RFK Jr. Tells Farmers, GOP Not To Worry About His Report Targeting Pesticides

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought Tuesday to reassure farmers and one Republican senator about his upcoming report on how pesticides are driving up rates of childhood chronic diseases, acknowledging that chemicals like glyphosate that he has long criticized are widely used for growing crops in the U.S.

“I have said repeatedly throughout this process, that we cannot take any step that will put a single farmer in this country out of business,” Kennedy said at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “There’s a million farmers who rely on glyphosate. 100% of corn in this country relies on glyphosate. We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model.”

The White House in February tasked Kennedy with leading a “Make America Healthy Again Commission,” which is producing a report assessing the threat of a range of issues that might be causing disease in children.

Targets include the “potential over-utilization of medication, certain food ingredients, certain chemicals, and certain other exposures” in children. Kennedy said their report was due to be released Thursday.