President Trump Signs Executive Order To Scale Glyphosate Production For National Security
Updated
President Donald Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to promote domestic glyphosate production for national security reasons. The move has received sharp criticism from MAHA advocates who supported the movement behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who frequently has called attention to the harms associated with rampant pesticide and herbicide use on American crops.
The executive order provides immunity within the context of the production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate. It is unclear whether this immunity clause could be extended to provide manufacturer liability. The provision states, “No person shall be held liable for damages or penalties for any act or failure to act resulting directly or indirectly from compliance with a rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant to this chapter.”
Bayer/Monsanto has been actively lobbying the federal and state governments to obtain a liability shield for “failure to warn” claims, while it continues to battle hundreds of thousands of lawsuits alleging that Roundup exposure caused cancer. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer labeled glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen.”
“As the most widely used crop protection tools in United States agriculture, glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of this Nation’s agricultural productivity and rural economy, allowing United States farmers and ranchers to maintain high yields and low production costs while ensuring that healthy, affordable food options remain within reach for all American families,” said the executive order signed by President Trump.
The MAHA Strategy Report, released in September, calls for more targeted pesticide use to reduce costs for farmers and to improve the soil microbiome. The report also says the administration will provide producers with information to improve pollinator management while increasing forage and habitat. In December, the USDA announced a $700 million pilot program to help farmers start regenerative farming projects, which typically utilize rotational grazing systems and avoid or minimize the use of pesticides to improve soil quality.
Glyphosate-based herbicides have been connected to significant harms for pollinators, including their gut microbiome, learning abilities, reproduction, development, and foraging abilities. Last year, New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $6.9 million settlement from Bayer for falsely claiming Roundup products “won’t harm anything but weeds” and “do not pose a threat to the health of animals or wildlife.” James directed $3.2 million of those funds to pollinator conservation programs in the state where 38-60% of native pollinators are at risk of extirpation, according to a 2022 study.
Bayer/Monsanto announced a nationwide settlement for up to $7.25 billion dollars over the course of the next 21 years to resolve current and future claims that Roundup herbicide contributed to or caused non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The company said the implementation of the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing. Bayer asserts that glyphosate can be used safely and is not carcinogenic.
Bayer/Monsanto has received 200,000 claims of harm in relation to its glyphosate-based herbicides, including 125,000 plaintiffs who have initiated lawsuits since 2015. The company said the resolutions and litigation costs will increase their cost from $7.8 billion euros in September to $11.8 billion euros, with $9.6 billion associated with glyphosate products.
The company’s stock price initially rose by about 7% following the announcement before plunging 2% below its Tuesday starting price the following day.
The company notes that the settlement is pending court approval and that class members will have the ability to opt in or opt out of the settlement. Bayer said it reserves the right to terminate the settlement without paying claims if an excessive number of people opt out of the settlement.
While the EPA has continually vouched for the safety of glyphosate in agricultural-based applications, the study ghostwritten by Monsanto employees a quarter century ago was just retracted in December. The study was instrumental in the continued reviews by the EPA despite growing evidence that contradicted the safety of the herbicide.
The Supreme Court is also reviewing whether companies like Bayer are subject to “failure to warn” claims in state courts when they comply with EPA labeling requirements. Georgia and North Dakota have both signed laws that provide manufacturer immunity from these types of harm claims.
As part of the Healthy Florida First Initiative, the state released its testing results for glyphosate residues in eight different bread loaves sold in grocery stores. Six of the samples had detectable levels of glyphosate, including two different brands of Organic Dave’s Killer Bread, both at 10-11 ppb. The other four, including Nature’s Own, Sara Lee, and Wonderbread, had levels ranging from 132-191 ppb. These are well within the EPA’s established guidelines for glyphosate residue tolerances, which are 30 parts per million, or 30,000 ppb.
A spokesperson for Secretary Kennedy reportedly issued a statement to the New York Times stating, “‘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.’”
MAHA advocates are upset because this seems contradictory to the positions Secretary Kennedy held before the administration took office and before he aligned with Donald Trump prior to the 2024 election. In June 2024, Kennedy said, “The herbicide Glyphosate is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic. Much more widely used here than in Europe. Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide. From there, it goes straight into our bodies. My USDA will ban that practice.”
In 2022, Kennedy exclaimed that it was “Huge news!” that India banned people and agrochemical companies from using glyphosate. He has also posted concerns that 80% of urine samples from children and adults in the US had measurable levels of glyphosate. He suggested there is an association between the chemical and breast cancer, endocrine disruption, and infertility. Kennedy said in 2023 that the EPA would protect people rather than pesticide manufacturers if he became president.
