By Kelly Ryerson, Contributor, The MAHA Report
On September 28, The New York Times ran a Guest Essay by contributing Opinion writer, Michael Grunwald, provocatively titled, “Spraying Roundup on Crops Is Fine. Really.”
Toward the middle of Grunwald’s convoluted argument, he writes, “Glyphosate is a convenient target because it’s the most widely used herbicide, and because ‘Roundup ready’ GMO crops engineered to tolerate weed-killing doses of glyphosate are the ultimate symbol of the GMO revolution. There’s overwhelming evidence that GMOs are safe, and glyphosate happens to be one of the most benign forms of weed control.”
I am the MAHA mom who calls out glyphosate. I’m also a realist.
The safety of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, is one of the most contentious debates in the environmental health world and a subject repeatedly raised by HHS Secretary Kennedy’s MAHA constituency.
Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide of all time, sprayed on most of the American corn and soybeans that have been genetically modified to be resistant to its effects. It is also sprayed on grains and chickpeas at the end of their season to kill off the crop, allow it to dry evenly, and thus facilitate a more efficient harvest. Glyphosate is so frequently used that it is now commonly found in food, water, rain, blood, hair, and urine. If it is that ubiquitous, we should probably be sure it’s safe, right?
Secretary Kennedy served as an attorney representing plaintiffs who claimed that exposure to glyphosate gave them Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Bayer, a manufacturer of glyphosate, has paid out around $11 billion in settlements and jury verdicts, proving that the cancer victims had a strong legal case. Bayer’s stock price has crashed over 70% since their 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, the original manufacturer of Roundup.
Bayer’s key strategy to stop the bleeding is to pass legislation through Congress to limit the ability of Americans to sue if they get sick from chemical exposure, effectively creating a pesticide liability shield. Shockingly, many members of Congress are backing this outrageous legislation and our right to hold chemical manufacturers accountable in court is in serious jeopardy.
The glyphosate cancer litigation produced a doozy of internal documents that exposed a long history of corporate manipulation of science and regulatory capture. Internal emails show that Monsanto ghost wrote research for the EPA claiming that glyphosate is not carcinogenic, and passed it off as work by independent scientists. Other emails show a cozy relationship between Monsanto and EPA regulators, and even a marketing plan that included a line item to “discomfort the opposition” - opposition like Kennedy and we MAHA moms.
It is exactly this corporate influence on health regulation that Kennedy and his supporters vehemently oppose. Independent, peer-reviewed research connects continual exposure to glyphosate to kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hormone disruption, and neurological conditions. And of course, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Unfortunately, the EPA bases its safety determinations primarily on company-provided research, which has been less than enthusiastic in investigating these potential health impacts.
Last year, I presented research to the EPA demonstrating that glyphosate is found in a broad variety of bodily fluids including semen. Given our national fertility crisis and plummeting sperm counts, an extensive study of glyphosate as a potential endocrine disruptor seems much overdue. Like previous visits to regulators, the EPA officials simply took notes and politely escorted our team out the door. A thorough endocrine disruption study has yet to be performed.
Unfortunately for Secretary Kennedy, no amount of research can untie his hands in dealing with this harmful chemical. While special interests often block the best intentions of regulatory officials, the case of glyphosate is especially tricky. Over the last fifty years, the foundation of the American agriculture system has become highly dependent on this herbicide. Even worse, as weeds evolve and glyphosate loses effectiveness, farmers are forced to adopt even-more-toxic, next-generation herbicides, landing our country on a perpetual chemical feedback loop of increasing toxicity.
Some organic purists call for the immediate ban of glyphosate. This is well intentioned but unrealistic - farmers cannot change their decades-long dependence on these chemicals overnight. In fact, loss of access to glyphosate would potentially lead to the use of even more toxic replacement weedkillers. The only way we will permanently close the door on the chemical agricultural era is to support and incentivize our farmers to gradually overhaul the current farming practices. Starting now.
Government-funded financial safety nets and technical assistance would support farmers to heal their chemically damaged soil and make crops more resistant to troublesome pests, decreasing the need for toxic chemicals. The Farm Bill, expected to be drafted in the House this month, must provide substantial funding to make this transition a reality and overhaul our toxic food system. It is the only way our country can escape the crippling chronic disease epidemic - taxpayers deserve access to clean food, water and environments.
For President Trump to succeed in his mission to Make America Healthy Again, we need Congress and all regulators to act now to financially support farmers to step off the chemical treadmill, or risk a future that is poisoned from the ground up. The health of our children can’t wait.
By fooling around with mother nature for convenience our health is being compromised!
Regenerative farmers need to be compensated to encourage farming practices that do not harm us!
All farmers should be given incentives to gradually change their practices.
Research also ,should be rewarded with grants to improve our soils without dangerous chemicals.
I am amazed at how many people are not aware of how ‘round up ‘is detrimental to our health.
At the local level communities should be educating through library programs to encourage people not to use ‘round up ‘on their property or on school playgrounds.
Change is not easy, nor is it quick to encompass in our lives healthy practices . To make American healthy again it’s a joint effort!
Excellent report. As you mentioned, farmers cannot change their dependence on these chemicals overnight. And the only way to permanently close the door on the chemical agricultural era is to support and to financially incentivize farmers to move away from current synthetic chemicalized farming practices. That means removing tax subsidies for unsustainable chemical agriculture, and/or providing equal subsidies for healthy, regenerative agriculture. Sometimes solutions for serious problems are much easier by simply removing or revising govt legislation/regulations that actually created them to begin with