MAHA activists mobilize over weedkiller case
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"Make America Healthy Again" activists are converging on the Supreme Court Monday as justices hear arguments in a high-stakes case over health warnings on pesticide labels.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is backing Bayer's efforts to limit lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
- That's widening a rift with MAHA activists, who've been calling for a crackdown on chemicals like Roundup's active ingredient glyphosate in the food supply.
Driving the news: The protest is being led by prominent influencer Vani Hari, known as "The Food Babe," who previously led a nationwide boycott against WK Kellogg Co. over the use of synthetic food dyes.
- "We wouldn't be doing this if the Trump administration just stayed out of things and hadn't gotten involved," Hari said, referring to a February executive order that gave national security protection to Roundup, as well as backing Bayer in the case.
- "They did in such a way that ran counter to our movement ... we have to do something," she added.
Between the lines: A Reuters/Ipsos poll found widespread bipartisan concern about pesticides and shielding companies from lawsuits over cancer-causing products.
- While Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pointed to glyphosate as an environmental toxin that contributes to chronic disease, the EPA, which regulates pesticides, has balked at characterizing it as harmful.
- The Bayer case will decide whether consumers can sue in state courts for lack of warning about cancer risks when federal regulators don't require such a warning.
Bayer argues federal law preempts the states, and that it follows federal labeling guidelines.
- "We want to bring an end to this," Bayer CEO Bill Anderson told Axios' Nathan Bomey. "This is a very important product for agriculture. It's been demonstrated to be safe over and over again and cleared by regulators in every nation, and we're ready to put this chapter behind us."
What to watch: Whether a ruling in favor of the company could further alienate MAHA voters ahead of the midterm elections.
