The Center for Biological Diversity has sued USDA in an attempt to obtain records related to President Donald Trump’s executive order to ensure an adequate domestic supply of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.
The purpose of the Feb. 18 order is “promoting the national defense by ensuring an adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.” It cites the Defense Production Act of 1950 as legal grounds for the order, and grants immunity to domestic producers of glyphosate and elemental phosphorus herbicides under that law.
The center alleges in a press release that the executive order’s immunity clause will protect companies “should they take otherwise illegal actions in complying with the order.”
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The suit claims USDA is violating the Freedom of Information Act by not responding to requests for information about how the order was developed and how USDA is implementing it in a timely manner.
The FOIA request in question was submitted Feb. 26, and USDA has not yet responded with the records in question or with a timeline for their release.
The center's request "sought records necessary to understand how the order was developed and how USDA understands its role in implementing the order’s directive to boost glyphosate and elemental phosphorus production," according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Unrelated to the lawsuit, the center’s press release said the executive order mimicked artificial intelligence text generation because it used the word “kilogram” in describing phosphorus imports.
