The Trump administration has delivered numerous wins on the “Make America Health Again” front. For example, it took steps to remove damaging fluoride drug products for children from the market; canceled mRNA vaccine development contracts; and took meaningful steps toward eliminating harmful synthetic dyes and other additives from the food supply.
Some of those in the MAHA movement accustomed to winning were shocked to learn this week that President Donald Trump is pushing for an increase in the production of controversial glyphosate-based herbicides.
Trump suggested in an executive order on Wednesday that “glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of this Nation’s agricultural productivity and rural economy” and that diminished access to such weed-killers would “result in economic losses for growers and make it untenable for them to meet growing food and feed demands.”
‘The Chemical Lobby is controlling Washington.’
Characterizing production of glyphosate-based herbicides as “central to American economic and national security,” Trump invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 and tasked Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins with “ensuring a continued and adequate supply.”
The president’s order also provides legal immunity to those American manufacturers ordered to produce glyphosate-related herbicides.
Glyphosate, first registered for use in America in 1974, is one of the most widely used pesticides in the country. Like various other official bodies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claims that “there are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label” and that it “is unlikely to be a human carcinogen.”
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Photo by: Bill Barksdale/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Many remain skeptical of the ubiquitous herbicide and its impact on human health, not least because of its classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The report released in May by Trump’s MAHA Commission noted that “a selection of research studies on a herbicide (glyphosate) have noted a range of possible health effects, ranging from reproductive and developmental disorders as well as [sic] cancers, live inflammation and metabolic disturbances.”
A 2023 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, which was referenced in the MAHA report, suggested that childhood exposure to glyphosate and its degradation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid, “may increase risk of liver and cardiometabolic disorders in early adulthood, which could lead to more serious diseases later in life.”
A 2019 study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal BMJ found an association between the risk of autism spectrum disorder and prenatal exposure to glyphosate. The researchers noted that their findings “suggest that an offspring’s risk of autism spectrum disorder increases following prenatal exposure to ambient pesticides within 2000 m of their mother’s residence during pregnancy, compared with offspring of women from the same agricultural region without such exposure.”
A long-term study published last year in the journal Environmental Health found that low doses of the herbicide caused various kinds of cancers in rats. The researchers noted that their findings not only “support the IARC conclusion that there is ‘sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity [of glyphosate] in experimental animals,” but are “consistent also with the epidemiological evidence showing increases in incidence of multiple malignancies in humans exposed to glyphosate and GBHs.”
Zen Honeycutt, a MAHA activist who serves as executive director of Moms Across America, told the Defender, “The implications of this executive order are irreversible.”
“Not only has Trump gone back on his word to go after pesticides, destroying the delicate trust that was being built by the MAHA movement with the government, but he paved the path for glyphosate to continue destroying farmland, fertility, and our families’ health for generations to come,” added Honeycutt.
Toxicologist Alexandra Munoz tweeted, “The executive branch has just endorsed a carcinogen and enshrined it. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
Vani Hari, a critic of the food industry who founded Food Babe, wrote, “EVERY PRESIDENT since glyphosate was invented has increased the amount of glyphosate being sprayed on our farm land. The Chemical Lobby is controlling Washington, no matter who is in charge & this is why I hate politics.”
Trump’s executive order was issued the day after Bayer, the company that acquired the glyphosate-carrying product Roundup from Monsanto, announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of American lawsuits alleging that the agrochemical giant neglected to warn people that Roundup could cause cancer.
Bayer noted that “the settlement agreements do not contain any admission of liability or wrongdoing.”
Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer, added in a statement: “The proposed class settlement agreement, together with the Supreme Court case, provides an essential path out of the litigation uncertainty and enables us to devote our full attention to furthering the innovations that lie at the core of our mission: Health for all, Hunger for none.”
Bayer gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration committee fund.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended Trump’s glyphosate initiative, telling CNBC in a statement on Thursday, “Donald Trump’s executive order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply.”
“We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it,” continued Kennedy. “When hostile actors control critical inputs, they weaken our security. By expanding domestic production, we close that gap and protect American families.”
Kennedy previously called glyphosate a “poison.” He also helped Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper, in his legal battle against Monsanto. A jury found that Roundup caused Johnson’s cancer and that Monsanto neglected to properly warn the public about the risks in its marketing.
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Glyphosate, Herbicide, Pesticide, Chemical, Cancer, Carcinogen, Maha, Make american healthy again, Health, Regulatory, Big agriculture, Politics