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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Toxic America

From weedkillers in your breakfast cereal to microplastics in your salt, this 2019 series from Guardian US investigates the risks of contamination in our food, water, and cosmetics

More about this series

28 May 2019

  • Fruit<br>Cut fruit in plastic

    Food packaging is full of toxic chemicals – here's how it could affect your health

    If you care about what you eat, you should care about what it comes in
  • Border Wall Funding The Focus Of Continued Partial Government Shutdown<br>EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 25: A farm worker works in his field near the U.S.-Mexico border on January 25, 2019 near El Centro, California. The U.S. government has been partially shut down, leaving many government workers without pay as President Donald Trump battles congress for $5.7 billion in funding to build walls along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent people from illegally crossings into the United States. Today President Trump agreed to end the shutdown. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    From chicken to tomatoes, here's why American food is hurting you

    Maria Rodale
    The recent news about glyphosate and cancer only highlights a broader problem with our system: our obsession with poisoning the natural world is killing us
  • In America, you may find in a loaf of bread ingredients with industrial applications.

    Banned bread: why does the US allow additives that Europe says are unsafe?

    China, Brazil and members of the EU have weighed the potential risks and outlawed chemicals found in US loaves

24 May 2019

  • Close up of Black mother playing with baby boy

    Modern life is toxic. Here are four tips for how to stay healthy

    Katie Wells
    We are surrounded by harmful chemicals but a few small practical steps can pay dividends for our wellbeing
  • Fully Involved<br>BOSTON - JUNE 23: Boston Fire Fighters observe a pod without a sprinkler as the furniture and other items burn during demonstration on Moon Island. The pod at right also had a fire set inside but the sprinkler helped to keep the fire from reaching flashover. The firefighters eventually put the flames out. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    ‘It’s killing us’: why firefighters are battling to ban flame retardants

    Massachusetts has failed to sign a bill banning flame retardants into law despite endorsement of lawmakers and pediatricians and concerns over safety

    • Sperm counts are on the decline – could plastics be to blame?

    • Bisphenol: what to know about the chemicals in water bottles and cans

    • Flame retardants: what to know about chemicals in furniture and cables

23 May 2019

  • Liz Rosenbaum, co-founder of the Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition, at Fountain Creek in Colorado.

    A trail of toxicity: the US military bases making people sick

    In Colorado Springs, businesses are suing the military for perfluorinated compounds, which some are calling ‘Agent Orange 2.0’
  • The fragrance industry, much like the cosmetics industry in which many of its products appear, is largely self-regulated.

    Why smelling good could come with a cost to health

    Fruity, floral, musky – from candles and cleaning products to lotions, soaps, lipstick and cologne, we live in a scented world. What is lurking in the air?

    • Phthalates: why you need to know about the chemicals in cosmetics

    • Pretty hurts: are chemicals in beauty products making us ill?

    • Why you need to know about PFAS, the chemicals in pizza boxes and rainwear

22 May 2019

  • Petrochemicals, it turned out, could be used to make everything, from lipstick and water bottles to processed food and cheap hamburgers, made with beef reared in concentrated feeding operations on corn partly made of synthetic fertilizers and weed killers.

    From lipstick to burgers: how our lives have become so chemical dependent

    McKay Jenkins
  • Thousands participate in the National March for Science in Philadelphia on Earth Day in 2017.

    Internal emails reveal how the chemical lobby fights regulation

  • Thousands of potentially harmful chemicals are in products ranging from toys to plastic and carpets in the US

    Why the Guardian is launching a major reader-funded project on the toxicity of modern life

  • Emily Holden wears wristband to measure pollutants<br>WASHINGTON, DC-FEB23:Emily Holden shops at the Whole Foods in their neighborhood in Washington, DC, February 23, 2019. Emily is the environment reporter for The Guardian US and has been wearing a silicone band developed by Oregon State University to measure chemicals from the surrounding environment over time. The wristbands can absorb volatile and semi-volatile compounds directly from the air and enable researchers to correlate location with air pollutants. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein)

    Is modern life poisoning me? I took the tests to find out

  • US cosmetics are full of chemicals banned by Europe – why?

  • Explained: the toxic threat in everyday products, from toys to plastic

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