They poisoned the soil, rigged the tractor, and now they want immunity.
In July 2025, while 67,000 Americans await justice over cancer allegedly caused by Roundup, Congress quietly introduced a provision that would stop those lawsuits in their tracks. Section 453 of the FY26 Interior Appropriations bill grants vaccine-style legal immunity to pesticide manufacturers—freezing EPA science in time and shielding chemical giants like Bayer from new liability.
But this isn’t just a new fight. It’s the harvest of a decades-old seed—a corrupt agricultural regime rooted in Monsanto’s rise, glyphosate’s grip, and a corporate-government pact that turned farmers into tenants on their own land. If we’re going to save what’s left, we have to burn the roots—not just the leaves.
Roundup’s Last Stand
Since acquiring Monsanto in 2018, Bayer has faced a tidal wave of lawsuits over glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. Courts have repeatedly found that long-term exposure can cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In May 2024, Bayer lost another $2.25 billion jury verdict. Now, facing 67,000 pending cases, the company appears to be lobbying Congress for a backdoor bailout.
Enter Section 453 of H.R. 9043. The provision states:
“None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to issue or adopt any guidance or any policy, take any regulatory action, or approve any labeling or change to such labeling that is inconsistent with… a human health assessment performed pursuant to [FIFRA]…”
Translation? If the EPA’s last review of a pesticide said it was safe, no new action—even in response to cancer trials—can be taken unless another full review is completed. For glyphosate, the last one was in 2020. The next? Not until 2035.
This legislative freeze would block the EPA from responding to emerging science or litigation evidence for a decade. It would functionally immunize Bayer and Monsanto from accountability.
If this rider passes, the lawsuits die—not because Bayer is innocent, but because Congress put a bullet in the rulebook.
From Pesticides to Platforms: The John Deere Model
While Bayer lobbies to freeze science, John Deere has quietly frozen farmer autonomy. According to Farm Action’s 2025 consolidation report, three companies—John Deere, CNH, and AGCO—control 95% of the large tractor market and 97% of combines. Deere alone holds 53% of tractors and 60% of combines.
That dominance comes with a digital leash.
Deere’s proprietary software prevents independent mechanics—and even farmers themselves—from performing critical repairs. Farmers face billions in added downtime and repair costs each year, forced to go through dealerships for diagnostics they once did themselves. A 2023 PIRG report found these practices cost U.S. farmers an extra $1.2 billion annually.
In January 2025, the FTC filed suit against John Deere for antitrust violations, accusing the company of monopolizing repair services. A federal judge upheld the case in June, allowing it to proceed.
Deere’s defense? They claim to support self-repair through limited tools and mobile apps. But farmers say it’s a smoke screen.
“They’ll hand you the wrench, sure—but they welded the bolts,” Texas Slim told Beef News.
This isn’t just about tractors. It’s a platform feudalism that mirrors how Monsanto locked farmers into seed contracts—except now the hardware is locked too.
The Bigger Picture: Freeze, Contract, Control
All of it—the glyphosate immunity push, the software lockouts, the contract seed traps—flows from the same root system: a regulatory regime built to serve chemical and equipment monopolies.
- Monsanto pioneered “technology use agreements” that made farmers criminals for saving seed.
- Patent law extensions and trade agreements (like UPOV-91) gave chemical companies global control over genetics.
- FIFRA, the 1947 pesticide law, was warped by agency capture and legal shields, including a 2005 SCOTUS ruling (Bates v. Dow AgroSciences) that narrowed state-level liability.
- And now, Section 453 would remove even the illusion of regulatory checks.
But it gets worse.
According to a July 17th update from Breeauna Sagdal, this immunity clause is only phase one. Insiders say a Farm Bill companion rider is coming that would classify more chemicals as “pesticides”—shielding them under the same language. If vaccine makers were the first liability-exempt class, chemical giants may be the next.
“The EPA only conducts human health assessments every 15 years… This bill would prohibit them from acting on new evidence in the meantime. Glyphosate was last reviewed in 2020. The next isn’t until 2035. This bill locks that in.” — Sagdal
The House Appropriations Committee meets Tuesday, July 22 to vote on the bill. A flood of public pressure could still strike Section 453 from the record.
Burn the Roots
This is a system problem—not a product problem.
Roundup is just a leaf. John Deere’s repair cartel is just a branch. The root is a regulatory and legal framework that serves corporations over citizens, profit over health, centralization over stewardship.
We’ve tried reform. We’ve tried appeals. But when a system won’t let you fix your tractor or sue over your cancer—you don’t prune it. You burn the roots.
The farmers know. The watchdogs know. The clock is ticking.
And the fire’s just getting started.
Call These Members of Congress and Demand They Strike Section 453 from H.R. 9043
Section 453 of the FY26 House Interior Appropriations bill would freeze the EPA’s pesticide reviews and block 67,000 cancer lawsuits tied to Roundup. Congress votes soon. These are the members of the Appropriations Committee with the power to stop it—call now and tell them: “Remove Section 453 from H.R. 9043.”
Republicans:
- Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-02): (202) 225-5531
- Rep. Michael Cloud (TX-27): (202) 225-7742
- Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04): (202) 225-6165
- Rep. Jake Ellzey (TX-06): (202) 225-2002
- Rep. Celeste Maloy (UT-02): (202) 225-9730
- Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14): (202) 225-2065
- Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT-01): (202) 225-5628
Democrats:
- Rep. James “Jim” Clyburn (SC-06): (202) 225-3315
- Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03): (202) 225-3661
- Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09): (202) 225-4540
- Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04): (202) 225-6631
- Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01): (202) 225-6116
Bonus:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14): Already publicly opposed the provision. Call to thank her and show support: (202) 225-5211
While they centralize control, we decentralize the supply chain—find your local rancher at BeefMaps.com and buy beef that answers to no one but you.
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