In farm bill, GOP takes another swing at pesticide protections loathed by MAHA
Republicans are using the farm bill to take another swing at passing legislation to protect pesticides, something sure to anger their allies in the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.
A House Republican iteration of the farm bill released on Friday includes a provision that prevents states and courts from penalizing pesticide makers for failing to include warnings on their label about health effects that go beyond those formally recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Proponents of such measures say they prevent companies from having to comply with a hodgepodge of rules that could differ from place to place.
However, opponents of such language argue that it could be used to tamp down on failure-to-warn lawsuits that seek to hold pesticide companies accountable for not disclosing alleged harms of their products.
Similar language was ultimately removed from an EPA appropriations package earlier this year amid pushback from Democrats and MAHA-aligned Republicans.
The MAHA movement has been spearheaded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Its members are largely skeptical of big business, including Big Pharma, Big Ag and Big Chemical — breaking with other Republicans who are often big business allies.
While the measure applies to pesticides broadly, the issue is often talked about in terms of glyphosate, which has been a key ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup.
While the EPA says there’s “insufficient evidence to conclude that glyphosate plays a role in any human diseases,” multiple lawsuits have claimed otherwise — and have cost Bayer billions of dollars .
The question of whether such lawsuits are preempted under federal law will be reviewed by the Supreme Court this year .
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