'Moms Across America' Accelerate Fight Against Pesticide Manufactures

By John Klar, Contributor, The MAHA Report

On September 10 and 11, the Moms Across America Movement (MAAM), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, petitioned Democrat and Republican members of Congress to reject Section 453 of the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which many legal experts warn would indirectly shield pesticide manufacturers from product liability claims in state courts.

The congressional visit was led by MAAM Founder and Executive Director Zen Honeycutt, accompanied by a toxicologist, nutritionist, professional lobbyists, dedicated mothers, Charles Eisenstein, and me, a farmer/lawyer. The motivated contingency of Mom-warriors split into four groups for back-to-back meetings with congressional aides and interns to inform them about this surreptitious effort.

As a long-time supporter of Honeycutt’s efforts, beginning when she worked in my home state of Vermont in 2016 to enact a GMO labeling law, I was honored to be invited to join the team. I have since spoken with her at events related to food and farming, and written about her work combating pesticide liability immunity. So I was quick to join forces and volunteer for a lobbying effort in Washington, D.C., and immediately said, “Yes, MAAM.”

I was pre-armed for the excursion by an in-depth Zoom call with independent toxicologist and Section 453 expert Dr. Alexandra Muñoz PhD, together with years of legal study of federal preemption doctrine. Section 453 would work to insulate pesticide manufacturers from legal liability by modifying federal labeling provisions, thereby barring state product liability lawsuits.

Section 453 seeks to slash funding for the EPA and other federal agencies for any pesticide product labeling that conflicts with existing Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) warnings, as I explained in detail in the MAHA Report on September 10. Bayer-Monsanto and the chemical industry lobby have portrayed Section 453 as an effort to protect America’s farmers from attacks on widely used pesticides. We traveled to Washington, D.C. to explain the truth to legislators.

German-owned Bayer purchased Monsanto Company in 2018 and has since been barraged by 181,000 lawsuits claiming its Roundup herbicide has caused non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The company has paid out billions of dollars in settlements, and several juries have awarded billion-dollar punitive verdicts, finding Bayer knew its glyphosate herbicide (an active ingredient in Roundup) was causing illness but failed to warn product users in its labels. This gave rise to legal liability under state product liability laws, which Section 453 was drafted to thwart.

Bayer has launched a massive campaign to insulate itself from lawsuits, portraying this dispute as a battle between struggling farmers and greedy trial attorneys. Yet those 181,000 plaintiffs argue that their lymphoma was caused by glyphosate – the battle is between Americans’ health and a powerful foreign chemical company. Current regulations under FIFRA require companies like Bayer to update their labels to warn consumers, or they are in violation of the misbranding provisions of FIFRA and exposed to state product liability claims.

What federal representatives needed to hear was that Section 453 would shield not just glyphosate or even pesticide products from legal actions – it would protect all chemical products in the nation subject to FIFRA. This includes bug sprays, household cleaning supplies, and a myriad of other consumer products that have nothing to do with agriculture and farmers: an estimated 57,000 products would be prevented from label updates. This risks far more than holding companies immune from legal liability – it means Americans would not be properly warned of the dangers of products stocked on hardware and grocery store shelves across the country!

The Moms Across America Movement galvanized and made its presence felt in the halls of Congress on September 10 and 11. It was clear that many legislators did not understand the enormous implications of Section 453 for their constituents, and that our meetings had a powerful impact. We also dispelled the argument that Section 453 was necessary to protect farmers, as the recent MAHA Commission Report made clear. There is no effort to ban pesticides, including glyphosate, so Section 453 is unnecessary to protect farmers. In contrast, existing EPA regulatory processes are deficient in regulating chemicals sufficiently to protect human and environmental health. Section 453 would weaken them much further, affecting a vast number of chemicals beyond those used for farming.

The activist MAAM also shared polling data that showed very high majorities of both liberal and conservative American voters oppose granting pesticide manufacturers like Bayer legal immunity and wish to see the EPA improve, not diminish, its regulatory oversight of pesticides. American mothers understandably seek to protect their children’s health. MAAM exists to speak for them and their children against the well-funded corporate lobbyists that have been misleading farmers and legislators.

I was honored to be a legal voice in support of this passionate team of advocates for children. I was privileged to watch Honeycutt in action. Zen is extremely zealous in her efforts, driven by her own experience with her young children when they suffered health problems caused by toxins in their food. This is what sparked MAAM and has created a true champion. Zen has initiated independent testing of school lunches and baby food nationwide to alert Americans to the dangers lurking in products they trust. She was a patient but potent visitor to the high-ceilinged labyrinth of congressional offices as she educated staff about the dangers of household chemicals and the insidious purpose of Section 453.

Dr. Alexandra Muñoz was equally intense and effective. Dr. Muñoz has been fighting the battle against pesticide immunity in state legislatures, where her expertise in toxicology has been augmented by a speedy education in law. As we hastened from one meeting to another, navigating metal detectors, steady rain between buildings, and cramped elevators or curving marble stairways, I had a privileged perch at each stop as Dr. Muñoz put on a lawyer’s hat and explained with a PowerPoint presentation how Section 453 sneakily shielded Bayer from legal liability by eviscerating federal FIFRA enforcement. Having me there to explain details or answer questions was certainly beneficial, but by the end of the day, I was joking that Muñoz was already an attorney. (I wasn’t really joking.)

During our hall-scurrying rounds on Wednesday, the news broke that Charlie Kirk had been shot. We paused for a group prayer for him and our efforts, but a pall hung over our mission to thwart Section 453. There was a sense that the evil that befell Charlie and the evil of Section 453 arose from the same source….

I and many others hope Congress will abandon Section 453 as the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate seeks to enact urgent funding bills, but MAAM and MAHA hold no illusions that this battle will end any time soon. Bayer executives have claimed that they will insulate the company from future liability to protect their corporate profits, and they will likely attempt to pass similar legislation in the future, both at the federal and local levels.

The Moms Across America Movement was also invited by the Organic and Natural Alliance, led by Karen Howard, to participate in a reception at Rayburn House with 14 organizations raising awareness about the importance of access to organic and natural food supplements, such as Vitamin D. Collaboration is key to a healthier nation.

MAHA and MAAM are ready to alert Americans as these pesticide immunity schemes develop. We are determined to bring our efforts into the light – notice that the mainstream media has hardly addressed this crucial issue at all. Thank God for MAAM and the MAHA Report!