Week in Review: A MAHA win in the farm bill 

This week the House of Representatives passed its version of the farm bill, and now the Senate must pass its version before it goes to the president for signing. 

Supporters say it passed with bipartisan support, as indeed, 14 Democratic reps joined Republicans to pass it 224-200. 

An earlier version of the bill had a provision that would have blocked some lawsuits against pesticide makers. 

GOP reps aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement fought the provision, and it was removed, signaling a win for the MAHA side. 

The House voted 280-142 to remove the language, with most Democrats joined by about one-third of Republicans. 

The pesticide issues mainly centers on glyphosate, a pesticide used in Roundup, which studies have shown is linked to raising cancer rates. 

MAHA leader and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a vocal critic of glyphosate and other pesticides as part of his clean eating message. 

This week, organic produce veteran Todd Linksy wrote a column calling the provision hypocrisy for going against the MAHA priority of tackling the root cause of our nation’s health crisis. 

MAHA is generally good for the produce industry, as it prioritizes eating real, whole food, which is precisely what fresh fruits and vegetables are. 

And the new dietary guidelines strongly support increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. 

However, as we’ve seen with the decades of bad publicity around the Dirty Dozen, the produce industry can’t afford to get caught up in a debate of organic vs. conventional, which can confuse consumers about what fruits and vegetables are actually healthy. 

They all are, and that must be the message the industry preaches. 

Pesticides are necessary to produce a commercial food supply, and even organic food uses non-synthetic pesticides and herbicides. 

Holding pesticide companies accountable for their products is good policy, but the industry must continue to rely on the science that shows where the line is between safe and toxic for human consumption.