This article originally appeared on theDaily Caller News Foundationand was republished with permission.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order late Wednesday aiming to boost the production of glyphosate in the U.S., sparking major backlash among some health advocates.
The executive order invokes the Defense Production Act to safeguard the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides,accordingto a White House fact sheet. Trump wrote in the order that “ensuring an adequate supply of” both is “crucial to the national security and defense” of the U.S., “including food-supply security, which is essential to protecting the health and safety of Americans.”
Glyphosate is a commonly used herbicide that can be used to kill certain weeds and grasses, and it has been registered as a pesticide in the U.S. since 1974,accordingto the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). An Environmental Healthstudypublished in June 2025 found that low doses of glyphosate can cause multiple types of cancer in rats,perGeorge Mason University.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously publicly criticized glyphosate, writing in a June 2024 Xpostthat the herbicide “is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic.”
“Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide,” he added in the post. “From there it goes straight into our bodies. My USDA will ban that practice.”
“Donald Trump’s Executive Order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply,” Kennedy said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday. “We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it. When hostile actors control critical inputs, they weaken our security.”
“By expanding domestic production, we close that gap and protect American families,” he continued.
White House Spokesman Kush Desai told the DCNF in a statement on Thursday that “building modern weapons systems or growing enough food is impossible without elemental phosphorous.”
“America has just one domestic producer of phosphorous, and President Trump’s executive order safeguards our national security and food supply by addressing our precarious foreign reliance for this key input,” Desai added. “At the same time, HHS and [the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)] are pursuing more research into sustainable agricultural practices, including new crop protection tools. President Trump pledged to protect our country and Make America Healthy Again, and this Administration will never compromise on either priority.”
Source: The Vigilant Fox
