A confrontation over pesticide use reportedly erupted in an Oval Office meeting last week, underscoring Make America Healthy Again’s stance against such agrochemicals.
A coalition of farmers entered the West Wing anticipating an executive order signing ceremony supporting regenerative agriculture, an alternative to pesticides.
But they stumbled upon a live debate that included Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, according to multiple reports.
In the hourlong meeting, Mr. Kennedy, a face of the MAHA movement, and Mr. Duvall, who represents over 5 million farm members, went head-to-head, Axios reported.
The secretary — already in a difficult position because the MAHA agenda conflicts with a blockbuster Supreme Court ruling handed down earlier that day and was a legal triumph for the pesticide industry — was in favor of signing the order, according to multiple reports.
Mr. Kennedy, facing pressure from MAHA to rein in pesticide use, reportedly told President Trump that this mandate would cut chemicals in the food supply, allowing for an opportunity to study their effects.
Ms. Rollins also reportedly rallied behind the order.
But Mr. Duvall wanted to sway the president against signing the order, due to concerns that it would negatively affect pesticide use.
The AFBF head warned that signing it could cost the president the backing of a massive demographic: farming interests.
Farmers in the room relayed the debate to Politico.
Ultimately, the president signed the order, telling Mr. Duvall that he did not believe it threatened farmers. The Farm Bureau chief then reportedly said he would support it.
“[Mr. Trump] could have been swayed one way or the other, and Farm Bureau tried tooth and nail to convince him not to sign that order,” Jonathan Lundgren, a South Dakota farmer and former USDA official who attended the meeting, told Politico.
Farm Bureau spokesman Mike Tomko said Mr. Duvall was disputing the “insinuation that our food supply is not safe” because of pesticides.
“He did express concern about the EO but not related to its stated purpose. Farm Bureau supports research and innovation, which are key to advancing agriculture, and we support regenerative agriculture,” Mr. Tomko said.
He added that Mr. Duvall “warned against undermining confidence in the food system and confidence in EPA’s rigorous oversight that farmers rely on every day.”
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that Mr. Trump is “committed to ultimately doing what’s best for the MAHA movement, our farmers, and the American people — and the signing of this executive order reflects that commitment.”
The tensions showcase a fracture between the MAHA and MAGA movements: disagreements over conventional pesticide use versus alternative regenerative agriculture.
Not long before the meeting, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of agrochemical company Bayer against failure-to-warn claims over the alleged carcinogenic risks that come with using its popular weedkiller Roundup and its key chemical, glyphosate.
When Mr. Lundgren told Mr. Trump that families are being “poisoned by these chemical companies and didn’t have recourse anymore,” the president reportedly sought counsel from his Cabinet and Mr. Duvall.
Mr. Kennedy and his senior adviser, Calley Means, explained that the ruling represented a major blow to MAHA and said the executive order could appease the movement.
The order, which supports regenerative agriculture, came a week before the Department of Agriculture kicked off a challenge on Wednesday to fast-track fertilizer production in the U.S.
The same day, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a $30 million challenge to support cost-effective alternatives to conventional chemical crop desiccation, the practice of spraying pesticides to dry out crops in the final days before harvest.
The EPA framed its initiative as aligned with MAHA, adding that it hopes to encourage regenerative agriculture.
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