Lawsuit demands USDA release records on glyphosate executive order

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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is violating the law by failing to turn over records related to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump protecting production of the controversial pesticide glyphosate, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, seeks to force the USDA to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request the center submitted on Feb. 26 requesting records related to how and why the order was developed. 

“The main thing we’re hoping to understand is who in particular pushed for this?” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit organization that advocates for environment and health issues. 

“The main thing we’re hoping to understand is who in particular pushed for this?” – Brett Hartl, The Center for Biological Diversity

The order was widely questioned by public health and environmental groups who saw the move by the Trump administration as directly benefitting Germany’s Bayer, which manufactures glyphosate in the US and is a key supplier of glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Roundup. Glyphosate herbicides have been linked to health issues such as cancer, and Bayer is currently fending off tens of thousands of lawsuits brought by people suffering from cancer they blame on exposure to the company’s products.

Bayer has been lobbying for federal and state laws to protect it from further litigation, and has asked the US Supreme Court for a ruling that would preempt key claims in the lawsuits. 

The Supreme Court decision could be issued this week and will determine whether people can bring failure-to-warn legal claims against pesticide companies in the future.

Defense Production Act

Citing national security, the February order was issued under the Defense Production Act. The order calls for the defense of both glyphosate and elemental phosphorus, the raw material used to make controversial white phosphorus weapons. 

According to the World Health Organization, white phosphorus can cause deep and severe burns, penetrating even through bone. Because of this, its specific uses are regulated by international humanitarian law.

Bayer is currently the only domestic producer of both elemental phosphorus and glyphosate.

The Center for Biological Diversity points out that the executive order is unique in its language granting “immunity” to chemical companies that make glyphosate.

“One thing that we have seen from the pesticide industry, which is playing out at the Supreme Court now, is that one of their very clear goals is to try to insulate their activities through immunity provisions in as many ways as possible,” said Hartl.

“Records shedding light on issues of such consequence like the health of our environment are of tremendous public concern,” wrote Gunita Singh in an email, who works as a staff attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. 

“At a time when environmental peril is on so many people’s minds, relevant agencies should be working thoughtfully with requesters to get non-exempt information into the public domain in order to foster engaged discussion instead of leaving us in the dark,” Singh added.

When asked about a specific timeline for a response, a USDA Spokesperson said they will not comment on pending litigation.

Hartl is confident the center will receive records from the suit in the next two to three months, as they push for more transparency around the decision. “Understanding who benefits from a particular government policy is important,” Hartl said, because “it makes clear then who isn’t benefiting from that policy.”

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash