More than 1,000 Make America Healthy Again advocates are anticipated to attend a rally Monday morning in front of the Supreme Court to protest the Trump administration’s handling of the herbicide glyphosate, the main chemical in RoundUp.
The “People vs. Poison” rally, organized by the “Food Babe” health activist Vani Hari, is scheduled to coincide with Supreme Court oral arguments over whether Bayer, the maker of RoundUp, should be held legally liable for not informing its customers that glyphosate could cause cancer.
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Glyphosate, which has been at the center of environmentalist advocacy since it was declared a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2015, is one of the key troubles in the MAHA orbit that has strained the movement’s fragile relationship with the Republican Party.
The Trump administration’s handling of glyphosate in recent months has created tension between the movement and the GOP, spurring Hari and other advocates to protest.
“We need to do whatever it takes so that elected officials see that this is an issue worth carrying out and standing up to the special interests about,” Hari told the Washington Examiner in an interview before the rally.
In recent months, President Donald Trump and his Cabinet have sided with Bayer several times by attempting to shield the pharmaceutical giant from consumer liability. Bayer purchased Monsanto, the original maker of glyphosate, in 2018 following a series of legal cases in which juries sided against the company for not informing users of the risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other health risks.
The Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in March with the Supreme Court in the case Monsanto v. Durnell, which is being argued Monday afternoon, arguing that Bayer ought not be held liable.
Trump also issued an executive order this spring to boost domestic manufacturing of glyphosate, which until recently has been predominantly made in China. In doing so, he also provided an additional liability shield for the company.
Support for the executive order from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who, as an environmental lawyer, litigated against Monsanto, was widely seen by advocates as a betrayal of the MAHA movement’s core values.
Hari said that, if it were not for the executive order and the DOJ action, she and other MAHA activists would not have been as motivated to hold the rally or draw as much attention to glyphosate.
“The Trump administration made this an issue,” Hari said. “If they had just sat back and let Bayer fight their own fights, they wouldn’t have been involved in this situation right now.”
Anti-glyphosate advocacy and the broader push toward regenerative agriculture, as opposed to heavy use of pesticides and herbicides, have long been associated with left-of-center environmentalist movements. Hari said the rally will not be a partisan affair.
“This goes beyond the MAHA that is aligned with the Republican administration,” Hari said. “This is a bipartisan group. There are nonprofits that care deeply about these issues. There are individuals coming to speak from every walk of life.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) are listed among the featured speakers for the event, alongside representatives from a variety of advocacy groups, including Moms Across America, the Center for Food Safety, and the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense.
The outcome of the Supreme Court case could have implications for voter turnout in the 2026 midterm elections, particularly for female voters or the so-called “MAHA moms” that some analysts say tipped the scales in Trump’s favor in 2024.
“When I became a mom, nobody told me that I would be thinking about what I’m feeding my kids six times a day, three snacks and three meals,” Hari said. “Nobody told me that would be my job for the next 18 years. Women really, truly care about the food we are eating, the water we are drinking.”
According to a Politico poll measuring MAHA priorities conducted earlier this month, nearly 7 in 10 women support limiting pesticide use, including nearly 4 in 10 who strongly support reducing pesticides.
More than half of women in the poll said the Trump administration has not done enough to follow through on its promises to make the public healthier.
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Hari noted that midterm election turnout is traditionally lower than in presidential election years, but she said women will be even less motivated to turn out to deliver a GOP victory if they do not believe the administration is committed to their goals.
“Women do not come out to vote unless there’s hope,” Hari said, adding that mothers in particular need a spark of momentum to “leave their kids to go vote.”
