Government Expands U.S. Glyphosate Production and Liability Protections

President Trump issued an Executive Order on Feb. 18, 2026 prioritizing domestic production of glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, calling it critical to national security. Glyphosate has been the subject of extensive litigation in recent years and has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by some international health agencies, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer.^{1 2}

The Executive Order (EO) also directs increased domestic production of elemental phosphorus, which Trump describes as essential to military technologies, including radar systems, solar cells, and sensors. In the order, glyphosate is framed as a downstream product that relies on phosphorus as a core ingredient in its manufacturing process.²

According to the EO, glyphosate enables U.S. farmers to “efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed.” It further states that the United States currently has “only a single domestic producer of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides,” and that this producer does not meet annual demand, resulting in the importation of approximately six million kilograms of elemental phosphorus each year.²

The EO also provides limited liability protections for glyphosate manufacturers, which the administration argues are strategically important to the nation’s agricultural stability and defense supply chains. Critics say the move mirrors past federal actions granting liability protections to other industries, most notably protections extended to vaccine manufacturers under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which shields vaccine manufacturers from most civil lawsuits related to vaccine injuries and deaths. Critics argue the comparison raises familiar questions about accountability when commercial products at the center of public health controversy, particularly those linked to documented health concerns, receive federal liability protections.²

Bayer Hit With $7.25 Billion Roundup Settlement on Eve of White House Glyphosate Order

Just a day prior to the White House announcement, Bayer, the German chemical titan that manufactures RoundUp weed killer, agreed to pay $7.25 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging the product causes cancer. According to a website tracking ongoing litigation, Bayer has paid approximately $11 billion to settle nearly 100,000 Roundup lawsuits, with roughly 61,000 still pending.³

“We’ve Hit the Iceberg”: Regenerative Farmer Likens U.S. Food System to Titanic

Greg Paul, a regenerative farmer in Powhatan, Virginia, criticized the executive order while cautioning that eliminating glyphosate overnight is not a realistic solution. In his farm’s e-mail newsletter, he said:

Glyphosate isn’t just a chemical; it’s a symbol of everything that’s wrong with modern agriculture—soil stripped bare, nutrients mined away, ecosystems destabilized, and our bodies paying the price.

At the same time, Paul acknowledges the deep structural dependence embedded in the current food system. “Our modern food system is heavily dependent on synthetic herbicides and mined fertilizers. Glyphosate is used across conventional agriculture to control weeds at scale,” he said. “As much as I would personally love to see us move away from chemical dependency overnight, we simply can’t flip a switch tomorrow and outlaw glyphosate without consequences.”⁴

According to Paul, who oversees the regenerative, pasture-based Chicory Hill Farm, an immediate ban would cause ripple effects far beyond weed control. “If glyphosate disappeared tomorrow, many large farms would struggle to adapt. An instant ban would mean no more meat on grocery store shelves—remember, the majority of grains grown in the U.S. are used to feed livestock. It would also affect grains and other foods, potentially producing famine in our country.” For that reason, he argues, “we need transition, not implosion.”⁴

Paul likens the American food system to the Titanic. “We’ve hit the iceberg—chemical dependency, degraded soil, declining nutrient density, chronic disease. We know there’s a problem. We’re trying to turn the ship. But we don’t have enough lifeboats.” Those “lifeboats,” he explains, are regenerative farms—operations focused on rebuilding soil health, integrating livestock with diverse cropping systems, reducing or eliminating synthetic inputs, and producing more nutrient-dense food.⁴

While the number of regenerative farms is growing, Paul says the sector is not yet large enough to replace conventional production if it were to collapse abruptly. “Abruptly outlawing glyphosate would not magically transition us into a regenerative utopia—it would likely create instability and hardship, and the most vulnerable families would feel it first.”⁴

“Not Harmless”: Health Warnings and a Retracted Safety Review

In an August 2025 Substack article compiling research on glyphosate’s environmental and health impacts, nutritionist Sina McCullough, PhD argued that the chemical’s reach extends far beyond weed control. “From soil to cells, glyphosate is practically everywhere—and it’s not harmless,” she wrote. “It disrupts soil microbes, strips crops of key minerals, and turns up in everything from breakfast cereals to chicken meat.”⁵

Dr. McCullough cited studies linking glyphosate exposure to cancer, gut dysbiosis, sleep disturbances, liver and kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, and reproductive issues. She encouraged readers to “vote with your dollars” to reduce dietary exposure and to engage in policy advocacy, including opposing liability protections for chemical manufacturers. “Pair that with informed advocacy by opposing immunity bills that strip consumers of legal recourse and let the chemical companies dodge accountability,” she wrote.⁵

In late 2025, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology formally retracted the landmark 2000 glyphosate safety review that had served for decades as a key reference for regulators asserting that Roundup poses no cancer risk to humans.⁶

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