Glyphosate: The Chemical Putting Pressure On RFK Jr.

[0:05] When glyphosate was introduced, it was a miracle. [0:07] It truly was. [0:09] Before that time, we had to till the ground twice. [0:12] It changed our lives in a very good way. [0:15] In April, the Supreme Court took up a case around glyphosate, [0:18] a weed-killing herbicide sold commercially by Monsanto [0:21] under the brand name Roundup. [0:24] The chemical maker is a subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer. [0:28] The chemical is used to kill weeds. [0:31] But litigants over the years have said the chemical causes cancer [0:34] blaming it on their diagnoses and suing Bayer and Monsanto [0:38] for millions of dollars. [0:40] Here's the background. [0:40] Monsanto was asking the court to protect them [0:45] from lawsuits filed by cancer patients. [0:49] But just last month, President Trump, in a brief, [0:52] asked the Supreme Court to side with Monsanto. [0:56] And Monsanto was thrilled. [0:59] The high court is determining whether federal laws [1:01] preempt state-level lawsuits, [1:03] stemming from the absence of warning labels [1:05] for products containing the chemical. [1:07] In a statement to CNBC, a Bayer spokesperson said that [1:10] no health regulator anywhere in the world [1:13] has ever found glyphosate to pose a risk to human health. [1:16] This isn't the only development for glyphosate in Washington. [1:19] President Donald Trump, in February, signed an executive order [1:22] to promote the domestic production of glyphosate. [1:25] He used a law called the Defense Production Act to do it. [1:28] That means that the government will take efforts to procure glyphosate [1:32] because it's deemed as a national security priority. [1:35] That executive order incensed Make America Healthy Again supporters [1:40] who are opposed to glyphosate in agriculture. [1:43] I don't think he's trying to protect Monsanto. [1:45] I think he's trying to protect the 80% of American farmers [1:49] who are addicted to glyphosate. [1:51] The Maha coalition was a sizable voting bloc [1:54] that helped deliver President Trump the White House. [1:56] If they lose the Maha coalition, they're at serious risk [1:59] of losing the Senate and losing the House of Representatives [2:02] in the upcoming midterms. [2:06] Blake Hurst is a farmer who relies on Roundup. [2:09] I grow corn and soybeans and flowers, [2:12] and I've been farming here for 49 years. [2:15] Most of my corn is fed to animals, goes to pigs. [2:18] We use these chemicals to replace labor. [2:20] I couldn't possibly cultivate all of my acres that I grow. [2:24] I don't have the labor. [2:24] I don't have a way to do it. [2:27] Farmers rely on Roundup for several reasons. [2:29] The first of which is it's just really efficient. [2:31] Think planes dropping glyphosate over big fields of crops, [2:35] or think big machinery being used to target areas [2:38] that might be prone to weeds. [2:40] Roundup kills weeds, and it doesn't kill the plant [2:43] that they're trying to grow. [2:45] Another reason farmers use it is it allows them to do things [2:48] like till less, which helps the soil remain healthier. [2:52] We are no-till farmers, meaning we don't control the weeds [2:55] mechanically, we don't till the soil, which saves soil, [2:59] which cuts down on erosion and also cuts down [3:02] our use of fossil fuel products. [3:05] We can lose up to 30 to 40% of our production [3:08] if we don't control weeds, so it's a big challenge. [3:12] There are very real concerns that glyphosate is a carcinogen, [3:15] and that this chemical that could cause cancer [3:18] is pervasive through our food system. [3:20] There's extensive research on the negative health impacts [3:23] from glyphosate, the one that is highlighted often [3:27] is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. [3:28] There's also research on all kinds of different [3:31] physiological effects that glyphosate has, [3:33] specifically on endocrine disruption impacting fertility. [3:37] The Environmental Protection Agency, [3:38] which regulates pesticides and herbicides, [3:41] does not classify glyphosate as a carcinogen, [3:44] and therefore does not require disclosures of cancer risk. [3:47] It is not hazardous. [3:50] The EPA, the Canadian counterpart to the EPA, [3:53] the European Union, all have found glyphosate [3:57] not dangerous, not a threat. [3:59] The company has faced thousands of lawsuits [4:02] over the lack of health risk disclosures [4:04] on their Roundup product. [4:06] Glyphosate ends up in our food supply a few different ways. [4:10] The primary way is through something called [4:12] pre-harvest desiccation, where farmers want to ripen [4:16] an entire field of grains at one time [4:19] to make it easier to harvest. [4:20] This has been happening for about 20 years, [4:22] where the farmer will spray it just before harvest [4:24] with glyphosate, and then they'll go and they'll harvest it. [4:27] The average consumer has no danger [4:31] from the products I'm using here on my farm. [4:34] Farm groups and President Trump both made the case [4:36] that there's no direct alternative to glyphosate. [4:39] They say there's just nothing else they can use [4:42] that will protect crops as well as Roundup does. [4:45] What do we do without glyphosate? [4:47] Well, we continue to spray, and we'll use chemicals [4:50] that are more dangerous to me and the people around me [4:53] who apply these chemicals. [4:57] RFK's nomination to lead the Health and Human Services [5:00] department caused a lot of fear in the agriculture community. [5:03] Since joining the administration, Kennedy has made clear [5:06] he's still no big fan of glyphosate. [5:08] You guys helped create this problem over the past 30 years. [5:11] And you just told the big corporation [5:13] that they don't even have liability for it anymore. [5:16] It is dealing with a national security vulnerability [5:18] where the Chinese could shut off our food supply [5:21] in a single day. [5:22] Department of Health and Human Services Secretary [5:24] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long history [5:26] of being opposed to glyphosate as an attorney. [5:29] He actually took Monsanto to court over the issue [5:31] back in the 2010s. [5:33] Maha supporters, though, were willing to come along [5:36] to support Trump at Kennedy's behest [5:38] because they saw someone talking about [5:40] what they have lobbied so long for, [5:43] which is to get chemicals out of the food system. [5:46] The combination of the executive order [5:48] and going to bat for bear at the Supreme Court [5:50] are really inexcusable. [5:52] And I think it showed a deep disconnect [5:54] between what the administration thinks [5:56] that Maha cares about and what is actually true. [6:00] There's a real conflict around glyphosate. [6:02] If all of a sudden glyphosate wasn't available [6:04] for farmers to use, yields would likely fall, [6:07] and that would likely make food prices go way up. [6:10] There are also very real political concerns [6:12] for the White House and Republicans, [6:14] who could lose their control of both the House [6:16] of Representatives and the Senate come November. [6:19] The likelihood isn't that people are so frustrated [6:22] in the Maha movement they go and vote for a Democrat. [6:24] They just won't vote.