Some Republican senators and farm groups are worried about a report from the Make America Healthy Again Commission (MAHA) Commission that could attack modern farming techniques. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he will release the report on Thursday.
Kennedy testified this morning before the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee, focusing on what he called the role of environmental toxins in driving chronic disease. Central to his testimony was glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup weed killer, which Kennedy claims is a top contributor to America’s chronic health crisis. Kennedy emphasized the widespread use of glyphosate worldwide and linked it to rising rates of chronic illness.
Critics of Kennedy’s stance warn that sweeping restrictions on pesticides could severely disrupt the U.S. food supply chain, affecting both farmers and consumers. Nonetheless, Kennedy and his supporters argue that addressing environmental toxins is foundational to improving national health outcomes. Bayer defends the herbicide as both essential and rigorously tested for safety.
Kennedy denied any bias and maintained that any future action would be based on science and public health outcomes, not politics. But the clash signals growing friction between the administration’s health goals and the interests of rural and agricultural constituencies.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has also raised concerns about the possible findings of the MAHA Commission. He joined a group of Republican senators and representatives in sending a letter (link) to Kennedy urging the commission to use “sound science and risk-based analysis in its policy decisions, particularly on crop protection tools and food-grade ingredients.”
As we noted in “First Thing Today” this morning, major agriculture groups released a statement on Tuesday echoing major concerns with what the coming MAHA Commission report will contain.
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