After two Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) reports and a presidential executive order, allegations of White House corruption have put agriculture and the future of glyphosate in the crosshairs.
Calley Means, former MAHA initiative leader and activist, is driving the claims. He served as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before resigning in October 2026. Since then, Means has been on the media trail, including The Joe Rogan Experience, to target corporate lobbying, agricultural chemistry and a February executive order that used the Defense Production Act to protect domestic supplies of glyphosate and elemental phosphorus. Farmers are especially concerned because Means reportedly has the ear of new White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
“The stuff we’ve promoted and worked on with Roundup and atrazine, he’s just throwing that all out the window. It’s not good PR, but we’re going to have to really be on our toes to keep our voice heard,” says Ken McCauley, a farmer from White Cloud, Kan.
Means labeled glyphosate as a cancer-causing poison, despite countless studies affirming its safety when applied properly.
“More than 90 countries around the globe have approved this product for use in agriculture and really there’s only one body out there that I’m aware of that says this might be a carcinogen and that’s the same body. It’s not a country. It’s the same health body that says red meat and hot beverages may also be carcinogens,” says Sam Kieffer, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers.
Strict Guidelines Already in Place
Herbicides undergo rigorous testing by EPA and must adhere to strict, federally mandated label requirements.
“Farmers are under the gun to make sure they use the products according to the label,” Kieffer says. “They read the label, they understand what’s in it and they apply that product to the farm where their own family is raised.”
Future Innovation at Risk
The pushback threatens more than existing tools; farm leaders warn it could stifle future investments in innovative crop protection technology.
“I think it’s important that there’s a business environment that gives those manufacturers confidence in the process as they invest in new technologies,” says Jamie Kress, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers.
Furthermore, removing proven chemistry carries unintended environmental consequences.
“What happens is the environmental benefits of less tillage are the first to go out the window without products, without herbicides,” Kieffer explains.
Science Over Soundbites
Allegations aside, farm groups insist the science will speak for itself.
“I think when it comes to MAHA and things like that, when we fight for policy that has good scientific background, we’re OK. We always come out on the right side of it,” says Matt Frostic, president of the National Corn Growers Association.
“Really what farmers are asking for,” Kieffer adds, “is that the science prevails rather than two-hour podcasts.”
