The United States is a nation drenched in pesticides, and it’s making us sick. Today in the U.S., herbicides cover 96% of corn and soybean acreage, equating to 160 million acres of land. Across the country, counties that have reported the highest use of the pesticide chemical glyphosate also have higher-than-average rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

But rather than face justice, pesticide corporations and their allies have been pursuing a suite of tactics in the courts and in the halls of Congress to shield their profits.

The agrochemical industry’s quest for pesticide immunity is nothing short of despicable. It’s working to curtail our access to information about its products’ serious health risks, and to eliminate resources for folks who get sick. It has thrown millions of lobbying dollars at state and federal lawmakers to carry out its agenda. And most recently, pesticide giant Bayer has taken the crusade to the Supreme Court. 

But across the country, people are fighting back. Nine out of twelve state bills for pesticide immunity have failed. Members of Congress have introduced new legislation to hold the pesticide industry accountable. The industry is losing — but the fight is far from over. Here’s what’s at stake, and how you can take action.

Big Ag’s Pesticides Are Making Us Sick

Pesticides (an umbrella term for chemicals that kill pests, from weeds to fungi) are linked with a variety of health harms, from dementia to cancers. But at the center of Bayer’s efforts is glyphosate, the active ingredient in its Roundup weedkiller and one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States.

In recent decades, Bayer has leveraged its market power to force U.S. farmers into pesticide reliance. The company also sells glyphosate-resistant soy, corn, and cotton seeds, which has encouraged farmers to apply more and more Roundup. The result? More glyphosate-resistant weeds, which Bayer has responded to by peddling even more of its weedkiller.

Fact-finders in multiple court cases have ruled that Bayer/Monsanto (another pesticide giant that Bayer bought in 2018) failed to warn people that Roundup could cause cancer, and that the product was a contributing factor to the suffering caused by their disease. Since purchasing Monsanto, Bayer has spent over $11 billion settling over 100,000 cancer lawsuits related to Roundup. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. Our recent analysis finds that high glyphosate use is correlated with elevated rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer with a 10-year survival rate of 55%.

This has had devastating consequences for home gardeners, landscapers, and farmers across the country. And nowhere are those consequences felt deeper than in Iowa. There, glyphosate blankets more than half the state. At the same time, Iowa is one of only two states in the nation with rising cancer rates.

A Many-Headed Hydra: Bayer’s Assault On Cancer Patients’ Right to Justice

Iowa has also been a prime target for Bayer’s strategy to duck accountability for the harms linked to its product. In 2025, Food & Water Watch joined Iowans in defeating a Cancer Gag Act, backed by Bayer, that would have shielded the company from “failure-to-warn” lawsuits. This is part of the pesticide industry’s nationwide campaign to pass pesticide immunity legislation at the state and federal levels.

Bayer’s allies in Congress have added language to an annual spending bill that would gut the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to improve warning labels on pesticides. This would seriously hamper the agency’s ability to update its position on pesticides, regardless of evolving science or emerging harms. The House’s most recent draft Farm Bill also included language to stop state and local authorities from regulating pesticide labels at all.

Amid these galling moves, President Trump recently fanned the flames. In February, he signed an executive order bolstering the continued production of glyphosate-based pesticides by declaring it a “national security” issue. Through this order, Trump has handed pesticide companies the reins to continue producing this dangerous chemical. 

Most recently, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Monsanto v. Durnell in April. With the Trump administration’s support, Bayer is seeking a ruling that would shield the corporation from lawsuits brought by cancer patients who allege its Roundup pesticide was to blame for their disease. Such a ruling would leave these patients without legal recourse — unless federal legislation enshrined the right to sue over pesticide harms. 

Thanks in great part to our activism on this issue, federal lawmakers have introduced two bills to do just that. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced S. 2324, the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act of 2025, and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-MN) introduced H.R. 7601, the No Immunity for Glyphosate Act.

Passing these bills means that no matter how the Trump-appointed Supreme Court rules, cancer patients will retain their right to hold pesticide corporations accountable through the courts.

Take Action: Tell Congress to Support People Over Pesticides!

Everyone should be able to work and eat without worrying about dangerous chemicals. Yet, the U.S. pesticide industry has been allowed to profit from poison for decades now. And in backing Bayer, the Trump administration has made its priorities clear: it’s putting pesticide profits over people and public health. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. The people most exposed to pesticides — landscapers, farmers, farmworkers, and rural families — should not bear the costs from pesticide use alone. Congress must pass legislation that ensures the burden falls where it belongs: on pesticide corporations that profit from these chemicals.