Ag Policy Blog

With Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., now in office as secretary of Health and Human Services, the Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning Kennedy, USDA and EPA "to eliminate the use of extraordinarily toxic pesticides in U.S. food."

The Center stated the petition does not seek additional restrictions on the use of any pesticides on major commodity crops that are grown for animal feed or for use as biofuels.

The Center pointed to Kennedy's statements about the use of "atrazine, neonicotinoids, glyphosate and organophosphates" on farms. Kennedy has claimed these pesticides are contributors to chronic health problems, the Center cited.

"We're calling on President Trump and Secretary Kennedy to Make America Healthy Again by taking extraordinarily toxic pesticides out of our food," said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center. "It's outrageous that giant corporations like atrazine-maker ChemChina are allowed to profit from billions in sales while contaminating our food and waterways with extraordinarily toxic pesticides. The good news is that this ever-worsening problem can be fixed. Our petition offers the new administration a blueprint of common-sense actions it can take right now to decontaminate our pesticide-drenched food supply."

The Center also pointed to comments from President Trump about the country spending "billions and billions of dollars on pesticides," compared to the European Union and yet has far worse health outcomes. The group stated Trump had pledged that his administration would "ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, (and) pesticides."

Trump stated recently that Kennedy is "looking into (pesticides) very seriously because maybe it's not necessary to use all of that."

Last week, Trump signed an executive order establishing the "Make America Healthy Again" commission, chaired by Kennedy, to "assess the threat that potential over-utilization of ... certain chemicals, and certain other exposures pose to children" with a particular focus on "environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety."

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told reporters in late January, shortly after his confirmation, that he would defer to scientists when it comes to herbicides such as glyphosate and atrazine.

The Center's petition calls for:

-- The Food and Drug Administration to set up a comprehensive and mandatory enforcement framework that protects Americans from imported food contaminated by dangerous pesticides.

-- The EPA to ban use of extraordinarily toxic pesticides on food crops.

-- The USDA to condition farm subsidies on eliminating use of extraordinarily toxic pesticide on food crops.

-- Health and Human Services and USDA to include clear language in the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans to avoid foods contaminated with harmful pesticides.

In particular, the petition echoes both Trump's and Kennedy's concerns that numerous pesticides continue to be used in the United States that are banned in many other nations due to their strong links to human health harms. For example, China is one of 70 nations that have banned the paraquat, which is associated with Parkinson's disease and childhood leukemia; but Syngenta, which is owned by ChemChina, continues to sell paraquat in the United States under the brand name Gramoxone. The Center stated, "millions of pounds are used every year on crops like citrus, almonds, artichokes, garlic, pears, strawberries and grapes."

Over one-quarter of pesticides used today in the United States is of chemicals banned in the European Union, Brazil and China, the Center stated. The petition further seeks to ensure that imported foods are not contaminated with U.S.-banned pesticides that make it to U.S. markets due to lax and inadequate federal inspection and penalty regimes. Currently, foreign food imports account for the majority of pesticide-contamination violations detected by federal agencies, and the number of annual violations has not decreased in the past 10 years.

"President Trump should put an end to foreign corporations taking advantage of our lax pesticide laws to bolster their profits at the expense of our health," said Burd. "Democratic and Republican administrations alike have been too timid to take on powerful agribusiness interests in the past, but we hope this administration will have the courage to put a stop to this mass poisoning and put America on a path to better health."

Also see, "47 Members of Congress Ask EPA's Regan to Ban Use of Herbicide Paraquat," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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