237 Zen Honeycutt: Glyphosate, Gut Health, & Children

GMOs aren't feeding the world. They're making the world sick. And they're making the pharmaceutical companies, which are their sister companies, right, profitable. GMOs are making pharmaceutical companies very, very wealthy. That's the truth. And we just need to keep doing what we're doing and keep speaking out and sharing with each other.

That's Zen Honeycutt. And this is episode 237 of Wellness Force Radio. What's up, my friend? It's your host, Josh Trent. And welcome back to another episode for your weekly access to global experts in all things wellness, as we discover the physical and emotional intelligence we need to live life well. In this podcast, we're talking about glyphosate, gut health, and children. Why these three are all connected. This is a fascinating conversation recorded in a very timely spot, because right now, Monsanto just got sued for almost $290 million, which we talked about with Dr. Michael Ruscio and also with Darren Olien, the founder of Barucas, with our fist in the air shouting, hell, yes. Because, my friend, this mission of Wellness Force is not only to explore the physical and the emotional intelligence, but also to dig and find the truth. And the truth is right now in America, this conversation about glyphosate, about GMOs, about the state of our food, could not be more important, not more powerful, than to speak from the source itself. Zen Honeycutt, the founder and director of Moms Across America now, this nonprofit. It's a national coalition of truly unstoppable mothers with this motto they have. This is really cool. Empowered moms, healthy kids. This episode meant a lot to me. You know, talking with Zen, it brought up a lot of memories from my childhood and probably yours, where we can only wonder if our parents knew about GMOs, about gut health and glyphosate, and the connection to different things that kids go through with mood disturbances and behavioral challenges. What if our mom and dad knew? What if they knew what we know now? And how do we get more people to know what we know now? Well, this podcast is a big part of amplifying this new bridge between the knowing and the doing. And speaking of the knowing, did you know that 90% of runoff pollution that comes from our water is from spraying Roundup? Glyphosate now has 750 different brand names. So we can do this. We can ask our local government what they're spraying and ask for the ingredients. Not only is Zen a author of an amazing book called Unstoppable, she is Also this coalition leader for a movement that is growing by thousands of people and every single month. This is Moms Across America. Do not miss our Facebook Live coming up tomorrow, Wednesday, October 17th at 12:30 Pacific 3:30 Eastern. You can go to the Show Notes. The show notes are at 2:37 wellnessforce.com 2:37 Learn more about this Podcast Guest Zen Honeycutt, a woman who is so connected from head to heart to soil and everything that matters when it comes to a child's development. Now we're gonna explore many things on the podcast including Glyphosate is affecting natural wildlife and agriculture in Florida, why it's a huge impact to switch from non organic foods to organic, the various allergies and food intolerances that Zen's very own sons have had, and how her eldest almost died from a pecan. She was able to help her sons heal their bodies, improve gut health and reduce both of their intolerances by eating organic for just four months. She wound up from this message, this mission that comes through her standing in front of the CEO, the Voice, the figurehead of Monsanto. What she asked him is going to shock you. This is going to be a polarizing conversation. It's probably going to ruffle some feathers, but that's what we want. We just want the truth. How can we feed the world with organic farming rather than monocrops? And how do we actually do this? How do we eat organic and clean on a budget? Those answers are coming right now with the founder of Moms Across America, Zen Honeycutt. My guest today is the founder and director of Moms Across America, a nonprofit coalition in all 50 states that empowers and amplifies the voice of the mom, which is so important right now, locally and nationally to create healthy, stronger communities by raising awareness about GMOs and related pesticides, other things that are going on that are hidden inside of our food. In her journey, however, there's been personal triumph and tragedy and after almost losing her son due to food allergy, she found herself one day face to face with the CEO of Monsanto. She's the mother of three boys with allergies and autism symptoms which greatly improved when they went GMO free and organic. And she discovered that thousands of moms across the country are seeing the same results. She's been on CNN, Dr. Oz, Wall Street Journal, C Span and many more world class outlets and she's also published a book called Unstoppable Love Empowering Community Leaders to Be Global Game Changers. Welcome to Wellness Force Zen Honeycutt.

Hi, Josh. Thank you so much to you and all your listeners. It's great to be on.

I've been looking forward to this. You know, we got pushed out a week and it gave me even more time to marinate on the importance of this topic. You know, so many people, Zen are compelled by the wrong information. And today we're gonna break the silence on GMOs. Let's talk about the breaking news. It just happened. It affects everyone in the nation. Well, really on the planet. It's this recent court case that you broadcasted from live. The first lawsuit ever to go to trial alleging glyphosate causes cancer and Mons Brenta was found guilty. For those in our audience that don't know, can you give us a quick high level summary of just how important this case was to Moms Across America?

Well, and not just to moms across America, but to consumers and people around the world. This trial really was a win, a triumph for all of life on the planet, for all of humanity, because this sends the message to the chemical companies that you must be responsible for your role in your products and, and for the outcome and what happens in the world. And so this was incredibly important trial. I'm so grateful that the jury listened carefully and paid attention to the science, the honest science that was presented to them. And they ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the tune of $289.2 million. This was a huge win.

The fact is that most Americans have heard of glyphosate. We talked about it with Dr. Minkoff on the show with Dr. Perlmutter. So we're starting to hear more and more, not just within our wellness Forest, but also with organizations like yours. For people that don't know about Moms Across America, is it just for moms? Do you also find that dads kind of join the fight as well?

Oh, our biggest supporters are men, actually. And the most active, you know, participants are moms. I'm a mom. And the group of women that gathered around were all moms when we got started. And so we wanted to call it Moms Across America specifically because we want to amplify the voice of the moms. So often we're considered emotional, you know, hysterical, just not rational people. And it's a form of sexism, frankly, that we wanna break through. And we think this is a really good time to do that. So we have students, teachers, dads, kids, all kinds of people that support and participate in Moms Across America activities. And we just, we love them all we welcome everyone.

We're gonna go through a couple different phases on the show today. First, you know, really uncovering the truth about the exact chemicals, the compounds inside of Roundup. You know, just a few days ago, actually, Santa Rosa bans the use of Roundup city parks. Just a few days ago. I'm sure you've heard of this. You know, they had a $500,000 annual contract and they only renewed the contract, but they added the prohibition of glyphosate. Why is this so important?

Oh, this is fantastic. Well, actually, 90% of the runoff, the pollution into our water comes from urban use. So the spraying of Roundup on sidewalks, streets, parks, playgrounds, you know, parking lots of, along the utility waterways, railroads. This spraying of Roundup and Ranger Pro and glyphosate now has 750 different brand names. So be careful. Ask what are they spraying and ask for the ingredients. This runoff goes into the water and it actually supports the growth of things like green algae, which we're seeing in Florida right now. They call it green algae. It's actually a cyanobacteria. And that cyanobacteria is mother's nature's way of trying to clean up the glyphosate, actually. But it has detrimental effects to the marine life, of course. So reducing the spraying of glyphosate herbicides in your city not only affects the, you know, the dogs and the kids that are running around in the parks and barefoot on the sidewalks, but it affects the marine life as well. And this is an urgent matter. We have, you know, massive die off happening around Florida and in many other areas across the country. So we need to protect not only our soil and parks and playgrounds and our people, but our marine life too.

The marine life. I think I saw on the news that the water was turning red. Are you saying there's a correlation to glyphosate or any other toxic loads that's coloring the water red in our oceans?

Absolutely. So our recent blog with our interview with Dr. Stephanie Seneff, she says that the glyphosate helps the growth of the cyanobacteria, which people call the green algae, which is in Lake Okeechobee in Florida and was found in Lake Erie about two years ago. EcoWatch did a great article on that. And they then the green algae or the cyanobacteria then drains into the water that the ocean, they are draining that lake into the ocean. And that level of green algae increases the nitrates, and the nitrates then increase the red tide and the red tide contributes to the marine die off. So it's a chain reaction that's going on here. And people in Florida that know what's going on, they are very clear that the glyphosate spraying on the sugar fields and the orange groves and in the Everglades, there's a product called Aquamaster that Governor Scott is allowing to be sprayed in the Everglades in South Florida. And in fact, actually not a recent study, but Fox covered an article in 2016 saying that children that live south of Lake Okeechobee in Florida have a 36% increased chance of getting cancer. And we know that glyphosate is linked to cancer. So this needs to stop now. It is very important that people speak up and get active and demand that glyphosate stop being sprayed everywhere across the country.

I want to go to a point in, I know a listener's mind right now where they're kind of overwhelmed by this whole topic. Zen, you know, 85% or more, actually, I've heard in the 90% of corn, wheat and soy and canola, you know, all these major crops are GMOs. So, Zen, do you actually believe that this situation can have a positive outcome in our lifetimes?

Oh, absolutely. I talk to moms every day. I see it in my own children, where they switch to organic, and within days or weeks, they see improvements in their child's health, health. So it's just a very short time. The body is amazing and can heal itself when the gut bacteria, which is the stronghold of the immune system, can do its job. So if you remove the chemical that is destroying the beneficial gut bacteria and allowing for the proliferation of the pathogenic gut bacteria, which is glyphosate herbicides. If you remove that, then your body begins to heal. It begins to grow the good bacteria that it needs in your gut and balance out all the hormones and how the body functions and strengthen its immune system. So we can do this. And we have seen farmers switch over within about two years with traditional regeneration. They can have what is considered organic farming practices again. But there's some mushroom farmers that say within about six months, if you put certain mushroom spores, like oyster mushroom spores, on the soil, they can regenerate the soil within six months. So there are many natural alternatives. It is possible. We just need people who are committed to doing this, and we need the political will for people like, you know, who are in the epa, regulatory agencies and governors to ban this product.

These plants are so highly intelligent. You know, we've been on the earth just a fraction of time. These plants have been here so much longer than us. So these plants, like you mentioned, the mycelium, you know, Paul Stamets talked about on multiple podcasts, and he's kind of like the mycelium, the mushroom expert across the world. We know that plants, like you said, if you put them in an environment, they will thrive. These mushrooms know that they. They eat toxins, they go into a new environment, they make that environment clean again. If we human beings just step out of the way and I think where we're really at now, I'd love to shift the conversation to this Zen, the writings on the wall. You know, tobacco went to court in the 90s, and they had to admit and raise their hands. You know, we actually believe now that this is an addictive compound. We are going to see this with food as well. And then I believe possibly in our lifetimes, we're going to see it with tobac. So whether it's tobacco or food or technology, right now is a very important time. And I think a lot of people are feeling this consciousness rising on our planet. Why do you believe that this is one of the most important times when we look at this court case, when it's so big for so many different reasons?

Oh, I. I think you hit the nail on the head. You know, we. What we're seeing is people realizing that agriculture has had an addiction to these chemical cocktails. They've been on a toxic treadmill of chemical cocktails. And by shining the light on glyphosate, you know, moms across America initiated the glyphosate testing in 2013, and people sent in their tap water, their urine, and we had asked moms to send in breast milk. They got to see the levels of glyphosate in their bodies and in their children, and that had them say, hang on a second. I don't want not just glyphosate in my body. I don't want any toxic chemicals in my body or in my children's body. So it's had people realize what is happening in the food system and say, wait a second. I want to opt out of this chemical monopoly on our food system, and I want to choose organic. I want to grow my own food. I want to know my farmer. I call this the beginning of the end of this chemical era. And I believe that's what we've been in is a chemical era. Since the 1940s, the EPA has allowed over 80,000 chemicals to be in our society, only 12 have been regulated and banned. And we allow 1,000 endocrine disruptors in the U.S. europe allows three. Many countries in Europe only allow three. So we have a major problem with our regulatory agencies here in the United States that are not taking responsibility for protecting people, but the citizens and the consumers are saying, hang on a second, we can do better. And they are, and they are having, like you said, not only Santa Rosa, but Oxford, Connecticut last week, Huntington Beach, California, Benicia, Novato. There's many towns, actually Mission Viejo as well is making great progress in not using glyphosate based herbicides anymore and going towards organic land management. And we're very excited.

We're going to get to your personal story, the fire of why you do this in just a minute here. But I got chills when you said that it's the beginning of the end of this chemical kind of toxic movement that's happened. Actually post World War II. Most people don't know this. Monsanto was actually kind of formulated from a chemical compound company, Dow Chemicals. They traded a lot of information to one another. How long has this been going on behind the scenes? Was it literally World War II or was it before that that these chemicals started to be introduced to our nation? Like, when did that actually begin?

Well, if you read the book the War on Bugs by farmer Will Allen, you'll see that as late as the late 1800s, they began using, you know, certain types of chemicals in farming. Arsenic. The Chinese were using arsenic thousands, you know, probably thousands of years ago. So the practice of using chemicals in our farming, especially fertilizers, has been, you know, for a very long time. But the practice of using Roundup has only been 40 years and using it directly on our crops has been less than 20. And the majority of glyphosate based herbicides, over 70% of all that has ever been used has only been used in the past 10 years. And those past 10 years, that's when they began using it as a drying agent on crops. So it's not just used on GMOs, it's used on crops such as wheat, oats, beans, legumes, tea, sugar, corn, soy, as a drying agent just to dry it out before they harvest it so that it can be harvested faster. And so this practice of using chemicals and farming really has only been intensely used in the past 10 or 20 years. And so that's a practice that we can break, we can get out of that. I say that we have faith in our farmers, that they have ingenuity and that they can farm, as has been done for thousands of years, without toxic chemicals.

The fascinating part to me, and really the sad part, is that you obviously have created a swell of momentum around this movement to deliver the truth. Zamy, really, what we're talking about is finding the truth. When it comes to people that are confused by the other narrative, which is, oh, GMOs, glyphosate, it's all a conspiracy theory. But people don't know this. And I was actually doing some research for our show. The real point about when the finger is pointed at people like yourself that say, oh, it's a conspiracy theory. This was actually the CIA, 1967, there was a report, and that's when it came out. People actually are being dissuaded from disbelieving the true narrative by being coined conspiracy theorists. How do you respond to people that say, oh, you know what, Zen, it's just a big conspiracy theory. This whole treatment of chemicals and everything else, like, that's got to be so painful to hear?

Well, it is. And I don't come across that so much now, but I just direct them to our website and our information that we have. And I also just say, you know, I know how you feel. I felt the same way. I call this feel, felt, found. I felt the same way. In fact, I asked my father to put Roundup in our pond in Connecticut when I was a kid, when he wanted me to pull the weeds out of the pond. I said, no, dad, just throw Roundup in there. Because I saw the TV commercials, and it said Roundup was safe. So I believe them. And I understand the wanting to believe our government, our media, our regulatory agencies. I understand that. But what I found when I looked deeper was that these chemicals are actually not approved by the epa. The EPA only requires safety studies on one ingredient in that product, and there could be 50 different ingredients. And since then, since those commercials in the 1980s, we understand now that the other ingredients in Roundup, besides glyphosate, are a thousand times more toxic than glyphosate. Not to say that glyphosate alone isn't harmful, but the other chemicals are a thousand times more toxic, and they have never been approved by the epa. So to say that it's safe and to just trust that that product that's on the shelf is safe to use around your kids and your pets is a perception that was created by the marketing, very brilliant marketing by Monsanto to mislead the public. It's not based on anything that has been presented to the EPA that it's not. There's no scientific foundation for that. And I've asked the EPA myself, I've been to the meetings and I've asked them, and they don't have long term animal studies on the final formulation of Roundup. So there you go, folks. They don't have any evidence that it's safe.

Zen, I'm just so enamored with where we're going in this conversation because I think about the link between cigarettes and cancer that was known by the twenties, but tobacco companies were intent on pressing this information down. We also know that the same thing applies to glyphosate and these chemicals and compounds. We also know that there's a direct correlation with children that have autism. And this is a personal story for you as well. And I'd love for us to talk about why you actually founded Moms Across America, because it's obvious that you're educated, that you're passionate, but this is a fire that burns from a very deep source within you. So can you tell us about that?

Yes. Well, I have three sons, and all three of my sons have had multiple allergies, some of them life threatening. They've had maybe, you know, 20 to 19 to 22 different food intolerances. And my eldest son almost died from a pecan in the stuffing on Thanksgiving evening. And when you see your child's eyes roll back in his head and puff up like a raspberry and not know whether or not you're going to make it to the hospital on time, everything changes for you. Everything changed for me. Any fear that I have about public speaking, standing up to a big corporation, doing something that people have told me is impossible completely goes away. When you're faced with the potential loss of the life of a human being that you created in your body. I mean, you just. There's just no more fear for me. So we thank God we, you know, he lived, and we continue to avoid nuts. But then at one point I said to myself, when he said to me, mom, I wish all my allergies would go away. I said, me too, buddy. But in my head, I realized I was saying, well, that's never going to happen. Then I realized, wait a second, that's resigned and doubtful, and that's not full of empowerment, which is what I'm committed to. I said, what if we looked at this as an opportunity and there could be something done about his allergies? So I asked him, would you like to be able to eat whatever foods you want to eat? Someday. And he said, yeah. And I said, well, would you be my partner in your health? And he said, yes. And I said, then, I promise you, you will get better, buddy now. And that was scary for me because I didn't know how, but I knew that if I promised and put my butt on the line, so to speak, that I would take actions that I normally would never take. And then I began to research. You know, there's a saying that goes that a worried mom does better research than the FBI. Well, I think I took that on. I'm sure many moms out there can relate and dads can relate to that. You know, you can find all kinds of information out now. So I researched. I found out about GMOs, genetically modified organisms and toxins, and we went GMO free and organic. Within four months, my son's health dramatically improved. His allergies have gone from a 19 down to a 2. He no longer has a life threatening allergy. And my other son that had autism symptoms within six weeks, we resolved that by eating organic, by taking care of his gut bacteria, and he no longer has autism symptoms. And we directly connect that to glyphosate because we found glyphosate in his urine at that same time. And he had gut dysbiosis, which has been linked to glyphosate. So I have had very harrowing experiences with my children having very challenging health issues. And that's why I'm so motivated. And I've seen them get better. I mean, their health is amazing. Now they're learning. Their performance in school, their friendships, their abilities to interact and to do what they want to do is amazing. And so I know other people can have that. And I'm excited for people to learn about this.

Zen. I can only imagine how challenging that must have been to be in that moment. You know, I have nieces and nephews. I don't have children on my own yet. But parental responsibility, it's so challenging sometimes. And you wrote about this in your book actually Unstoppable. You quoted Oprah Winfrey, of all people. You said, when it comes to parental responsibility, your quote was, your children do not grow up to treat themselves the way you treated them. They grow up to treat themselves the way you treated yourself. Why did you choose that quote? Because. Is it around personal responsibility? Is it around being a parent? I mean, why was that quote in your book?

Well, self care is so important. And if we give and give and give to our children and we don't look at our own health, we're actually depriving everyone of your best. So it's so important to look at your own health as well and to take care of yourself and to not blame yourself. I believe in that particular area of my book, I'm also talking about. Listen, one of the reasons why moms say they don't want to hear about this or they don't really want to face it is because they feel guilty that they have been feeding their children GMOs or vaccinating them or, you know, giving them medications according to Western medicine and just trusting the doctors and, you know, food manufacturers, and they feel guilty about it. So I urge people to really set that aside and to say, listen, I'm going to, you know, now I know when you know better, you can do better. Right. And I'm going to take care of myself and I'm going to take care of my family and let go of that guilt in the past and take actions now to protect ourselves. So it really is important that you also think about your own frame of mind and give yourself some peace and freedom and say, I did the best. I. I'm doing the best I can now. Right? Yeah. And move forward.

Zen this. Moms Across America. It's a much deeper mission than just GMOs and glyphosate and cleaning our soils. This is really a Trojan horse, because what you're doing is you're creating a space where people can practically learn how their actions can increase their capacity to love their families, to empower their lives. Again, how did you formulate this? I mean, what was it even like creating Moms Across America? Tell us the story of how you created this, because this is a very timely message, people. I know you don't like the term waking up, but I think people are waking up to the fact that this is a serious issue. It's not about fear. It's about truth.

Okay, So I love that people are waking up, but what I don't love is when somebody tells somebody else to wake up. I think that can be condescending, and I don't think it's going to attract people to be like, oh, you want me to wake up? Well, what do you want me to wake up to? You know, I think it's. It just puts people off a little bit. But I'm so excited that people are realizing and understanding and researching for themselves all this information. And what happened for me, after my son started to get better and I became active in Prop 37, which was the GMO labeling campaign, I began to see, like, you know, it's not. It's not so bad to get involved. I mean, I used to think activists were, you know, people who wore too much patchouli and were, you know, kind of fuss budgety and had too much time on their hands. But, you know, but when I. When I became active with Prop 37 to GMO labeling, thanks to Pam Larry, I saw it's not so hard to pass out flyers and you go to your farmer's market and just ask people, you know, to take some information and find out about it. And then I realized that, you know, there's getting involved in something and then there's taking on leadership in something, ownership. And I asked myself, what if I took on that? I'm the one to transform the food industry, not me, by myself. But I'm not gonna wait for somebody else to do something about this. You know, Superman's not gonna come down and save us. And, you know, like, nobody else comes to change your kid's diaper, right? Nobody else is gonna make dinner for you. Like, you're the one, you know, and so what if I took on I'm the one to do something about the food industry? So I just began to wonder, what could I do to raise awareness with as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time? Because, you know, we need to be efficient. We moms have a lot to do. And I decided to focus on moms because people trust moms. You know, everybody knows that a mother's special interest is only the well being of her family, right? That's what. What our main intent is. So I focused on moms, and I thought of a march on Washington, but it's not likely with kids and babies and strollers and limited budgets for us to get there. So then I thought of fourth of July parades. Because they're local, somebody else organizes them. All you need is to put on some red, white and blue and join in and have a banner. And I thought if we had a banner that said Moms Across America March to label GMOs, you'd have the word moms and GMOs in the same banner. And, you know, a grandpa would elbow his wife and say, you know, honey, what's a gmo? And that's all we need to have happen is to have people wonder, what is a gmo? Then they find out about the chemical cocktails that are being sprayed on them. They find out about the health issues and the corruption and the monopoly of Monsanto and Dow, dupont and Sagitta and All that they start to find out for themselves. So we invited people to join in 4th of July parades. Our reach on Facebook went from 0 to 300,000 a week. In four months we had 170 something groups join into 4th of July parades across the country. And we reached thousands locally and millions nationally in a single day. And since then we've grown to have hundreds of leaders and thousands, almost a thousand events across the country. And I'm being asked to speak around the world and raise awareness about this issue. It really has been a very exciting ride and it's all due to the commitment of the moment in their local towns to say I'll be the one to have a group in my parade. Yes, I will take a role, I will take on transforming this food industry. And that's been such an inspiration and so exciting.

We're exploring how incredibly important it is to actually eat healthy organic foods. But how do we do this in a world where some of us live in food deserts? This is a real question. If I live in a food desert, how do I get get clean, healthy micronutrients? Well, look no further than less than three bucks a day. This is the green juice that all of us get to have. Ashwagandha, gently dried superfood powder from our show sponsor, Organifi. Now not only is there adaptogens, which are plant compounds found in the organifi green juice that can actually give your body whatever it needs as far as fuel and energy source from the inside out, but also we're looking at prebiotic vegetables, fiber, which not only helps our gut capacity and our gut health, but also to have regular bowel movement. So what really takes away our energy, it's our body getting in all these GMOs and glyphosates and different toxins that Zen is talking about today. That is where a lot of extra energy expenditure goes. So much of our energy is based around digestion. So give yourself a break. Give yourself a break of digestion. Swap out your afternoon cup of coffee for Organifi green juice instead. And while you're at it, save some money because you're here with us in this WellnessForce community. You get 20% off. All you have to do is go to Organifi.com WellnessForce Enter code WellnessForce for 20% off. Pick up some green juice today. Give yourself health from the inside out. Don't wait any longer. You deserve this. When I look at your stories and the road that brought you to be able to lead this national movement, you know it was Many years as a natural wellness product entrepreneur yourself. And I think about the types of components, the ingredients, if you will. That's the recipe for somebody who wants to lead something in wellness. You know, for Wellness Force, I can speak my. My own truth and say it has not been always easy. There has been multiple gut check moments for myself where I had to question, do I really want to continue? And I'm curious if you've experienced that. You know, especially looking at the conversation you had with Mr. Grant, the CEO of Monsanto. One day, three years ago, you wound up at a shareholder meeting, and you're standing there and you said to him, a very profound statement. You said, it take. It takes a big man to make a big and powerful company, but it takes an even bigger man to acknowledge when something is not working and to go in a new direction. Can you take us to that moment?

Yes. Well, it was something that I envisioned, actually. You know, in your mind's eye, when you're like, this is what needs to happen, I envisioned myself across the table from Hugh Grant, talking directly to him because my mother raised me to see the good in people and that. That there could be some way for him to shift things. Right? That's the way to come about it, is you can do something about this, not just making somebody wrong for something. So I envisioned that in my mind's eye. I had no idea how that would happen. And then one day, I got a phone call from Alexis Bethemeyer from Organic Consumers association saying, zen, you need to speak at the Monsanto shareholder meeting, and we're gonna find a way for you to do that.

Were you afraid?

I was terrified.

I would have been so scared.

I was terrified. And it didn't help that Sofia Gattaca in Argentina had been beaten when she stood in front of a tractor to stop a Monsanto factory from being built, you know, a plant in Argentina. I was terrified that something physically might happen to me. You know, there are activists, especially in South America, that disappear all the time. So it was very challenging. But when somebody asks you to do something of this magnitude and you have the opportunity to speak on behalf of all the moms and all the children that are suffering due to this, you know, toxic burden of their chemicals, you do it, you know, So I took a couple of weeks to write something up. I had scientists and farmers and doctors, you know, look over what I was going to say. I only had three minutes. And I got up and said, I believe what every mom would want to have had said to the CEO of Monsanto But I did get to meet him beforehand, and I was very glad to do so because I did get to look him in the eye and said what I said. And, you know, basically I ask him to go in a new direction. And I pointed out that your products. We look forward to Monsanto creating products someday that no longer harm our children. And he said, well, we're always looking forward and we have science on our side. And I said, well, we have science on our side too, that your products harm our children. And just consider if you're wrong what the impact is across the country. He said, actually, around the world, like he was pointing out, we're global. And I was like, yeah, around the world, it's devastating consequences. And he said, well, if you're wrong, you're worrying an awful lot of people. And I said, yeah, but if I'm wrong, people are only eating organic, and there's nothing wrong with organic. So I think that for that one iota of a second, when I said it takes a big man to basically turn things around, it was like he listened to me for a second and I was very glad. It was several months later, Carrie Gillum, who was working for Reuters at the time, reported that she had had contact with Monsanto and Dow, dupont, Syngenta, you know, these big agrochemical companies. And they all said that they were moving in a softer direction, that they were looking into biopesticides and herbicides instead of these harsher chemicals. And so I was really happy to see that report. And I think that they see the writing on the wall. Not only do consumers not want these toxic chemicals on their food supply, but. But it's not working for the farmers as well. There's weed resistance that's building up.

You know, I find it so fascinating and also triggering Zen at the same time that people still stand behind this reductionistic phrase. People will say, well, why should I believe this? Well, because science, you know, it's such an abused and overused term. Just because something is science does not mean that it is completely black and white. True or false. How do you believe that? Your own faith practices and honestly, your own intuitions. And there's something that drives you that's bigger than you. There's some kind of existential faith or some kind of trust in higher power. Like, how is that connection driving you in this whole process of the change you're creating?

Yeah, whatever you want to call it. I feel like it's coming through me. It's not to me. When I get up and speak in front of people. I don't feel like it's me. I feel like I am giving an energy and I'm connecting with them in a way that it really is like a higher power. And it really is something that we all have access to. It's an energy that is goodness and light and love. And it's unstoppable. That's why my book's called Unstoppable. And I believe that energy will win, and we just need to get in touch with it and trust it. And that's what I try to do every day. I try to just listen and then speak and take actions based on what I know to be true. And that is that this chemical system does not work for us. Right? Monsanto may think it works for them because they're making profits, but nothing works without integrity. And there's no integrity in poisoning and killing life on the planet. So that entire business model will be defunct very soon. And we will look back on it and be like, oh, my gosh, that was like when the Romans used lead pipes, you know, wow. They just didn't know. Now we know. Now we don't do that anymore.

Zen, I think about. Sorry to interrupt you, but I had to mention this. I think about the ads from Camel Cigarettes where Ronald Reagan was smoking a cigarette, and literally their copy said, more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette. And there's a picture of a doctor, someone that we're. It's supposed to trust. And I think that when we look at truth, you know, Arthur Schopenhauer said all truth passes through three stages. First, it's ridiculed. Second, it's violently opposed. And then third, it's accepted as being self evident. Do you feel like we're in that second phase right now?

Oh, yes, absolutely. We are definitely in the phase where people are like, wait a second. Well, of course, it doesn't make sense to spray a carcinogen on our foods. You know, our neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor. That's just, whoa. You know, of course this is self evident. And so I love it. We're at this stage and we just need a little. We're not totally done. We do need more people to speak up. And just for instance, go to momsacrossamerica.org, click on Action, click on Toxin Free Town Campaign, and get the materials that we have there to go to your city council or your city manager, your school board, your homeowners association, and say, hey, look, here's a press release that you can print out from our site that shows that a school pesticide applicator won a lawsuit against Monsanto $289 million for malice and oppression of hiding the fact that they knew that their product caused cancer and they didn't tell people about it. That's a very important fact.

Wow.

And so, yeah, they can print that out and give it to these people in charge of what's sprayed and the 10 alternatives. We have a document writt written up by the law firm that sued Monsanto with 10 alternatives to Roundup. And we have talking points that you can use in your city council. You can take those actions right now, and then they'll be like, oh, okay, this is pretty clear. We should not be spraying this, you know, and move on. Don't make them wrong. Just say, you know, we would like your partnership in this to better solutions, and here's some solutions. We'd like to work with you on it, and it will be clear, and we will then have safe communities, healthy communities, and we're on our way. We're definitely on our way.

One of the reasons you wrote Unstoppable was to really tell the story. And I think, you know, it's fresh in my mind. Zen and I can't wait for you to meet him. I'm gonna connect you. We had Paul check, really the godfather of wellness, just recently to our community. And he spoke about, you know, when we start to break down the fundamental pillars of what makes a society thrive. It's singing, dancing, telling stories and spending time with yourself and telling stories. Telling stories is an old adage where for so long, we didn't have social media, we didn't have screens, and the only way we could really connect with one another was sitting around the fire and telling stories. That's why people are so glued to our conversation right now, because we're actually telling a story. This is what you've done with Unstoppable, the story of not just your journey in the food supply and how it affects our dinner plate, but also you and your life story, because all human truths are universal. What did you want people to feel from this book?

Oh, I want them to feel empowered. I want them to feel like they know what's actually going on in the food supply. And they want to hear from scientists and farmers and lawyers and reporters that are telling the truth. And I want them to feel frankly what I felt. And I think they can. I think they can relate to their child being sick. You know, one out of two children now have a chronic illness in America. I think Everybody that picks up my book will be able to relate to it, and they'll be fascinated by the science and the community members that I bring in from the food movement. It's not just my story. And then they'll feel empowered by the steps that they can take. If they don't want to take on leadership and start a nonprofit, I totally understand. But most people will want to take on leadership in their family and say, okay, guys, we're going to make some changes around here, and I need you to be on board. And that's a challenging thing to do. And so in my book, I have a chapter on how to talk to your family about GMOs and toxins, how to have your child choose healthy food. You know, there's some very simple steps that you can take that you may not have tried yet in order to make those changes in your family. And then from there, once you see changes in your family, I have a sneaking suspicion you'll want to let other people know about it as well, because, you know, health is contagious. It's just, you know, and feeling fulfilled and happy is contagious. So you'll want to spread that joy and you'll want to tell other people. And so I go into how you can get involved in your community as well, and. And I'm really happy with this book. I'm very grateful to my editor, Debbie, and all the people that supported getting this book out. It's very exciting. And the majority of the proceeds go to our organization, and the rest that go to me really just help me to keep doing what I'm doing. So it's all for this cause and for getting the word out. And I really appreciate your support. I urge people to not just get a copy for them, but to donate a copy to their library and let other people find out about this as well. It's called Unstoppable. Transforming Sickness and Struggle into Triumph, Empowerment, and A Celebration of Community. The title you mentioned earlier was the first title. We changed it along the way. I apologize about that. But, yeah, it's available on Amazon. It's called Unstoppable.

Yes, the updated portion. And also, if you're feeling either joy or whatever emotion you're feeling, maybe it's anger that these facts that Zen and I are talking about that you just didn't hear about before. Share this podcast with a family member or a friend right now. Literally text it to them, send it to them all grassroots movement. Start with your feet on the ground so you're grounded. You're taking ownership to discover this intelligence. But you know what's interesting, Zen? In research of this podcast and just in messaging of our shows, we realized that intelligence is two things. It's the ability to take in information and gather. It's also the ability to use that to execute on the information. You have so many different strategies in your book. I want to pivot just quickly here before we wrap up the show. And it's around the journalists and the experts that shared their stories in unstoppable, of corporate. Of this corruption at the expense of our health. Was there anything in the writing of this book that really made you probably the most upset or the most hopeful? I'd love for you to share any compelling or surprising things that you found in the process of writing this book.

Yes, the thing that I found that was most upsetting was about the impact on the wildlife, because I'm mostly focused on the children, which is, of course, extremely upsetting. Right. But when I was doing my research, I found out that, for instance, in Canada, they've had an impact on a huge percentage. I don't know if it's like 70 or 80% of the wildlife, like the moose are being impacted, the birds and the bees, and so much of the wildlife is being impacted that, I mean, we're headed for devastation if we don't do something about this. For instance, the insects in a nature preserve In Germany around GMO sprayed field, there was like a 75% loss just in. In less than 30 years of the insect population. Now, this is very scary because in the past five mass extinctions that we've had, the. The things that survived were the insects. So if we're killing off the insects at that rate, you know, what's ahead for us if we keep doing this. So that was so devastating. I just, like, I had to step back and take a break at that point in the book and, you know, go out into nature and be surrounded by some. Some things that are still alive.

Yes.

But what was most inspiring was not just the story of the moms and all the testimonials that we have in the book of people who got better, but young people like this young man that I met in an airport who had a shirt on that said it was all about COVID cropping. He had a shirt that just said something about COVID cropping on it. Cover cropping is a method that's used in regenerative agriculture, and it's used to not till and to till up the soil, dig up the soil, and it can be used to prevent the use of toxic chemicals. And he worked. He was a strategist, actually a financial strategist for one of the largest food corporations in the world. And he was excited about the farmers that I'm excited about. Joel Salatin and Gabe Brown, he said. He actually said, they're killing it. Like, he gave them major props for how they're farming. And I was like, this is so exciting. Here's a young man, he was in his 20s, working at one of the largest food companies in the world that agrees with. With my values and what we're doing in the food movement. So I really believe that there is hope we are going in that direction and that we are transforming the food industry with the overwhelming participation of consumers every day, like you and I that just go and buy organic. We are doing it right now, and we just need to keep doing what we're doing and keep speaking out and sharing with each other. So very excited to be on this podcast and to have the news getting out to everybody. Thank you to everyone who shared.

Yes. And we call it Wellness Force Radio because I am 38 years old, so I know what it's like to listen to the radio, and I'm sure so many other people do as well. One question that comes up for me, Zen, you know, you talked about the polyface farms, what Joel's doing, and we understand that monocropping is completely decimating and is honestly the reason why people believe that Roundup should still be out there. We know that when we have different cultures, different crops, like Joel is doing with crop rotation, there is something all of us can do, and that is to literally, literally spend our dollars and cents every single day. I think, really, when I look at what you're doing is you're creating a movement of awareness. But people still have to use the actions. People still have to take those actions by actually purchasing the foods. One thing that goes against this, that's a narrative I'd love for you to just talk about for a moment. A lot of people out there still believe that we can't, quote, feed the world unless we have monocrops. It's a very big conversation. But what are your thoughts? How do you go against that statement of how are we going to feed the world without monocrops?

Well, the monocrop culture, which is based in the United States, by the way. Right. Is really a way for us to export more produce, more grains and soy and corn and all of that. And that act of exporting crops to a third world country, doesn't it doesn't actually help them. It may feed them temporarily, but it makes them dependent on another country rather than establishing their own local food systems and sustainability. So it actually decreases jobs, it decreases the productivity, their community, their health, their ability to have access to diverse local foods. So it's not a good system for one of these food companies to get up and say at the Norman Borlaug Dialogue Conference, it's like, it's the world food. It's where the World Food Prize is giving out. It's basically a big GMO love fest. He actually got up and said to the dignitaries of third world countries, specifically in Africa, don't concern yourself. Don't be anxious about local food security. Let us feed you. Basically, let us be a part of a global food supply. So the words for global food supply and GMOs and monocrop culture, all of that, that whole system is really detrimental to third world countries feeding themselves and being sustainable in their own right. So I would really urge anyone that has any role in other countries that are considering GMOs to ask them to reconsider and say, listen, you need to protect your local food systems, your food sovereignty, your job, jobs in your country. And, you know, I mean, think about it. A small local farmer, if all of a sudden we start. We start selling them corn at a much lower price than what he's able to sell it for. He can't sell his food, he can't send his child to school. You know, it really is a vicious cycle of poverty that it puts them in. Not it doesn't support them. So we're not. GMOs aren't feeding the world. They're making the world, world sick. And they're making the pharmaceutical companies, which are their sister companies, right, profitable. GMOs are making pharmaceutical companies very, very wealthy. That's the truth. Yeah.

There's a reason why Bayer purchased Monsanto. A lot of people don't know this, but it's actually Bayer. And I think I'd love for you to talk about this quickly here. Do you believe that Monsanto as a company actually allowed this $290 million to be paid out as almost like a false victory where we as a wellness, can celebrate the 290 million that to them is probably pocket change? And then do you believe that they'll actually let go of the Monsanto name and that bear will step forward as the face of all these products that harm the planet?

Oh, absolutely. So Bayer has purchased Monsanto. The Monsanto name will go away, and these Lawsuits will keep happening, but I don't think Monsanto allowed it. I think that Monsanto knew that they were in trouble and that this lawsuit was going to be a very big deal for them and that it's just a sign of, you know, what's ahead of them with the 4,000 other lawsuits that have are filed. 4,000, 4,000, yeah. And there's actually they expect 10,000 by the end of the year and they made that statement before this verdict. So there could be tens of thousands of people suing Monsanto and I don't think Bayer is going to be able to support that.

Zen, this is a crack in the dam. You can only hold the water for so long.

Oh yeah. So this whole system I believe is going down. It's not going to be sustainable. And that's why I have a lot of hope. You know, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Bobby Kennedy recently said on Dell Bigtree show High Wire, he said this headache that Bayer got when it purchased Monsanto is not going to go away with an aspirin. It's going to be a long term. Yeah, long term migraine that's going to affect their profitability. So I'm hoping that Bear will see. Hang on a second. There's information here that we were not privy to when we made this deal with Monsanto and they therefore can legally end that agreement to take over Monsanto. And Monsanto will have to make payments out to all of these people that have been sued. And all the chemical companies around the world will say, wait a second. As Monsanto is no longer able to be profitable in this area, we are no longer going to be able to be profitable in this area. So we are going to have to change direction. And I hope some of those companies frankly go into energy. They go into cleaning up the plastic in the ocean. They go into, you know, how do we recycle all of this waste that we're producing? There are areas that we sorely need scientists to focus on those areas and make a difference. And I hope this is the time when, when frankly there is a waking up right of what needs to be done and they go to it. And those other areas that make a difference for us.

Well, whether it's waking up or whether it's breaking the silence really, we look at how many things can happen when we don't actually take the times and we're really taking the time to tell a story, to talk about a new narrative and a new conversation that has nothing to do with us just only being angry. Because I think a Lot of us fall into this. I get so fired up, I get so viscerally upset. I literally feel feel my anger in my stomach and in my chest and in my heart when I look at the decimation, the danger that people are being put in every single day. And you guys, all you have to do right now is go to wellnessforce.com, make sure you click on our show notes page. Take action. We're gonna link so many things from Zen and moms across America where you can take inspired action, not just angry action. You know, I found in my own life Zen that when I do things from a place of anger, it's not always the best response result. So if you guys are feeling angry, let's take a deep breath here. There is a path to truth. Zen, talk to us as we say goodbye about wellness. We always talk about our physical and emotional on the show, but with all you've created and really it's a testament to your work. How do you believe wellness can be defined for you as a mom, as a leader of this movement, how would you actually define wellness in your life?

Oh, that's a good question. I think wellness must start with integrity. And that means doing, you know, honoring your word, first of all about things. And that means, you know, when you say you're going to exercise, you exercise. When you say you're going to buy organic, you buy organic. When you make a commitment to your children that they're going to get better, you know, they do. You take action based on what you say you're going to do in the world because then you can sleep at night, night, your relationships are working and your body is functioning the way it's supposed to function. So really there's creating that vision of what you want to have, a healthy body, a healthy child, healthy families and relationships. Seeing what is that? What does that look like? For me, my words are health and freedom. And so what I'm creating in the world is health and freedom. So I take actions based on that, not based on am I too tired or do I not have enough money or do I not know how to do do this? Those things go, I sweep them to the side and I say, okay, what action needs to be taken to create that health and freedom in this situation? You know, and that's what I do. And for me, that's wellness is when I'm honoring what I'm committed to and I'm taking actions to create that I feel well, even if things aren't around me, aren't going the way that I want them to be going. I feel proud of who I'm being and, and I can sleep at night when I take action, just even if it's one action a day to create that future that I want. So I'd love for people who are listening to this to tell their spouse or their friend or their child, what is it that you're creating? What is that world that you want to create and what is one action that you're going to do today to have that happen? It may not happen right now, but to have that happen is very important. And I think you will feel well, you'll feel fulfilled.

Zen, thank you for opening our hearts, our minds and honestly just being this force of wellness in the industry that, you know, it's mismarketed. We have a lot of things stacked against us and we're not looking at an easy road ahead. But like you said, we are starting to see cracks in the ivory tower in the dam and you can only hold the water for so long. So we're at a very exciting time. It's going to be a challenging time. Get involved with moms across America. Zen, thank you so much for what you're doing in our industry. Just want to breathe here and acknowledge the work, the impact that you're creating.

Oh, and thank you, Josh. This show is very exciting. This has been a wonderful conversation with you. I really appreciate your insights and all the experts that you're bringing together and I look forward to listening to more of your shows.

You guys, we are talking more about this in the group wellnessforce.com group. We're also going to be doing an upcoming Facebook Live, a quick Q and A with Zen. So if you had specific questions, let us know. We're going to compile these questions and vote on them. The top five questions will be asked with Zen and I in an upcoming Facebook Live. Make sure you go to the Wellness Force Facebook page and continue this conversation with people that you care about until we see you next time. Wishing you love and wellness. Hey my friend, thank you for hanging out and growing with me today. Everything you learned on this podcast starts with your morning practices. So from over 200 world class guests and counting, we've distilled the gems, the best of the best science backed practices down into a 21 minute morning system guaranteed to increase the positive flow in your day. Get this free and powerful 21 minute life changing system over at wellness for force.comm 21 if you enjoyed this episode, tap your phone, share it with someone you care about because that is how we all get better together. Supporting the show is easy. Leave us a five star review right now from your phone. It helps us reach other smart and conscious people like you. Either tap your phone and hit the link in purple that says review this podcast or go to wellnessforce.com review. And this show doesn't stop here. We're continuing the discussion discovering process in our private Facebook group. You can be a part of it. All you have to do is go to wellnessforce.com group and I'll welcome you at the door. Okay. Now you get to go out into your world and live your life well. So until I see you again real soon, I'm wishing you love and wellness.