Rep Anna Luna Lays Down the Stats on Pesticide Study
I never thought I’d have to be debating liability protections for pesticide companies, yet here I am today, and I’d like to share some stats with you. A major study found that pesticide mixtures increased childhood leukemia by 23%, brain cancer by 36%, and overall childhood cancer by 30%.
Processed Food, SNAP, EBT Increasing Cancer Risk
We find that a majority of Americans specifically that do rely on SNAP and EBT are being fed massively processed foods that are increasing their cancer risk, not to mention as a whole I think that this is something that we should all get behind and that we do not want to ever provide or be on the side of cancer causing anything even in the farm bill.
Maternal Exposure to Cancer Causing Pesticides Study
Research shows that maternal exposure to pesticides at home or at work is linked to a higher risk of leukemia cancer in children. These pesticides are known to cross the placenta and impact fetal development. In addition to that, a review of over 174 studies from 2013 to 2023 found constant and consistent links between pesticides exposures and leukemia, brain cancers, rare childhood cancers.
Protecting American People from Dangerous Special Interest Groups
There’s far too much special money and interest going into policies like the Farm Bill. So while people claim that they’re in an opposition, if you pull FEC reportings, and reports of which we do have screenshots of all of that, it says quite otherwise. I would like to, ma’am, if you’d like to speak, yield as much time as you would like to speak in support of this. Thank you very much.
Rep Chellie Pingree Supporting the Farm Bill Amendment
I thank the gentlelady for both presenting this amendment to the farm bill, which I also supported, and speaking in favor of it. Pesticide preemption has received an extraordinary amount of attention in the past year, as is appropriate when the federal government considers overriding states’ rights.
The Mandate Production of Glyphosate and State Liability Laws
Litigation on this topic was discussed at the Supreme Court on Monday. A dominant pesticide company just announced a possible settlement of $7.25 billion, and President Trump has invoked national security powers to mandate the production of glyphosate. There is opposition to federal preemption of state liability laws on both sides of the aisle. Yet the Republican majority insisted at every turn on including these provisions in what should be a bipartisan farm bill that delivers for farmers and families.
Farm Bill Amendment Explanation
This amendment to the Farm Bill is not extreme. It would not ban pesticides or require any additional regulatory burden on the manufacturers. Quite literally, it would preserve the status quo and allow the Supreme Court to examine this issue separately and the complicated legal issues at its core. The question of federal preemption also sits next to a truly poisonous provision that would waive all other laws for registered pesticides, including the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
Acknowledge the Bipartisan Effort
It’s astonishing to me that my Republican colleagues wrote this bill to abolish that protection for rural communities and water supplies. I want to acknowledge the bipartisan effort by members in Congress and invested citizens on the outside whose relentless efforts are why this amendment to the Farm Bill was even allowed to be debated today. I thank you, Representative Luna, for your tireless efforts on this front, and I hope my colleagues will heed your example and vote for this amendment.
Rep Anna Luna Farm Bill Vote
So I’ve got some good news for you guys. I just talked to the speaker. Sam, have you heard about the good news? What’s the good news? We have the Farm Bill getting voted today. Farm Bill today? No pesticide provisions? No pesticides. See, we don’t like giving kids cancer. She’s fighting to make sure that those provisions are not in there. Mahalo.
