(The Lion) — The Trump administration is encouraging the Make America Healthy Again movement not to lose faith, after sparking fury from a recent executive order to boost production of an herbicide MAHA has spent years fighting.
President Donald Trump last week signed an order to ensure “an adequate supply” of glyphosate, an herbicide used in Roundup weed killer, calling it crucial for “national security and defense, including food-supply security, which is essential to protecting the health and safety of Americans.”
Yet the MAHA movement has long railed against the herbicide, arguing exposure to it causes an array of health issues, including cancer. Groups within MAHA, such as Moms Across America, have expressed outrage over the executive order, calling it “a love letter to glyphosate.” Fitness trainer Jillian Michaels called the executive order “devastating” and accused Trump of giving “blanket immunity” for dangerous chemical companies.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz acknowledged the frustration to The Lion’s Chris Stigall, urging MAHA to give the system time to adapt to healthier solutions.
“Why would the government be supportive of a toxin that’s used to kill weeds if it could be dangerous to humans as well? We’re in an addicted situation,” he said. With the entire farming industry using chemicals to control weeds, “if you just suddenly shut it off without any kind of preparation, without any kind of a plan B, using the many other possible techniques of dealing with weeds, you’re going to destroy farmers.”
It’s already hard to keep people in the farming sector, he added, and a sudden shut-off of glyphosate would “dramatically elevate” the cost of food.
“If you give the system time, it will adapt,” Oz said, noting that farmers are innovative and hardworking people. “Give them tools, fund those alternatives, and they will take advantage of those opportunities.”
The Trump administration is tackling the broader issues by investing a billion dollars into regenerative farming, he said, funds that will be used for research about pesticides and “better ways of killing weeds without hurting people.”
“In the meantime, if you drive the business to stop making the product, and you bankrupt the entire farming industry, you have an issue,” Oz said. “But believe me, when you’re putting a billion dollars and then figuring out a better way of making healthy food, that shows a commitment.”
Oz encouraged Americans to buy organic food if they can afford it, and expressed optimism about farmers moving towards greener methods.
“Farming doesn’t take place in a year or two or three,” he said. “We need to send a message throughout the farming sector, which has been done now, that this issue with pesticides and herbicides is not going away. We want it addressed, and we’re going to invest in the system to make sure that our farming stays strong, while we ensure that Americans feel comfortable that they’re not being hurt.”
Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Kyle Diamantis reinforced that view, framing the glyphosate backlash as a bump in a longer road for the movement.
“What I would say in response to those MAHA moms and dads who are passionate about this, is that the movement is not linear,” Diamantis told Stigall in a separate interview. From the civil rights movement to women’s suffrage, successful movements often face “troughs where issues happen.”
“The MAHA movement should stick with us on this,” he said. “We understand the passion there, but just know that this is a long term trajectory for the MAHA movement. It’s something the Secretary and the administration are absolutely committed to. This may be viewed as a setback, but the MAHA movement will continue.”
The glyphosate battle, both health officials suggested, is just one front. Oz outlined the administration’s wider health agenda, which includes embracing artificial intelligence as a personal health coach to help people monitor their prescriptions, track exercise and diet, and scope out insurance coverage and benefits.
The administration has already made rapid progress in food and drug reforms, Oz said, including revamping the food pyramid and lowering drug prices through TrumpRx.gov, to ensure that Americans aren’t paying inflated prescription prices compared to other countries.
Reducing dependency on junk food and encouraging even small amounts of movement – such as ten minutes of walking a day – will go a long way in accomplishing a healthier nation, he added.
“The most important thing we do in MAHA is reduce obesity. If we do that, we’ll cut our health care costs in half,” Oz said. “The reason we’re twice as expensive to take care of per capita than any European country is because we’re twice as fat as any European country, and so if we can deal with these underlying health care preventive issues, it’s going to save us a ton of money.”
