MAHA Is Dead: Trump Invokes Defense Production Act To Bolster Glyphosate Production, As Congress Works To Provide Total Immunity To Bayer In Farm Bill

"Glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of U.S. agricultural productivity and rural economy, ensuring that healthy, affordable food options remain within reach for all American families."

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The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has effectively become yet another broken promise. Yesterday, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to increase glyphosate, the poisonous pesticide produced by Monsanto and owned by parent company Bayer, marking a major betrayal by the administration to limit pesticide use.

Glyphosate is the leading ingredient in the popular commercial weedkiller Roundup.

On Monday, The WinePress detailed how 2026 would prove to be a pivotal year for pesticide regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already approved a slew of new pesticides with forever chemicals, “PFAS” in them, and the department signaled that more approvals and deregulation of others were on the way.

But the big battle is over glyphosate. Forced to pay out tens of billions of dollars in lawsuits for health injuries caused by the pesticide, CEO Bill Anderson vowed that the company is “turning over every stone” possible to get litigation against them erased “by the end of 2026.”

Now, Bayer appears to have gotten one of its wishes sooner than expected.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump tapped the Defense Production Act to increase production of phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.

According to the executive order (excerpts — emphasis mine):

Elemental phosphorus is also a critical precursor element for the production of glyphosate-based herbicides, which play a critical role in maintaining America’s agricultural advantage by enabling farmers to efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed.

As the most widely used crop protection tools in United States agriculture, glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of this Nation’s agricultural productivity and rural economy, allowing United States farmers and ranchers to maintain high yields and low production costs while ensuring that healthy, affordable food options remain within reach for all American families.

There is no direct one-for-one chemical alternative to glyphosate-based herbicides. Lack of access to glyphosate-based herbicides would critically jeopardize agricultural productivity, adding pressure to the domestic food system, and may result in a transition of cropland to other uses due to low productivity. Given the profit margins growers currently face, any major restrictions in access to glyphosate-based herbicides would result in economic losses for growers and make it untenable for them to meet growing food and feed demands.

Ensuring an adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides is thus crucial to the national security and defense, including food-supply security, which is essential to protecting the health and safety of Americans.

Nonetheless, the United States’ ability to domestically produce those critical inputs is extremely limited. Indeed, there is only a single domestic producer of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, and this producer does not meet our annual needs for those inputs. For that reason, more than 6,000,000 kilograms of elemental phosphorus are imported from other countries annually. Future reduction or the cessation of domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides would gravely threaten American national security by disrupting, and requiring the further offshoring of, this Nation’s defense supply chain including by having a debilitating impact on domestic agricultural capabilities.

I accordingly find that, consistent with the Department of the Interior’s designation, elemental phosphorus is a scarce material that is critical to national defense and security. Our Nation’s inadequate elemental phosphorus production, which must sustain both defense manufacturing and our significant agricultural needs, and the threat of increased domestic scarcity leave us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and pose an imminent threat to military readiness.

Consistent with these findings, I find that ensuring robust domestic elemental phosphorus mining and United States-based production of glyphosate-based herbicides is central to American economic and national security. Without immediate Federal action, the United States remains inadequately equipped and vulnerable. Accordingly, I hereby find, pursuant to section 101 of the Act, that domestic elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides meet the criteria specified in section 101(b) of the Act (50 U.S.C. 4511(b)).

This order confers all immunity provided for in section 707 of the Act (50 U.S.C. 4557). Additionally, domestic producers of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides are required to comply with this order, in accordance with the provisions of 7 C.F.R. part 789.

Moreover, according to the fact sheet, “It directs the Secretary of Agriculture [Brooke Rollins] to exercise that authority in consultation with the Secretary of War [Pete Hegseth].”

“President Trump has consistently prioritized policies that secure domestic supply chains, protect national defense, and support American agriculture and families,” the fact sheet added.

In a statement to CNBC, Monsanto said the executive order “reinforces the critical need for U.S. farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools such as glyphosate.” “We will comply with this order to produce glyphosate and elemental phosphorus,” the company added.

Bobby Sells Out (Again)

This latest action by the administration breaks a key promise made by RFK Jr. and the MAHA movement.

When President Trump announced he was selecting RFK Jr. to lead HHS, he stated:

“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.

“Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Kennedy, a founder of Children’s Health Defense, has spent years warning about the dangers of glyphosate. On the campaign trail in 2024, RFK referred to the chemical as “one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic,” and promised that his “USDA will ban that practice” using the herbicide as a desiccant.

CHD’s The Defender, for example, has published a number of reports that discuss the deleterious effects glyphosate has on one’s health; from liver damage, permanent damage to reproductive organs, persistent effects and damage on the brain and increased depression, causing cancer, birth defects, and an array of many other issues.

SOURCE

Dr. Joseph Mercola notes:

• Glyphosate is a very efficient metal chelator. This, in turn, disrupts your gut microbes because it makes minerals unavailable to the microbes. Your gut microbes need those minerals, as their enzymes depend on them for proper functioning.

• There’s a strong correlation between the rise in celiac disease over time and the rise in glyphosate usage on wheat, which is the primary culprit in celiac disease.

• Glyphosate may worsen the adverse effects of vaccines, in part because it binds very efficiently to aluminum used as an adjuvant in certain vaccines. Live virus vaccines that do not contain aluminum adjuvant have also been found to be contaminated with glyphosate.

• Non-GMO (genetically modified organism) crops such as oats, wheat, barley and legumes like chickpeas and lentils tend to be very high in glyphosate because these crops are sprayed with glyphosate right before harvest as a desiccant to speed the drying process.

• Glyphosate also disrupts the shikimate pathway, both in plants and microbes, and beneficial microbes are particularly sensitive to glyphosate.

In 2018, Kennedy won a $290 million lawsuit against Monsanto for a man who claimed the weedkiller gave him cancer. “The jury found Monsanto acted with malice and oppression because they knew what they were doing was wrong and doing it with reckless disregard for human life,” said Kennedy Jr.

As previously documented by The WinePress, the MAHA Report published last year explicitly blamed glyphosate and other pesticides as one of the main reasons why American children’s health has continued to worsen year-over-year. It blamed corporate influence as a big reason nothing is being done to address the problem, whether it is lobbying or funding shoddy studies that make glyphosate look safe.

However, as noted in The WP article, the report and a later subsequent follow-up report in September, which was co-authored by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, contained wiggle-room that still allowed for pesticide usage in many applications. The report stated:

“USDA and EPA will launch a partnership with private-sector innovators to ensure continued investment in new approaches and technologies to allow even more targeted and precise pesticide applications. This can support increased crop productivity and reduce the total amount of pesticides needed.

“These partnerships should focus on precision application methods, including targeted drone applications, computer-assisted targeted spray technology, robotic monitoring, and related innovations.”

Moreover, once becoming HHS Secretary, RFK relaxed his position. “We cannot take any step that will put a single farmer in this country out of business,” he said during a hearing last year. “There’s a million farmers who rely on glyphosate.”

Now that Trump has signed an EO protecting glyphosate protection and granting certain immunities for its usage, RFK has betrayed his years of lambasting the use of glyphosate.

In a statement to CNBC, Kennedy defended the President’s actions.

“Donald Trump’s Executive Order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply. We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it. When hostile actors control critical inputs, they weaken our security. By expanding domestic production, we close that gap and protect American families.”

Seemingly knowing that this executive order was coming down the pike, RFK Jr. appeared to do a little front-running last week when he was a guest on Theo Von’s podcast.

“But right now, if you banned glyphosate outright, it would put out of business 80% of our farmers,” said RFK. Von replied, “So, we're kind of dependent upon something that we know makes us sick.” Kennedy claimed HHS is working to create “offramp” to phase-out the chemical overtime. “It also destroys the microbiome and the soil and that causes erosion,” he added. “And so, it's not a, you know, it's not a good long-term solution.”

Naturally, a number of MAGA and MAHA supporters (and former ones) are upset at the news.

Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, put the administration on blast:

“If anyone still wondered whether ‘Make America Healthy Again’ was a genuine commitment to protecting public health or a scam concocted by President Trump and RFK Jr. to rally health-conscious voters in 2024, today’s decision answers that question.

“I can’t envision a bigger middle finger to every MAHA mom than this. By granting immunity to the makers of the nation’s most widely used pesticide, President Trump just gave Bayer a license to poison people. Full stop.

“It’s a shocking betrayal to protect all of us but especially the people who live and work near farm fields where glyphosate is used.

“Elevating glyphosate to a national security priority is the exact opposite of what MAHA voters were promised. If Secretary Kennedy remains at HHS after this, it will be impossible to argue that his past warnings about glyphosate were anything more than campaign rhetoric designed to win trust – and votes.

“First President Trump sided with Bayer-Monsanto on glyphosate at the Supreme Court, and now he’s elevating it through the Defense Department. At this rate, maybe the National Cancer Institute will be next to bless the safety of this notorious weedkiller at his urging.

“MAHA supporters were promised reform, and instead, they’ve been treated by MAGA like a convenient group of useful idiots ever since Kennedy joined Trump on the campaign trail.”

Zen Honeycutt, founder of the pro-MAHA group Moms Across America, said she is “disgusted.”

Bayer Seeks To End All Litigation Against Them.

On Tuesday, Bayer announced in a statement that Monsanto has launched a class settlement agreement to resolve current and future claims. It said in a press release it will continue to work to mitigate litigation against them.

The company wrote:

Today, Monsanto announced a proposed U.S. nationwide class settlement designed to resolve current and future Roundup™ claims alleging Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) injuries through a long-term claims program. Leading plaintiff law firms representing the class filed a motion today seeking preliminary approval of the settlement in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The proposed class combined with Supreme Court review in the Durnell case are independently necessary and mutually reinforcing steps in the company’s multipronged strategy designed to significantly contain the Roundup™ litigation.

“The proposed class settlement agreement, together with the Supreme Court case, provides an essential path out of the litigation uncertainty and enables us to devote our full attention to furthering the innovations that lie at the core of our mission: Health for all, Hunger for none,” said Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer. “This litigation and the resulting cost underscore the need for guidance from the Supreme Court on clear regulation in American agriculture. The class settlement and Supreme Court case are both necessary to help bring the strongest, most certain and most timely containment to this litigation.”

To fund the class, Monsanto will make declining capped annual payments for up to 21 years totaling up to 7.25 billion U.S. dollars, following court approval. The long-term payment stream will provide the company with both greater certainty and control regarding its litigation costs for current claims and potential future claimants.

Monsanto is taking the Roundup™-related actions solely to contain the litigation, and the settlement agreements do not contain any admission of liability or wrongdoing. Indeed, leading regulators worldwide, including the U.S. EPA and EU regulatory bodies, continue to conclude based on an extensive body of science, that glyphosate-based herbicides – critical tools that farmers rely on to produce affordable food and feed the world – can be used safely and are not carcinogenic.

In addition to these settlements, the company will continue to pursue other elements of its multi-pronged strategy including supporting legislation at the state and federal level, regulatory actions and other measures that are intended to help achieve regulatory clarity and contain litigation risk. Regulatory uncertainty jeopardizes the availability of current and future agricultural innovations, with potentially severe consequences for farmers and the American food system.

Congress Steps In To Help

As The WP pointed out earlier this week, Bayer is determined to get immunity from any litigation levied against it. Not only does Trump’s latest EO help with that, but a 2026 Farm Bill contains provisions that provide the total immunity Bayer is seeking.

Last week, House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) introduced the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. Thompson said in a statement:

“A new farm bill is long overdue, and the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is an important step forward in providing certainty to our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. We made historic agricultural investments last summer in the Working Families Tax Cuts (H.R. 1), but there are many key policy components that remain to be addressed. With that in mind, the House Committee on Agriculture will begin marking up a new farm bill February 23.

“This bill provides modern policies for modern challenges and is shaped by years of listening to the needs of farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans. The farm bill affects our entire country, regardless of whether you live on a farm, and I look forward to seeing my colleagues in Congress work together to get this critical legislation across the finish line.”

The 802-page bill contains provisions that explicitly provide immunity to corporations like Bayer.

Buried in the bill, Sec. 10205 Uniformity of Pesticide Labeling Requirements, blocks state and local governments from requiring any warnings beyond what the EPA approves, effectively granting immunity to Bayer and other companies.

Sec. 10206 Authority of States, stops cities and counties from enforcing their own pesticide rules, granting all regulatory power to state and federal authorities.

Sec. 10207 Lawful Use of Pesticides, makes it automatically legal to use EPA-approved pesticides and overrides any other environmental protections and permits.

Lastly, Sec. 20211 Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use Survey, forces the USDA to share pesticide use data with the EPA and allows buying commercial data while bypassing some federal paperwork rules.

The bill has not yet passed Congress and there will still be time for debate, but clearly the language is everything Bayer has said they have fought to have protected and can spray with impunity.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Proverbs 12:20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellers of peace is joy.

Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

And there you have it. “pRoMiSeS mAdE, pRoMiSeS kEpT!!”

It's absolutely unreal. We knew it was coming, but even I did not think that after I reported on Monday that this administration would give immunity to Bayer all in the same week!

I am just utterly repulsed right now. Not surprised, just disgusted at the godless state of things.

Land of the slave, home of the damned.

Again, as I said earlier this week, Seriously, someone enlighten me: what “promises” has this godforsaken child-diddling protecting administration kept? Outside of the corporate tax cuts and the Stablecoin Genius Act — both of which are horrible — this administration has backtracked on literally everything.

Wait, wait, let me guess: this is 100-D Chess, right? What excuse will the red hats come up with this time?

But hey, we’re (supposedly) getting rid of that Red 40 from your Pop Tarts, and Bobby wants to normalize AI wearables.

MAHA? More like HAHA, because the joke’s on everyone that voted for this clown because they FELL FOR IT AGAIN!!

Jeremiah 8:15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

‘Oh, this will hurt our farmers poisoners for profit, we can’t ban pesticide.’ So how can Europe and many other countries do it? You can read the list of all the countries that have banned it, actively working on it, or have proposed to ban it.

But Trump and RFK made it very clear what this is about: “Given the profit margins growers currently face, any major restrictions in access to glyphosate-based herbicides would result in economic losses for growers and make it untenable for them to meet growing food and feed demands.”

Screw health, the corporations need more money. Eat up, dumb Americans; Pfizer and the drug runners have a ‘cure’ for you.

1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. [10] For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

On top of that, the order is in collaboration with Hegseth and the Pentagon — we are literally militarizing glyphosate! Fathom that.

And then you have that stuttering, bumbling cokehead RFK, yet another abominable traitor.

All these people from the President on down to the “farmers” who do not care that they poison, harm, and kill Americans and destroy the environment WILL have much to answer for someday.

Proverbs 28:10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession. [17] A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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