Public Health and Pesticides

At her Feb. 25, 2026 confirmation hearing, Surgeon General nominee Dr. Casey Means told Sen. Ed Markey she is "gravely concerned" that toxic inputs like glyphosate pose health risks and said the U.S. should study them more and help farmers transition to sustainable practices, aligning her with the MAHA movement’s skepticism of such pesticides. Markey pressed her on an apparent rift between MAHA and President Trump's executive order promoting domestic glyphosate production — a policy defended by allies such as RFK Jr. — noting tensions between her past cancer‑risk comments and the White House while the EPA maintains there is no evidence glyphosate causes cancer in humans.