MAHA’s looming pesticide crackdown has ag groups on edge
By Grace Yarrow
This article originally appeared in E&E News on May 16, 2025.
Agriculture industry groups are warning that an eagerly anticipated Trump administration report on pesticides could lead to a crackdown with negative consequences for both farmers and consumers.
Lobbyists are planning to “come out swinging” if the "Make America Healthy Again" report, ordered by President Donald Trump in February, targets use of pesticides, said one person granted anonymity to discuss industry concerns. White House officials have been reviewing a draft of the report this week ahead of its release on or before May 24, the person said.
The MAHA commission formed through Trump’s executive order was instructed to draft a report to identify causes of health concerns and chronic illness in the U.S. The report is widely expected to provide an assessment of whether pesticides and other food ingredients are linked to health problems in children.
The industry concerns are heightened by the fact that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the avatar of the MAHA movement — has long raised concerns about the potential health impact of pesticide and herbicide use in agriculture.
Agriculture groups say that EPA and other regulatory bodies already conduct safety reviews before approving pesticides for use. CropLife America, which advocates for pesticide producers, has initiated a letter-writing campaign from farmers to the Trump administration to highlight the importance of pesticide use for farmers to combat weeds, pests and disease.
CropLife is attempting to meet with several federal agencies involved with the report, CEO Alex Dunn said in an interview. She said that Agriculture Department chief Brooke Rollins has been a champion for agricultural interests and that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin can be vocal about his agency’s already-strict oversight of pesticides.
“This initial assessment could be a significant source of misinformation coming from the White House,” Dunn said. “Misinformation really affects the public in terms of their confidence in the food that’s available to them at the grocery store.”
Commodity groups whose members rely on herbicides, pesticides and fungicides declared safe for use by EPA have also spoken out against the forthcoming report.
“Growers are deeply concerned that the coming MAHA report will ignore these findings, including those made during the first Trump administration, and make it seem as though there is uncertainty about the safety of these technologies,” said Kenneth Hartman Jr., an Illinois farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Association.
Hartman added that the uncertainty could make it difficult for farmers to access “critical tools” and raise food costs for consumers.
Agrochemical giant Bayer, which makes Roundup, one of the nation’s most popular chemicals that uses active ingredient glyphosate, has increased its lobbying expenditures in the first quarter of this year. Bayer placed an interactive exhibit in the main hall of Washington’s Union Station last week, arguing that banning glyphosate would drastically increase food prices.
“If we're serious about improving American diets, putting obstacles in the way of effective crop protection tools will make all food more expensive, including fruits and vegetables,” Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said about the MAHA movement.
Facing billions in liability from allegations that its chemical causes cancer, Bayer is also urging state legislatures and Congress to pass laws that would clarify pesticide labeling laws — and insulate it and other pesticidemakers from legal risks.
NCGA and other industry groups have said publicly that they’re on board with the administration’s goal of pushing for Americans to eat healthy, domestically produced foods. But they’ve also expressed concern that the MAHA push might ignore their needs for certain products, due to Kennedy’s comments about chemicals, like calling the herbicide glyphosate “poison.”
The International Fresh Produce Association said in a statement that it supports the idea of recommending that Americans consume more fruits and vegetables, and noted that conventional use of pesticides is critical to maintaining a supply of fresh produce.
A group of 79 Capitol Hill Republicans wrote a letter to Kennedy, Rollins and Zeldin last month urging them to be mindful of agricultural interests in preparing the report.
The Republicans cast blame on “environmental activists,” who they said are working to influence the MAHA agenda by questioning the safety of pesticide use and ingredients like seed oils, though those concerns have been a mainstay of Kennedy’s talking points.