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MAHA report parrots pesticide industry playbook, abandoning RFK Jr.’s promises
The Environmental Working Group today criticized the Trump administration’s final “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, report for abandoning MAHA leaders’ promises to ban toxic agricultural chemicals.
Instead, the MAHA plan echoes the pesticide industry’s talking points. The recommendations for improving Americans’ health includes blather about “precision” agriculture. The report acknowledges “confidence” in the Environmental Protection Agency’s “robust” pesticide review process, with zero words about banning the use of harmful pesticides.
A MAHA report released in May included several mentions of the health risks of pesticides, and the fact they’re found at “alarming” levels in some children and pregnant women. That’s in line with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-running warnings.
The final plan released by the MAHA Commission drops those references and instead mirrors the pesticide industry’s talking points. Large sections are roughly identical to CropLife America’s MAHA wish list, showing the deep influence of industry lobbyists over the commission’s final recommendations.
“It looks like pesticide industry lobbyists steamrolled the MAHA Commission’s agenda,” said EWG co-founder and President Ken Cook.
“Secretary Kennedy and President Trump cynically convinced millions they’d protect children from harmful farm chemicals – promises now exposed as hollow,” Cook said.
A side-by-side comparison of the MAHA report’s recommendations and an earlier pesticide industry letter to the White House shows the striking text similarities.
From the Trump administration’s MAHA report:
- Precision Agricultural Technology: USDA and EPA will prioritize research and programs to help growers adopt precision agricultural techniques, including remote sensing and precision application technologies that will further optimize crop applications. These research and programs should emphasize ways in which precision technology can help to decrease pesticide volumes, improve the soil microbiome, and have a significant financial benefit for growers
- Pesticides: EPA, partnering with food and agricultural stakeholders, will work to ensure that the public has awareness and confidence in EPA’s robust review procedures and how that relates to the limiting of risk for users and the general public and informs continual improvement
From CropLife America’s MAHA wish list:
- Discuss how private-sector innovation can focus and help to ensure the meticulous application of pesticides through precision agriculture.
- Reiterate the robust, respected process used by EPA to review pesticides before and after regulation.
“While MAHA architects tell their followers to attack the ‘deep state’
– now oddly redefined to include pesticide lobbyists – the truth is clear: It was the agrochemical lobby, not career public servants, that pushed President Trump and RFK Jr. to abandon their promises to the millions who helped propel them to power,” Cook said.
“EWG and countless public health advocates warned from the start that MAHA’s leaders were grifters exploiting the hopes and fears of health-conscious Americans in their quest for power jobs in Washington. Sadly, we were right,” he added.
The Environmental Working Group is a community 30 million strong, working to protect our environmental health by changing industry standards.
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White House Threatens Brazil With 'Military Might' as Bolsonaro Faces Coup Plot Reckoning
"Instead of protecting absolute freedom of speech to shield groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the right of murderers to enter schools with rifles, our Constitution addresses issues relevant to our country," one leftist lawmaker retorted.
Sep 09, 2025
A White House spokesperson suggested Tuesday that US President Donald Trump could use military force against Brazil as two of the country's Supreme Court justices said they would vote to convict former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of a coup plot involving the assassination of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other officials, including a leading member of the high court.
Speaking during a daily press briefing, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that Trump—a staunch Bolsonaro ally who has called the effort to bring him to justice a "witch hunt"—has "taken significant action with regards to Brazil in the form of both sanctions and also leveraging the use of tariffs."
In addition to imposing 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, Trump has sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes—who has led efforts to hold Bolsonaro accountable and who placed the former president under house arrest during his trial—while threatening further punitive action.
.@PressSec: "Freedom of speech is arguably the most important issue of our time. It is enshrined in our Constitution and @POTUS believes in it strongly... we have take significant action with regards to Brazil in the form of both sanctions, and also leveraging the use of tariffs… pic.twitter.com/mkWz3eA7tR
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 9, 2025
The alleged coup plot for which Bolsonaro and seven other defendants are being tried allegedly involved assassinating Moraes, Lula, and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
Leavitt dubiously couched her threat as defense of "free speech," saying that "this is a priority for the administration, and the president is unafraid to use the economic might, the military might of the United States of America, to protect free speech around the world."
In 1964, the US assisted a coup against the mildly reformist democratically elected government of Brazilian President João Goulart, ushering in two decades of military dictatorship that crushed dissent and free speech under the pretext of fighting communism. In a move similar to Trump's deployment of US warships to the coast of Venezuela, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson secretly deployed a naval task force to Brazil for possible invasion.
While there was no invasion, the US subsequently supported the 21-year dictatorship, including by sending specialists who taught Brazilian security forces more efficient torture techniques.
Bolsonaro, who was a young army paratrooper during the dictatorship, has infamously praised the brutal regime and pined for its return.
Tuesday's threat came as Moraes and fellow Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino voted to find Bolsonaro and the seven other defendants—who include senior military and intelligence officers—guilty of plotting a coup.
"The defendant, Jair Bolsonaro, was leader of this criminal structure," Moraes told the court in the capital city of Brasília.
"Brazil nearly went back to being a dictatorship... because a criminal organization made up of a political group doesn't know how to lose elections," the justice added. "Because a criminal organization made up of a political group led by Jair Bolsonaro doesn't understand that the alternation of power is a principle of republican democracy." s
In addition to attempting a coup, Bolsonaro is charged with involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, violent damage of state property, and other charges. A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years' imprisonment under Brazilian law. However, if convicted on all counts, Bolsonaro and his co-defendants could face decades behind bars.
The former president and seven other defendants are accused of being the "crucial core" of a plan to overturn the results of the 2022 election, which Lula narrowly won in a runoff. Like Trump in 2020, Bolsonaro and many of his supporters falsely claimed the contest was "stolen" by the opposition. And like in the US, those claims fueled mob attacks on government buildings. Around 1,500 Bolsonaro supporters were arrested in the days following the storming of Congress and the presidential offices.
Bolsonaro is already banned from running for any office until 2030 due to his abuse of power related to baseless claims of electoral fraud.
Members of Lula's Workers' Party (PT) and other leftist lawmakers applauded Tuesday's conviction votes.
"Our expectation is that justice will be done," Federal Deputy Nilto Tatto (PT-São Paulo) said outside the court. "It was, clearly, an attempted coup. They tried to discredit the electoral system and even set up a scheme to assassinate President Lula."
Leftist lawmakers also condemned the White House's threat, with Federal Deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-Rio de Janeiro) calling it "a blatant attempt to interfere with our sovereignty and judicial independence."
"This has nothing to do with 'freedom of expression': It is external pressure, blackmail, and intimidation to sabotage Brazilian justice," Farias asserted. "Brazil is neither a backyard nor a colony of anyone. And the trial of the coup plot, which already has two votes in favor... will continue to the end, because here the Constitution decides, not Donald Trump."
Federal Deputy Erika Hilton (Socialism and Liberty-São Paulo) called Leavitt's "free speech" justification "ridiculous."
"First of all, no one is restricting Bolsonaro's freedom of speech," she said. "He can say whatever he wants, from inside his house, where the ineligible individual is serving house arrest due to the risk of flight."
"It's also important to remember that US legislation does not apply to Brazil," Hilton continued. "Instead of protecting absolute freedom of speech to shield groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the right of murderers to enter schools with rifles, our Constitution addresses issues relevant to our country, our democracy, and our people. And in this Constitution, made after the end of a military dictatorship, there is provision for... punishment against those who attempt a coup d'état."
"Of course, besides not caring, Trump isn't even capable of understanding all this," she added. "He's too busy planning his defense for the next public accusation of child sexual exploitation, his next round of golf, or his next dip in a pool of Doritos-flavored sauce. And with his brain in an advanced state of degeneration, Trump was only capable of an empty threat."
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As World Spends Record $2.7 Trillion on War, UN Report Pushes for 'Sustainable and Peaceful Future'
"A more secure world begins by investing at least as much in fighting poverty as we do in fighting wars," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Sep 09, 2025
As global outrage over Israel's attack targeting Hamas ceasefire negotiators in Qatar began to mount on Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters that the "breaking news underscores the importance of the report that we launch today."
In addition to condemning "this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar," which "has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages" from Gaza, Guterres said that the attack "lays bare a stark reality: The world is spending far more on waging war than in building peace."
His comments came at the unveiling of The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future, which explores how the global increase in military expenditure is impacting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN's 17 sweeping targets for 2030.
The ambitious SDGs include ending poverty and hunger, ensuring quality education and gender equality, reducing inequality, achieving affordable clean energy, taking bold climate action, and promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.
"As global insecurity intensifies and geopolitical rivalries deepen, global military spending has surged to unprecedented levels. In 2024, it reached an all-time high of $2.7 trillion, the report says, citing the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "At the same time, progress on the Sustainable Development Goals is faltering. Only 1 in 5 targets is on track to be achieved by 2030; the annual financing gap for the goals now stands at $4 trillion."
Guterres on Tuesday put the global military expenditure for 2024 into context, pointing out that it is "the equivalent of $334 for every person on Earth," as well as "nearly 13 times the amount of official development assistance from the world's wealthiest nations—and 750 times the regular budget of the United Nations."
The new report "is a call to action. A call to rethink priorities. A call to rebalance global investments toward the security the world truly needs," the UN chief said, stressing that "the current trajectory is unsustainable," and "a better path is within reach."
"We need practical steps to rebalance," Guterres asserted. His report offers that in the form of a five-point agenda for UN member states and the international community:
- Prioritize diplomacy, peaceful settlement of disputes, and confidence-building measures to address the underlying causes of growing military expenditure through 2030;
- Bring military expenditure to the fore of disarmament discussions, and improve links between arms control and development;
- Promote transparency and accountability around military expenditure to build trust and confidence among member states and increase domestic fiscal accountability;
- Reinvigorate multilateral finance for development; and
- Advance a human-centered approach to security and sustainable development.
"Investing in people is investing in the first line of defense against violence in any society," Guterres said, highlighting how war spending is "crowding out essential investments in health, education, job creation, protecting people from droughts and floods, and expanding opportunities for women and young people."
"The evidence is clear: Excessive military spending does not guarantee peace," he continued. "It often undermines it—fueling arms races, deepening mistrust, and diverting resources from the very foundations of stability. A more secure world begins by investing at least as much in fighting poverty as we do in fighting wars."
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Thousands Protest London Weapons Fair Over UK Complicity in Gaza Genocide
"The people who run these companies are war criminals," said one campaigner. "They should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused."
Sep 09, 2025
Thousands of demonstrators rallied Tuesday outside a major London arms fair to protest what one campaigner called the United Kingdom's "peak complicity in genocide" in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more than 64,600 Palestinians—mostly women and children—and wounded over 163,000 others since October 2023.
The Independent reported at least three arrests for alleged assaults on police officers outside the the biennial Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) UK trade show, which is being held at Excel London at the Royal Victoria Dock. At least one person was also reportedly taken away in an ambulance.
Video posted to social media showed police officers shoving people to the ground, as well as DSEI attendees smirking and recording on their phones as they passed demonstrators.
Protesters chanted "shut it down," waved Palestinian flags, and held up signs with messages like "stop arming Israel," "only war criminals past this point," and "we hope that the screams of babies will haunt them in their sleep."
Ajahn Santamono, a Buddhist monk taking part in Tuesday's protest, lamented to Middle East Eye that "people who contribute to genocide and mass murder are protected and supported, while people of conscience who try to protest this are the ones who are arrested, criminalized, and treated with violence."
On Monday, members of the direct action group Shut the System sabotaged fiber optic internet cables and splashed red paint over portions of the DSEI venue.
"How can anyone with a shred of humanity build their fortune on mass slaughter?" the group asked. "Shut the System's answer—they are a symptom of a global financial system that prioritizes extreme, psychopathic profiteering for growth's sake alone, above solid healthcare and the natural support systems underpinning all life on Earth."
More than 50 Israeli arms manufacturers and US weapons giants including Lockheed Martin—which makes the F-35 fighter used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to bomb Gaza—are among the approximately 1,600 exhibitors taking part in DSEI.
The United States is far and away the world's leading enabler of Israel's war on Gaza, which is the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case and International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Some of the IDF's most powerful arms—including 1,000- and 2,000-pound bombs that have been repeatedly used to massacre Palestinian civilians—are provided by the United States and the tens of billions of dollars in armed aid it lavishes upon Israel.
"The US and Europe-backed slaughter of families in Palestine is the frontline of our struggle for climate and social justice globally," said Shut the System. "If we can't stop this genocide, power holders will use it as a blueprint to commit genocides elsewhere."
The advocacy group Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) said ahead of DSEI that the UK government "keeps insisting it is doing everything in its power to hold the Israeli government to account for its actions."
However, a report published by the group last week shows that "this is an outrageous and offensive lie."
The report notes that "the UK is deeply complicit in supporting Israel's genocide in Gaza: through arms sales, [Royal Air Force] reconnaissance flights over Gaza, from which it is suspected intelligence is shared with Israel, training of Israeli soldiers, and other forms of military cooperation."
According to the report:
Despite the government's decision on September 2, 2024 to suspend arms export licenses to Israel... they are still allowing the supply of crucial components for Israel's 45 F-35 combat aircraft, so long as they are supplied indirectly via the US or other countries, rather than directly to Israel. These are used to bomb Gaza, at an extraordinary level of intensity, requiring a constant supply of spare parts. By its own admission at the time of the decision, the government accepts that these UK-supplied components may well be used by Israel to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza.
CAAT media coordinator Emily Apple said that the UK has "reached peak complicity in genocide in allowing 51 Israeli arms companies to exhibit at DSEI."
"It is allowing companies to market their genocide tested weapons to human rights abusing countries around the world," Apple added. "The people who run these companies are war criminals. They should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused in Gaza."
Other actions Tuesday included a Quaker meeting at Waterloo Station attended by around 200 people, part of No Faith in War Day.
As part of the No Faith in War day, 200 people joined our Meeting for Worship, creating a grounded space in the face of the violence embodied by the DSEI arms fair.Tomorrow, join us to hand in a demand to stop DSEI. Meeting Waterloo train station, 11am: tinyurl.com/stop-dsei📸 Michael Preston
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— Quakers in Britain (@quaker.org.uk) September 9, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Anti-DSEI protests are set to continue Wednesday, when the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is planning a 5:00 pm "pots and pans protest" meant to "greet the arms traders with a wall of noise."
The protests against DSEI follow last weekend's arrest of nearly 900 supporters of the banned UK-based group Palestine Action in London's Parliament Square.
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