04
Jul
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Protecting Health and the Environment This Independence Day
(Beyond Pesticides, July 3-4, 2025) On this Independence Day, Beyond Pesticides calls for holistic solutions that, as articulated in the Declaration of Independence, move the nation to ensure “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.†The founders of the United States were aware of the existential threat of corruption to democratic institutions. Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, warned in Federalist No. 68 of The Federalist Papers that the presidency could be overtaken by a despotic figure without adequate safeguards. James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, in Federalist No. 10 speaks to the danger that factions—defined as a group of people or entities “… who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the communityâ€â€”impose on the general public, if not checked by safeguards in the country’s political system.
The foundational principles in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have been challenged under the current administration and in the U.S. Congress. Communities are facing a fourfold attack on these principles and the centuries-old promise of the nation:
- The illegal rollback of federal and state laws, as well as funding programs allocated by Congress, amounts to violations of the Constitution on multiple grounds and an abuse of environmental justice principles;
- The preemption of state and local authority that threatens local democratic decision-making continues to be weighed out in Congress, including through the Food Security and Farm Protection Act, previously the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act;
- The continuous attacks on the right of cancer patients to hold pesticide manufacturers accountable through failure-to-warn claims, which amounts to infringement on the democratic right to access the judicial branch of the government and to hold bad actor corporations accountable in the courts; and
- The undermining of First Amendment rights to have a public debate on independent scientific findings on the adverse effects of consumer products.
Altogether, “moneyed†interests, such as the fossil fuel sector, pesticide and fertilizer manufacturers, industrial agriculture, and their political allies, continue to weaponize the three branches of government and undermine the distribution of powers between local, state, and federal governments (principle of federalism). Environmental advocates maintain that economic interests must not harm the public good, but should prioritize investments and regulations to protect and regenerate clean water, air, soil, and ecosystems through organic systems.
Attacks on Environmental Justice
Beyond Pesticides was founded in 1981 in the spirit of environmental and agricultural justice. The organization’s founders walked through agricultural areas in Florida, Texas, and California in the late 1970s, speaking with farmworkers about their sicknesses and miscarriage rates, and the lack of training, protective equipment, clean drinking water, and sanitation in the fields. They witnessed the profound failure of the marketplace and the regulatory system to protect the lives and well-being of farmworkers and their families—including the lives of young children who, on a typical day, lived with poisoned air, water, and food on the edges of treated fields.Â
In this spirit, Beyond Pesticides works with communities across the country to transition their neighborhoods—specifically public parks, green spaces, and playing fields—to organically-managed, pesticide-free spaces. We have worked with roughly 26 states across dozens of cities and towns across the country over the course of the Parks for a Sustainable Future Program. (See here for a map highlighting our impact.) Amid attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and environmental justice funding, we believe that it is a critical concern to ensure that public spaces are toxic-free, considering the disproportionate risks that parents and children—particularly in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities—face daily. See here to learn more about the Sustainable Parks program.
Beyond Pesticides has called out the illegal federal funding cuts and urged Congress to restore funds for various programs that disproportionately impact the working class, fenceline, frontline, and communities of color nationwide. Impacted programs that aim to protect essential workers in the food and agriculture sector include the Biological Center for Research on Children’s Health project and the Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) Program. See here to take action.
The Bioecological Center for Research on Children’s Health project, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was designed to identify, understand and address the cumulative impacts of exposures to environmental toxicants (pesticides, heavy metals, particulate matter) and nonchemical psychosocial stressors (poverty, food insecurity, trauma, discrimination, etc.)  on the health, development, and growth of farmworker children. Working in collaboration with the Florida State University (FSU) health clinic in Immokalee, the project would have examined threats, implemented strategies to improve health outcomes for farmworker children, and collaboratively established a Center in Immokalee, Florida to continue the research, outreach, and services to the community. Â
The SENSOR program, funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), monitors pesticide-related incidents of injuries, illnesses, and deaths at the state level, tracking worker pesticide exposure incidents. By providing technical support to state health agencies to train medical professionals on how to diagnose and treat pesticide poisonings, SENSOR strengthens the network of health experts who can help advise farmworkers, pesticide applicators, parents, and others to prevent harm from pesticides, often with disproportionate adverse effects in people of color communities.
These are two of the countless initiatives, research centers, and other federal programs that are in jeopardy due to the current administration’s wrecking-ball approach to operating regulatory systems meant to protect, not undermine, public well-being.
Pesticide Preemption
As Congress amends and comes to a consensus on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, hundreds of organizations representing the interests of farmers, rural communities, farmworkers, conservationists, environmentalists, and public interest continue to oppose preemption language in the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act (not yet re-introduced in the 119th Congress) or EATS Act (re-introduced as the Food Security and Farm Protection Act on April 8). As of today’s publication, it is expected that industry-backed amendments will be included in upcoming legislation, including provisions on federal preemption of state and local environmental and public health laws, and a prohibition on failure-to-warn cases against chemical manufacturers whose products cause harm.  Â
Pesticide manufacturers, including Bayer-Monsanto, have been ramping up their federal lobbying efforts after failing to pass state legislation in nine of the twelve states to immunize them from failure-to-warn litigation. See section below for further information on failure-to-warn claims and related legislation.
Language establishing chemical company immunity from “failure-to-warn†litigation and local and state authority to restrict pesticides more stringently than the EPA was included in the 2024 Republican Farm Bill draft, as well as failed attempts to include it in the House Interior Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2025, escalating the fight over federal preemption of state and local standards and protective authority of the courts. The Senate GOP framework includes preemption of state and local governance of pesticides, food systems, and production, and public health in Title X, Horticulture title: “Restates and reaffirms [EPA’s] obligation with respect to the federal and state regulatory process.†Moreover, Title XII, Miscellaneous states: “Protects the ability of livestock producers to raise and sell products into interstate commerce without interference from other states.†More specifically, this language would have a two-fold impact:
- Prohibit the right to sue for failure to warn when harmed by pesticides. In Section 10204 of the House Farm Bill, language shields (gives immunity to) the producers and users of toxic pesticides from liability lawsuits associated with the harm that their products cause. The provision will block lawsuits like those successfully advanced against Bayer/Monsanto for adverse health effects, like cancer, associated with exposure to their products and companies’ failure to warn about these effects on EPA-approved product labels.
- Prohibit the rights of states and local governments to restrict pesticides and protect public health and the environment. In Sections 10204 and 10205, language would prevent local and state governments from passing pesticide ordinances or concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) regulations that conflict with (aka are more stringent than) federal regulations and policy.
In a win for local control in the context of CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) preemption, the Supreme Court on June 30 denied the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s petition to throw out California’s Proposition 12. “The challenge stem[med] from a previous Supreme Court ruling on the case, which determined California’s law does not violate the Commerce Clause,†according to reporting by Progressive Farmer.
See Daily News here and here, respectively, for further analysis on the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity and Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. Â
Failure-to-Warn
An industry-led campaign to quash lawsuits against chemical manufacturers because of their “failure to warn†about the hazards of their pesticide products has failed to move forward in nine state legislatures with significant GOP majorities (Iowa, Missouri, Idaho, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Wyoming, Montana, and Oklahoma). The bills were successful in North Dakota and Georgia, with Bayer CEO Bill Anderson threatening to withdraw pesticide products from states that do not pass this legislation (see here for Reuters reporting), imposing undue pressure on local and state governments to govern themselves based on their constituents’ values and wishes, rather than those of a private corporation.
North Carolina remains the last state with active pesticide immunity legislation, with successful efforts to remove the provision from the North Carolina Farm Act in the state House; unfortunately for North Carolinians, the state Senate did not concur, and so it will move forward in a closed-door conference committee consisting of House and Senate members. The General Assembly is currently on summer recess; however, they will return in the fall, and Beyond Pesticides will continue to track as more information arises.
Currently, pesticide labels under federal and state law generally do not warn of potential chronic effects, such as cancer, reproductive effects, infertility, birth defects, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, cardiovascular damage, and more (see Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database), but warn of acute effects, such as rashes, headaches, stinging eyes, and more.
After years of large jury awards, preemptive settlements, and lost appeals in cases involving exposure to the weedkiller glyphosate, Bayer/Monsanto is trying to stop the company’s financial hemorrhaging with a state-by-state strategy to deny victims access to the courts. To accomplish this, Bayer has founded, along with agribusiness groups including state Farm Bureaus and chemical-intensive commodity crop associations, a coalition to stop “failure-to-warn†lawsuits with state legislation. Bayer’s coalition, Modern Ag Alliance, says it is fighting what it describes as “scientifically unsound lawsuits†on the weedkiller glyphosate. The alliance says, “If we don’t act, the future of glyphosate and other valuable crop protection tools and critical innovations may be at stake.†As has been reported widely, Bayer/Monsanto has lost numerous multimillion-dollar lawsuits because of its “failure to warn†of its product’s hazards to those who have been harmed. The company’s defeats include a U.S. Supreme Court denial (denial of certiorari) to hear their appeal in 2022.
With this, Bayer has taken its campaign to the states to strip away people’s (including farmers’) ability to hold corporations accountable through a common law duty to warn claims associated with pesticide products. Most recently, SCOTUS asked the Solicitor General’s office (U.S. Justice Department) “for its views on whether the justices should take up the appeal,†based on Reuters coverage. There are more than 67,000 pending cases in state and federal courts alleging Bayer failed to warn customers of Roundup products’ linkage to various cancers, including failure to warn through their advertising materials. In May 2025, Missouri Independent reported that a federal court of appeals (Western District of Missouri Court of Appeals) upheld the decision of a 2023 case in Cole County, Missouri, awarding a $611 million judgment to three cancer victims.
See here for some of the latest developments on failure-to-warn and pesticide immunity legislation in a recent Daily News.
First Amendment under Threat
When legislative and executive branches of government forego their responsibilities to serve the public interest, the significance of an independent judiciary becomes all the more important to protecting democratic traditions, most notably the First Amendment of the Constitution, guaranteeing freedom of speech.
Polyloom, a major artificial turf manufacturer and self-describes as “one of the largest designers, producers, recyclers, manufacturers and installers of artificial turf in the United Statesâ€, filed both a complaint and an application for a Temporary Restraining Order, preliminary injunction, and monetary damages ahead of a webinar scheduled for June 23, 2025, entitled “The Trouble with Turf.†The targets of this webinar include Grassroots, the webinar sponsor, and all the individuals slated to speak in it who were sued in their individual capacities, including Jay Feldman, the executive director of Beyond Pesticides.
The counter-lawsuit, filed under the Civil Rights Law of New York by all the people and entities named in Polyloom’s action, charges the corporation of having engaged in an illegal SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit “for the purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing, or maliciously inhibiting the free exercise of speech, petition or association rights.†The suit seeks $100,000 in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages, as well as all costs and attorneys’ fees.Â
“Our lawsuit is an important attempt to hold Polyloom accountable for false accusations on scientific questions of safety and the potential of synthetic turf to present a hazard to health and the environment,†Mr. Feldman stated. “Beyond Pesticides advances organic land management as an alternative to synthetic turf, and the discussion of this alternative should not be stifled by Polyloom or other corporations that have a vested economic interest in downplaying or misleading on the hazards associated with their products.â€
The brazen approach that private interests take comes at a time when the public is looking for alternatives to agricultural and land management systems that contribute to biodiversity collapse, public health deterioration, and the climate crisis. See Daily News, Synthetic Turf Company Sues to Silence Environ. and Health Groups on Hazards/Alternatives; Pushback, for further context.
Call to Action
The Constitution of the United States begins with a simple, yet profound, preamble:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.â€
It is imperative that the constitutional authority that binds this nation together is protected and preserved, not only to ensure liberty and justice for all, but also to continuously improve upon the lofty ideals included in that document that millions of Americans have long sought after, including women and gender-expansive folks, Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples of color, naturalized citizens and those aspiring to become so, among other historically disadvantaged communities and peoples.
During these unprecedented times, Beyond Pesticides urges sending a message even to those who refuse to listen. As we strive to adopt the changes essential for a livable future, we must create a record that is based on science, even when the science and the facts are dismissed by those in power.
To this end, the failure of action to address the existential health, biodiversity, and climate crises by those in Congress and the administration empowers lower levels of government and some corporations to step into the void left by those whose actions or inaction threaten life. See here to sign up for Action of the Week and Weekly News Update in your inbox. You can also become a local Parks Program Advocate here.
As the nation celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds that three-quarters of Americans say democracy is under serious threat. The Declaration not only presented the case of the colonists for independence from Britain; it also stated a framework for defining democracy, beginning with the statement, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.â€
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
Sources: Federalist 10, Federalist 68, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Food Security and Farm Protection Act, Progressive Farmer, Reuters, Missouri Independent
