Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who angered supporters of his Make America Healthy Again movement last week by backing President Trump’s order to ramp up production of the weedkiller glyphosate, offered a more lengthy defense of his position on Sunday.
In a social media post, Mr. Kennedy restated his belief that herbicides and pesticides were “toxic by design” and “put Americans at risk” when they were applied to crops. But he said that the food supply depended on them and that he supported Mr. Trump’s push to “end our near-total reliance on adversarial nations.”
He said he would push for a food system that was less reliant on chemicals, adding, “Reform at this scale will test entrenched interests, and it will not move in a straight line.”
Mr. Kennedy had released a terse, three-sentence statement immediately after Mr. Trump issued the executive order on Wednesday night. It was unclear whether he was consulted before the order was issued. The statement infuriated the so-called MAHA Moms who power Mr. Kennedy’s Make America Health Again movement.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg is a correspondent based in Washington for The New York Times, covering Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Trump’s health agenda.
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