Ears in Washington: Protecting Public Health Requires Science-Based Regulation, Not Just a MAHA Moment

As a mom, my number one priority is keeping my daughter safe. I want her to be protected on every front, from diseases to environmental hazards. As a professional who advocates on behalf of the nation’s corn growers, I want a sensible regulatory system that is efficient and science based. And just like I have a choice about what food I buy at the grocery store, I want farmers to continue to have the ability to make an informed choice about the production tools and practices that they use on their farms.

But as an advocate and a mom, I have been concerned with the work of the Make America Healthy Again Commission, also known as MAHA, which released its initial report in May. I am troubled by the fact that the commission –established by presidential executive order at the behest of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – is undermining and in some cases duplicating work that has already been done by regulatory bodies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is doing so by calling into question the science or previous regulatory reviews.

I am also troubled that the report is selectively amplifying claims and concerns from activists, some who have long held extreme, fringe and, in some in cases, profit-driven views on pesticides, vaccines and life-saving medications. That outlook on pesticides, specifically glyphosate and atrazine, no doubt helped shape the draft report, which raised pointed questions about the safe use of these products despite substantial evidence to the contrary. The policy implications could cause additional problems for farmers without providing any additional protection for my daughter or other children.

While the draft report does not call for an outright ban on pesticides, it suggests that the existing body of science is insufficient and signals that the administration may be eyeing an additional layer of regulatory action outside of the process that Congress designed for EPA. At the state level, we see the MAHA movement pushing state policymakers to pass a patchwork of state legislation that could ban or label these tools as harmful. 

What MAHA fails to recognize is that commonly used pesticides have stood up to rigorous scientific scrutiny for many years, as glyphosate has been registered as a pesticide in the United States since 1974 and atrazine has been registered as a pesticide since 1958. Since then, EPA, as well as other regulatory agencies around the world, has reviewed and reassessed each product’s safety and use multiple times.

Yet here we are facing calls for more studies by folks who are moving the goalposts on what constitutes science to try to achieve their preferred outcome. And the stakes for you and other growers couldn’t be higher. Estimates show that without pesticides, like atrazine and glyphosate, growers could lose up to 70% of their crops each year. That would be a devastating development not only for farmers and rural economies but also for the nation’s fuel and food supply. 

But don’t worry. Corn grower leaders are meeting the moment.

National Corn Growers Association leaders and staff are working closely with our allies on Capitol Hill and meeting with our contacts in the Trump administration to share the science and farmer perspective on this issue. And our allies in Congress, like Sens. Chuck Grassley and Cindy Hyde-Smith, have asked tough questions of RFK Jr. and other officials about the report’s treatment of pesticides. 

Our efforts are being recognized by the White House and the media. According to Politico, which cited our advocacy efforts in recent weeks, the White House is beginning to hold private stakeholder meetings with agricultural and other affected groups before the final report drops in August.

As our advocacy efforts continue, we will need your help, so please sign up for our advocacy alerts. 

At the end of the day, crowdsourcing public health and safety or carrying out our regulatory processes in the court of public opinion won’t make Americans healthier. As an advocate for corn farmers, and as a mom, I have skin in the game, and I want to ensure that the game is not rigged. NCGA will continue to push the MAHA Commission to be open and transparent, inclusive of farmer perspectives and to rely on risk-based, peer-reviewed, science, rather than Tik Tok science, as the basis for regulating product safety.     

Lesly McNitt is vice president of public policy at the National Corn Growers Association.