MAHA Commission Report sparks ag industry outrage
The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Report, titled “The MAHA Report: Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment,” was released on May 22 and highlights what the commission believes to be the four primary factors leading to childhood chronic disease – poor diets, exposure to environmental chemicals, stress and physical inactivity and overmedication.
The highly-anticipated 68-page report sparked outrage across the U.S. ag industry for calling out American farmers and ranchers and making bold statements about the nation’s food system.
Contradictory information
Specifically, multiple organizations voiced their concern about the report’s contradictory information and possible implications.
In a May 22 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) press release, AFBF President Zippy Duvall says it is “deeply troubling for the White House to endorse a report that sows seeds of doubt and fear in the nation’s food system and farming practices, then attempts to celebrate farmers and the critical role they play in producing the safest food supply in the world.”
“Farmers are identified as ‘critical partners,’ yet were excluded from development of the report, despite many requests for a seat at the table,” Duvall continues.
He goes on, “The report also expresses a desire to ensure farmers continue to thrive, but undermining confidence in our food system directly contradicts this noble goal. The report spotlights outlier studies and presents unproven theories which feed a false narrative, and only then does it acknowledge a mountain of evidence about the safety of our food system. We suspect the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had a prominent role in the report’s recognition farmers are the critical first step in the food system, but as a whole, the report falls short.”
The American Soybean Association (ASA) released a statement in strong opposition of the report as well, noting it is “brazenly unscientific and damaging to consumer confidence.”
ASA says it is “disturbed the MAHA report contains recommendations not grounded in science and seem to advance the agenda of food elitists and activist groups which have long sought to undermine U.S. agriculture.”
“These developments are even more troubling after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. falsely assured members of Congress earlier in the week of the report’s release that, ‘there is not a single word in the report that should worry the American farmer,’” ASA writes in a press release.
“Should the administration act on the report – which was drafted entirely behind closed doors – it will harm U.S. farmers, increase food costs for consumers and worsen health outcomes for all Americans,” ASA continues. “ASA calls on President Donald J. Trump, who has long been a friend of farmers, to step in and correct the commission’s deeply misguided report.”
Additionally, ASA Director Alan Meadows, a farmer from Halls, Tenn., comments, “Both farmers and members of Congress tried to warn the administration activist groups were trying to hijack the MAHA Commission to advance their longstanding goal of harming U.S. farmers. Reading this report, it appears this is exactly what has happened.”
Unscientific claims
Another big sticking point for groups enraged by the report is the commission’s stance on pesticides.
In the report, the commission highlights the potential hazards of glyphosate-based Roundup and makes several recommendations regarding the “critical role farmers play in children’s health.”
The report also emphasizes the need for further research on the cumulative effects of pesticide exposure, particularly in children; urges the use of better tools to assess how multiple exposures to pesticides affects long-term health; calls for the launch of a national initiative to map interactions with pesticides, pollutants and endocrine disruptors affecting childhood disease risks and encourages investments in new test models, as well as surveillance powered by artificial intelligence.
For glyphosate specifically, MAHA highlights studies showing potential health effects, including reproductive and developmental disorders, cancer and liver inflammation, but then goes on to say the federal government’s review of epidemiologic data “did not establish a direct link between use, according to label directions and health outcomes.”
In a May 22 press release published by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), the organization voices concern the report is filled with fear-based information about pesticides, rather than science-based evidence.
“We are deeply troubled claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of Environmental Protection Agency expert evaluations of these products,” NCGA writes. “Decades of extensive research and testing show pesticides, including atrazine and glyphosate, can be applied safely for their intended uses.”
“If the administration’s goal is to bring more efficiency to government, then why is the HHS secretary duplicating efforts by raising questions about pesticides which have been answered repeatedly through research and reviews by federal regulatory bodies?” asks NCGA.
Additionally, the Modern Ag Alliance notes it is concerned the report will drive future policy decisions regarding pesticides in a direction which would harm the ag industry.
“For example, without glyphosate – the most widely used weed-fighting tool by U.S. farmers – crop yields would decline, input costs would surge by 150 percent and food inflation would more than double,” the alliance states.
“We’ve already seen the disastrous effects of policies like these which have been contemplated by certain leaders of the MAHA Commission,” adds Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Modern Ag Alliance executive director. “When Sri Lanka prohibited the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in 2021, crop yields fell by over 50 percent, forcing the government to import massive amounts of food just to meet basic needs. We should be focused on moving American agriculture and the country forward.”
Also in the report, MAHA contributes the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPAs) as a leading driver in childhood chronic disease, then goes on to classify seed oils as UPAs.
In response, ASA says, “Significant research conducted over decades shows plant-based oils are low in saturated fats and can improve health outcomes. For example, a March 2025 study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found, after following more than 220,000 individuals for more than 30 years, frequent consumption of plant-based oils led to a 16 percent reduction in cancer, cardiovascular disease and other ailments when compared to alternatives high in saturated fat.”
ASA also cites a “third-party economic study” released in April conducted on behalf of ASA and the United Soybean Board which found removing seed oils from the food supply could “increase consumer costs for edible fats and oils by as much as 42 percent.”
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
