"Alarmed by the first MAHA commission report, the agriculture industry mobilized to shape the next installment. Those efforts seemingly paid off."
"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a reputation for bashing powerful corporate interests in his quest to “Make America Healthy Again.” But one industry has eked out a win under Kennedy’s MAHA agenda: Big Agriculture.
In May, the Trump administration’s MAHA commission released a report raising questions about the health effects of two commonly used pesticides, glyphosate and atrazine. The report’s rhetoric frustrated powerful agriculture groups such as CropLife America and the American Soybean Association, prompting them to launch a concerted lobbying blitz to promote the chemicals farmers rely on to produce large crops, according to interviews with industry officials.
Major trade groups scrambled to meet with White House officials. They urged the commission in a coordinated social media campaign to take a “fact-based approach,” and sent letters to key federal departments. A top industry group helped coordinate a visit of Trump officials to a Maryland farm to see farming techniques in action. And in June, an industry lobbyist was appointed to a key position at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Their efforts seemingly paid off. The Trump administration’s MAHA strategy document released last month did not call for restrictions on pesticides and instead said the EPA would work to ensure the public is aware of its “robust” review procedures, a marked shift from Kennedy’s past criticism of chemicals as contaminating the nation’s food supply."
Amudalat Ajasa and Rachel Roubein report for the Washington Post October 6, 2025.
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