Trump order to ensure farmers have herbicides to harvest safe, affordable food supply sparks debate

There’s an uproar over President Trump’s recent executive order impacting a widely used weedkiller linked to cancer. Some say it could give broad legal immunity to makers of Roundup and dozens of other products. The debate crosses party lines with some farmers siding with the industry. 

But health advocate Leah Wilson, head of the nonprofit Stand for Health Freedom, says giving the pesticide industry immunity would be hazardous to our health.

“What if I told you that there's a coordinated effort to stop food reform in the US and that effort is being carried out by the big chemical industry to make sure that they don't lose their market share of the food market?” Wilson asks Full Measure in a recent interview.

She says the pesticide industry is pressing hard for exemption from liability lawsuits ... modeled after protections the vaccine industry convinced Congress to pass 40 years ago.

The controversial National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 largely exempts vaccine makers from liability for injuries, such as brain damage blamed on the childhood DPT vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. 

Wilson says that resulted in an explosion in vaccines and related alleged injuries that industry now cannot be held responsible for.

Today, pesticide interests are lobbying for similar actions that they claim are needed to protect America’s food production.

They argue that lawsuits alleging health dangers, like cancer from glyphosate in Roundup threaten food production because large-scale, efficient farming requires weed and pest control chemicals.

In February, President Trump issued an executive order under the Defense Production Act to boost production of the chemical to protect America's food supply. It gives some immunity. Experts say it’s not a blanket shield, only for acts related to complying with the order. Its impact is uncertain.

The EPA has long insisted glyphosate is safe when used as directed and that Roundup doesn’t need cancer warnings. Yet the company recently proposed a $7.25 billion class-action settlement for current and future cancer claims and has already paid out over $11 billion.

The executive order states elemental phosphorus is a "critical precursor element for the production of glyphosate-based herbicides – "which play a critical role in maintaining America’s agricultural advantage by enabling farmers to efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed." 

The order also states that such herbicides are "the most widely used crop protection tools in the United States" and a "cornerstone" of the country's "agricultural productivity and rural economy."

A bipartisan group in Congress is pushing to try to reverse President Trump’s executive order and ensure that injured people can sue pesticide makers.

For more on this story, watch "Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” Sunday. Attkisson's most recent book is "Follow the $cience: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails.”