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The case involving the popular weed killer Roundup is before the Supreme Court Monday, and at issue is whether that company makes it failed - whether the company that makes it failed to warn of possible risks of cancer. Activists with the Make America Healthy Again movement and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. himself have decried the product. But in recent months, the Trump administration has taken steps to protect Roundup's manufacturer and increase production of its active ingredient, glyphosate. As NPR's Lexie Schapitl reports, the fight over glyphosate is revealing tensions between MAHA and other conservative priorities.
LEXIE SCHAPITL, BYLINE: Kelly Ryerson has spent more than a decade pushing for the elimination of pesticides in the U.S. food system. Her primary target is the herbicide glyphosate. She's known as Glyphosate Girl on social media. So when Trump's Department of Justice filed a legal brief in support of Bayer, the chemical company that manufactures glyphosate in the United States...
KELLY RYERSON: We were absolutely heartbroken. It can't be overstated how important this issue is to the MAHA voter.
SCHAPITL: The World Health Organization in 2015 issued a report stating that glyphosate is, quote, "probably carcinogenic to humans," but the EPA has concluded that the chemical is not likely to cause cancer and does not pose a risk to human health when used correctly. The Trump administration says glyphosate is critical to America's farming and food supply. In addition to the brief supporting Bayer, the president in February issued an executive order to spur more domestic production of the chemical. That angered Make America Healthy Again activists.
HELENA BOTTEMILLER EVICH: MAHA hated this. They felt like it was this really big slap in the face, a betrayal.
SCHAPITL: Helena Bottemiller Evich is a reporter covering food policy.
BOTTEMILLER EVICH: You know, they heard President Trump talking about pesticides and kind of throwing them these bones of things that they wanted during the campaign. And now fast forward to today, and we have an EPA that's pretty deregulatory, that has been pretty industry-friendly in terms of how it handles pesticides and is now going to bat for glyphosate.
SCHAPITL: One MAHA podcaster compared the administration's reversal on glyphosate to finding out your husband was having an affair. Another MAHA leader said the executive order left her speechless. Food policy professionals say this fight is revealing the tension between MAHA promises and traditional Republican priorities, like deregulation, limited government and cutting federal spending. Registered dietitian Jessica Knurick calls it the contradiction at the heart of the MAHA movement.
JESSICA KNURICK: So many of the things that the MAHA movement wants, this administration is really regulating and legislating in the exact opposite direction. And I think for some people, the glyphosate executive order was really the first time that maybe that - that they had seen.
SCHAPITL: Knurick cites that Trump's EPA has narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act and rolled back a Biden-era rule to strengthen limits on air pollution.
KNURICK: If you want fewer toxins in the environment, you have to regulate polluting industries. And what we're seeing is a rollback of a lot of those regulations on polluting industries.
SCHAPITL: The tension could have political implications. MAHA leaders often tout the fact that Trump's alliance with now Secretary Kennedy - a longtime Democrat turned independent - brought new voters into the coalition that ultimately elected Trump in 2024. That includes voters who wouldn't call themselves Republicans and may not be reliable Republican votes in the future. Ryerson is a registered independent and a longtime supporter of Kennedy's. She says MAHA voters need to see meaningful action between now and November if they're going to turn out for Republicans.
RYERSON: They have certainly not done enough in terms of their MAHA promises at all. Certain things, of course, have been incredible. The problem is that the food and farming system hasn't been addressed. And, yes, those voters that took a chance on this administration are going to walk.
SCHAPITL: Ryerson and other MAHA leaders met with President Trump and Cabinet officials at the White House earlier this month. She says she's hopeful that the administration can correct its course on MAHA issues, and she says she knows aligning with Trump was a gamble.
RYERSON: I think that the appeal of Trump is that it was going to take someone that was so irreverent to actually stand up to the pesticide companies and chemical companies and say, we're done. Is there someone that is going to give the middle finger to a special interest? Who's going to do that? Probably Trump, right?
SCHAPITL: Many of MAHA's food policy priorities are widely popular across party lines. The Trump administration has recently shifted its focus toward those food-related goals and away from Secretary Kennedy's more divisive goals to curtail vaccine access. The fractures could pose an opportunity for Democrats to win back some disaffected MAHA voters. For now, though, Ryerson and other activists are focused on keeping the pressure on this administration. They'll be holding a rally outside the Supreme Court Monday when arguments begin.
Lexie Schapitl, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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