The Trump administration will release a report today from the Make America Healthy Again Commission – with notes on how pesticides and ultraprocessed foods allegedly connect to childhood chronic diseases.
The panel, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to lay out findings on potential contributors to chronic diseases among children. While this report is not expected to include policy recommendations, the commission is expected to draft a federal strategy to combat childhood chronic diseases later this year.
Keep in mind: Leading up to the release, farm groups and lawmakers expressed concern about what the report would say about pesticides, specifically glyphosate. They argue these products have been thoroughly reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency and transitioning away from them would not only hurt farmers but also drive up food costs.
Kennedy assured senators this week that the drafts of the report he’s seen wouldn’t hurt farmers. But some aren’t convinced.
Speaking to reporters on a call sponsored by the industry coalition Modern Ag Alliance, Missouri farmer Blake Hurst said, “I don’t believe that we have nothing to worry about.”
“It’s hard to have been compared to al-Qaida in the past and then be told that I’m a partner now,” said Scott Henry, an Iowa farmer. (RFK Jr. once compared hog farmers to Osama bin Laden.)
Meanwhile: About 360 MAHA leaders, including 30 farmers, wrote to Kennedy to defend the commission’s work and urged him to stand firm in the wake of “mounting pressure” from stakeholder interests and lawmakers.
Cut through the clutter! We deliver the news you need to stay informed about farm, food and rural issues. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse here.
They urged the commission and administration to publicly reject a letter from members of Congress that encouraged the panel to follow “sound science.” The MAHA leaders argue this letter puts “corporate protection over public health.”
Additionally, the MAHA advocates encouraged the panel to oppose efforts to shield pesticide companies from legal liability for health or environmental harms. They also recommended President Donald Trump issue a statement affirming the administration opposes federal preemption laws on chemical products.
Reorg plans at issue in federal court hearing today
The Trump administration’s plans to overhaul the federal government hang in the balance today in a courtroom in San Francisco.
That’s where U.S. District Judge Susan Illston will be hearing from Justice Department lawyers and those representing unions and other parties seeking to halt the planned reorganization of 20 agencies, including USDA.
Illston has already issued an order temporarily stopping reorganization. She’s been asked to turn that into a preliminary injunction, but the government is seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court.
The hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT) and can be viewed on the Northern District of California website.
UK’s EU reset leaves future stance on gene editing uncertain
The United Kingdom’s pledge to create a single sanitary and phytosanitary area with the European Union has some lawmakers nervous that the country could reverse its progress on gene editing.
Gene editing is one of the few areas where U.K. and EU regulations have diverged since Brexit. New regulations signed into law earlier this month greenlit the cultivation of gene edited crops in the U.K., while the EU maintains strict limits.
The chair of a U.K. parliamentary group on ag science and technology has appealed to the government to ensure the regulations won’t be diluted by the EU SPS deal. In a letter, the MP stressed the need to preserve autonomy in gene editing, citing new trade opportunities with countries like the U.S.
Take note: The U.K. could push for a GE carveout in the coming negotiations. The U.K.-EU documentation announcing the SPS agreement said both sides will negotiate some “limited exceptions” to future regulatory alignment.
Steve Reed, the U.K. minister for environment, food and rural affairs, said in a parliamentary meeting this week that “the door remains open to an agreement” with the EU around gene editing.
States spar with Trump administration over limits to tariff powers
Lawyers representing a group of states challenging the president’s use of emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs are clashing with Justice Department officials over the limits of presidential tariff powers.
In a hearing before the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday, Brian Marshall, an Oregon state attorney speaking on behalf of the 12 states, argued that duties imposed on Mexico, Canada and China have no direct link to remedying the fentanyl crisis.
Allowing the tariffs to stand, he said, would signal that as “long as the president wants to impose a tariff, he can do it for any reason he says, so long as he says it's an ‘unusual and extraordinary’ threat.”
But, but, but: The Justice Department’s Brett Shumate, who spoke on behalf of the administration, argued that it is up to Congress to set limits on the president’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs, including by striking down an emergency declaration.
The Senate has had two such votes; only one passed — but lacked a veto-proof majority. The House has blocked efforts to force a vote on the tariffs.
Marshall to introduce food additive bill
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is introducing a bill today that would establish a new category of animal food additives that can be approved through a petition process.
He will be joined in introducing the bill by Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo. The new category in the petition process would cover ingredients that address animal health, food safety or environmental benefits in an animal’s diet.
Read the text of the bill here.
Brown introduces bill to continue healthy food initiative
Lawmakers have introduced a measure to reauthorize a USDA and Treasury Department initiative to increase access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved urban and rural communities.
A senior member of the House Ag Committee, Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, co-authored a bill to reauthorize the Healthy Food Financing Initiative and sent letters requesting annual appropriations.
The program is administered through USDA’s Rural Development Office and Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. It provides loans, grants and technical assistance to improve access to fresh, healthy foods through public-private partnerships.
Final word
“The Chesapeake Bay has lost a fierce champion. Rep. Connolly was one of the bay’s most dependable allies in Congress. His death is a huge loss for everyone who loves the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams.” — Chesapeake Bay Foundation President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk, commenting on the death Wednesday morning of nine-term Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. Connolly was especially well known for his defense of federal workers. The day before his death, he and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., introduced the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
