georgie. You can watch the full video version of this podcast inside the Spotify app or on YouTube. As always, you can leave us a voicemail by clicking the link in our bio. And if you like this episode, please rate and review on your podcast app. For more shows by my team, go to wellnessloud.com See you next time. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. I am a nutritionist, but I am not your nutritionist. As always, talk to your doctor or your health team first.
Realfoodology Podcast Episode Summary
Title: Act Now! – Stop Bayer’s Dangerous Immunity Grab | Kelly Ryerson (Glyphosate Girl)
Host: Courtney Swan
Guest: Kelly Ryerson (Glyphosate Girl)
Release Date: March 7, 2025
Produced By: Wellness Loud
In this urgent episode of the Real Foodology podcast, host Courtney Swan sits down with Kelly Ryerson, famously known as "Glyphosate Girl," to discuss the escalating battle between Bayer and the agricultural community concerning the pesticide glyphosate. The episode delves deep into the legal, legislative, and health ramifications of Bayer’s attempts to shield itself from liability related to glyphosate exposure.
Kelly Ryerson begins by outlining the origins and escalation of the glyphosate litigation against Bayer, formerly Monsanto.
Kelly Ryerson [01:10]: "This is a huge, huge emergency that we are having right now. And it all stems from the glyphosate litigation in which this started in 2018."
Since 2018, Bayer has faced numerous lawsuits alleging that glyphosate exposure leads to cancer. These lawsuits have resulted in substantial financial liabilities for the company, with settlements exceeding $13 billion. Notable cases include Lee Johnson’s groundbreaking win in 2018 and a particularly high-profile $2 billion settlement awarded to a couple in 2019, highlighting the severity of the issue.
Courtney Swan [01:49]: "There was that famous groundsman. And I believe he was the first one that won."
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate as a Group 2 carcinogen, indicating that it probably causes cancer, a stance supported by independent research rather than industry-sponsored studies.
Facing mounting lawsuits, Bayer has initiated a multi-pronged strategy to avoid bankruptcy without acknowledging the potential carcinogenic effects of glyphosate directly. Instead of labeling glyphosate as a cancer-causing agent, Bayer is pushing for legislative immunity akin to that enjoyed by vaccine manufacturers.
Courtney Swan [00:57]: "Bayer essentially is trying to go for the same immunity that vaccine companies have, which means that if anyone was to get cancer using their products, they would not be able to sue Bayer if they got cancer from their products."
Bayer is lobbying for pesticide liability shields by inserting these provisions into broader legislation, such as the Farm Bill. Specifically, page 798 of the Farm Bill includes a clause that would prevent individuals from suing pesticide manufacturers if they become ill.
Kelly Ryerson [04:18]: "They have this fancy strategy...they are going to 21 states I believe are on the list now, and they're going in and convincing the state legislature."
This tactic involves embedding the immunity clauses deep within extensive legislative documents, making them less visible and harder for the public and legislators to scrutinize.
Bayer is actively pursuing this immunity shield both at the state and federal levels. At the state level, 21 states are currently targeted, with significant efforts in Georgia, Missouri, and Florida. The company is leveraging political influence to present this legislative move as "anti-farmer," arguing that without these chemicals, agriculture could falter.
Kelly Ryerson [04:51]: "And so they're definitely pushing on both fronts."
The threat extends to federal legislation, with attempts to include liability shields in appropriations bills related to the Farm Bill. However, Bayer's strategy involves obscuring these clauses within extensive legislative texts to prevent widespread awareness and opposition.
The legislative maneuvers by Bayer pose a significant threat to farmers and public health. If successful, these immunity shields would prevent farmers and individuals from holding Bayer accountable for health issues caused by glyphosate exposure, such as various cancers, Parkinson's disease, infertility, and even ALS, as in the case of farmer Gabe Brown.
Courtney Swan [12:47]: "We're also eating that food that's getting sprayed with glyphosate...we’re seeing cancer rise."
The pervasive use of glyphosate has led to its presence in water systems, rain, soil, and ultimately, in the food supply, exacerbating health risks across communities.
Both Courtney Swan and Kelly Ryerson emphasize the urgency of mobilizing public opposition to Bayer’s immunity efforts. They advocate for concerted actions such as:
Phone Campaigns: Encouraging listeners to call their state senators, even if they reside in different states, to voice opposition to the liability shields.
Public Participation: Attending court hearings and making public comments to counter Bayer’s narratives.
Educational Outreach: Informing legislators about the true implications of the bills and the health risks associated with glyphosate.
Kelly Ryerson [09:36]: "What I say when I call is I say the name of the bill. I say, vote no, and the bill number will change state to state."
Courtney also highlights the deceptive tactics Bayer employs, such as billboards portraying the company as protectors of farmers, which starkly contrasts with the ongoing health crises faced by agricultural communities.
Courtney Swan [11:39]: "Bayer's putting out these billboards saying that our farmers need glyphosate, that we need to protect the farmers. That could not be more backwards."
The episode concludes with a strong reiteration of the stakes involved. Courtney and Kelly stress that Bayer’s actions are not just corporate maneuvers but direct threats to human health and the integrity of the food system. They call upon listeners to stay informed, participate actively in legislative processes, and join the fight to prevent corporations from prioritizing profits over public health.
Courtney Swan [16:22]: "Anyone that's paying attention to this and concerned, I feel like we have an obligation for our fellow humans to protect and help them."
Listeners are encouraged to visit Kelly Ryerson’s website to sign up for updates and engage in targeted advocacy efforts to halt Bayer’s dangerous immunity grab.
This episode serves as a critical alert to the real and present dangers posed by chemical giants like Bayer. Through informed discussions and actionable insights, Realfoodology empowers listeners to take a stand against policies that threaten both their health and the sustainability of America’s food systems.
For more information and to get involved, visit www.realfoodology.com and follow Courtney on Instagram @realfoodology.