RFK Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' report worries farmers,
Republicans ahead of release
[May 22, 2025]
By AMANDA SEITZ
WASHINGTON (AP) — A highly-anticipated White House report about
childhood diseases has provoked a tug-of-war pitting farmers and some
prominent Republican lawmakers against health secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement ahead of its
release.
President Donald Trump promised a review within 100 days that would
analyze the ramifications that U.S. lifestyle — from the medications
prescribed for children to the food served on their school lunch trays —
has on childhood diseases like obesity, depression or attention deficit
disorder. The report, led by a so-called “MAHA Commission,” is expected
to be released on Thursday.
Farmers and Republicans are nervous about what the report might say
about glyphosate, the ingredient commonly used in pesticides sprayed on
crops. Kennedy has denied the report will be unfavorable to farmers.
Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck
Grassley warned that farmers have reached out to him, upset they have
not been able to provide input on the MAHA report ahead of its release.
“I hope there is nothing in the MAHA report that jeopardizes the food
supply or the livelihood of farmers,” Grassley said.
Last month, a group of 79 Republicans — including several senators who
represent farming states — echoed similar concerns about the report
saying in a letter to Kennedy that without the products agricultural
“yields and quantity are negatively impacted.”
Glyphosate has been available for about 50 years and some farmers say it
remains essential for controlling weeds without excessive tilling,
helping to conserve both soil and fuel.
“There’s a reason why we still use: It works,” said Blake Hurst, a
Missouri farmer who is past president of the Missouri Farm Bureau.
Kennedy, though, has built a sizable following over many decades, in
part, because of the lawsuits he's waged against corporations, including
the company that produced weedkiller Roundup. The World Health
Organization has labeled that product's key ingredient, glyphosate, as a
probable carcinogen for humans.
On Wednesday a large group of his supporters sent Kennedy a letter
calling on the commission to “hold the chemical industry” accountable in
the report, noting that pressure is mounting.
“Evidence is piling up and the risks from pesticide exposure are
undeniable,” the letter, signed by 360 self-proclaimed MAHA supporters
that include farmers, former Kennedy campaign staffers and those who
worked with him at his anti-vaccine nonprofit.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies
before a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to
examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the
Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday,
May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
 Dave Murphy, a fundraiser for
Kennedy's failed presidential bid, said that he submitted studies
and comments on pesticides to Trump administration officials for
inclusion in the MAHA report but said that there's “a lot of
pressure within Washington” over what the final report says on the
issue.
During a senate hearing on Wednesday, Kennedy
rebutted concerns from Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith
that the report would “unfairly” target farmers.
“There's not a single word in them that should worry the American
farmer,” Kennedy said of his report. “We are not going to do
anything to jeopardize that business model.”
Kennedy was appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee to
discuss the White House's proposed budget, which would give a $500
million boost for Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.
That same proposal also makes deep cuts, including to infectious
disease prevention, maternal health and medical research programs.
In February, Trump signed an executive order establishing a Make
America Healthy Again Commission tasked with examining the “threat”
that prescription drugs, chemicals and certain food ingredients pose
to children.
That review was supposed to be led by several members of the
president's cabinet, including Kennedy, Brooke Rollins, the
agriculture secretary, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner
Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National
Institutes of Health.
Kennedy, who has pledged “radical transparency” since taking over
the nation's health department, never convened a public meeting of
the commission. The White House only released brief, edited clips
from a single, closed-door meeting of the commission held in March.
A White House spokesman called the report, which has not been
released, a “historic step,” without sharing further details.
___
Associated Press writers David Lieb in Missouri and Michelle L.
Price in Washington contributed.
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