Health advocates feel betrayed after Supreme Court rules Roundup maker doesn't need to warn of cancer risk

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Bayer, the company that makes Roundup weed killer, does not have to warn customers about a possible cancer risk. The decision upset many members of the 'Make America Healthy Again,' or MAHA, movement, who want harmful chemicals removed from the food supply. They said the ruling felt like a betrayal, even though they had supported the Trump administration. The decision will likely stop thousands of lawsuits in state courts.

Roundup's main chemical ingredient is called glyphosate. Many scientists believe glyphosate may be linked to a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A group of health advocates called 'MAHA moms' rallied outside the Supreme Court and also met with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Trump at the White House to talk about pesticide dangers.

The case involved a Missouri man named John Durnell, who sued Monsanto in 2019 after he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He said 20 years of using Roundup had caused his illness, and a jury awarded him $1.25 million in 2023. Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, appealed, and the Trump administration sided with Bayer. The Supreme Court voted 7–2 in Bayer's favor.

The World Health Organization's cancer research group said in 2015 that glyphosate was 'probably carcinogenic to humans,' meaning it could likely cause cancer. But the EPA ruled in 2020 that glyphosate probably does not cause cancer. Some researchers say the EPA relied on unpublished studies paid for by the pesticide industry, rather than independent peer-reviewed research. Professor Lianne Sheppard said the WHO group 'got it right' and that the evidence has only grown stronger since 2015.

Many MAHA voices were angry about the ruling. Food activist Vani Hari, known as 'Food Babe,' called the decision 'sickening' and said Congress must act. Kelly Ryerson, called 'Glyphosate Girl,' wrote on X that the ruling was 'unforgivable.' She promised voters would find out how the decision came about.

This ruling was just the latest conflict between the MAHA movement and the Trump administration. Trump had already angered some MAHA supporters in February when he signed an order to increase the supply of glyphosate. Other MAHA concerns included expanded access to flavored e-cigarettes and rollbacks of rules limiting mercury and other chemicals in water. Nutritionist Michaela Bardossas said MAHA moms were 'not as motivated to vote' because they were not getting what they expected.

In Congress, Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna said she will introduce a bill to remove legal protections from pesticide companies. She wrote that companies 'purposefully omit labeling information knowing their products cause cancer.' Luna had already helped stop a farm bill provision that would have shielded Bayer from lawsuits. MAHA activists are now focusing their energy on pushing Congress to take action.