99% of U.S. corn is genetically modified to be resistant to glyphosate.
Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026
The sources show that a large majority of U.S. corn is genetically engineered for herbicide tolerance, mostly glyphosate resistance, but the figure is about 90-92%, not 99%. The 99% figure is not supported by any source, so the claim overstates the number, though the direction is right.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Let's guess. What do you think the amount of money we're talking about here is that's in use by farmers? Callie, what do you think it is? I don't know what the raw numbers are. I know this: our agriculture system is dependent on it. It's 99% of U.S. Corn, and they're dependent upon it as an herbicide. Yeah, and, um, the seeds are genetically modified to for it not to kill. So a corn farmer, soybean farmer, puts the seeds down, gets in their tractor, sprays, um, and then it kills everything but the seed. Here we go: worldwide annual spending on glyphosate-based weed killers is roughly seven to 12 billion dollars. …
The Joe Rogan Experience · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. No source reports 99% of U.S. corn being glyphosate-resistant; the figures in the record run from about 88-92% for GE corn overall, and 91% for herbicide-tolerant corn in 2023.[1][2][3][6]
Supports. USDA ERS reports that GE varieties, including herbicide-tolerant ones, accounted for 92% of U.S. corn acreage in 2015, and a 2013 figure of 90% of corn is cited in a 2017 USDA-based paper.[2][3]
Supports. The majority of GE herbicide-resistant corn in the U.S. is glyphosate-resistant, and EPA notes glyphosate-resistant varieties have large majorities of corn acreage.[1][4]
Context. The record does not give a separate glyphosate-only share of corn for the claimed date, and some GE corn carries insect resistance rather than herbicide resistance, so the 99% glyphosate figure is not directly measured.[5][7]
Sources
7 sources: 5 primary, 2 not rated
- 109-063-01p Corn EA Combined 4-10-12aphis.usda.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 2Genetically engineered seeds planted on over 90 percent of U.S. ...ers.usda.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 378ars.usda.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Glyphosate - Response to Comments Usage and Benefits - Final - EPAepa.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5genetically-engineered-varieties-of-corn-upland-cotton-and-soybeans-by-state-and-for-the-united-states-2000-25.xlsx?v=35928www-tx.ers.usda.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 6Mexico-Canada Agreementiatp.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 7GRAPHIC: Most corn planted in the US is engineered to resist ...investigatemidwest.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- 99% of corn and 98% of soybeans in the United States are sprayed with glyphosate.Mixed
- 98% of soybeans are sprayed with glyphosate.Mixed
- The United States uses 20% of the world's glyphosate, herbicides, and pesticides while representing 4% of the world's population.Mixed
- The last EPA review of glyphosate was thrown out due to ghost-written research and bribery to EPA officials.False
- Lawsuits settled for billions of dollars have proven that glyphosate causes cancer in people, especially children.False