Trump's Roundup Order Also Protected White Phosphorus
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- Trump issued an executive order compelling glyphosate (Roundup) production and designating Bayer's operations a national security priority, a move that angered health activists who have linked the herbicide to cancer.
- Bayer is the only U.S. manufacturer of elemental white phosphorus, a key ingredient in glyphosate production that is also used in military smoke screens and incendiary munitions capable of violently burning people or property.
- Concerns about phosphorus availability for defense played a significant role in the order, according to two people with direct knowledge of the administration's deliberations.
- One of those individuals stressed the munitions provision's importance in light of recent U.S. military actions, though no specific operations were named in the source.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the president "made this decision based on national security priorities" and added that the administration is funding research into glyphosate alternatives.
- The munitions angle was largely overshadowed in public coverage by the controversy over the herbicide, which the source notes has long been the focus of activist campaigns seeking a ban.
Why it matters: Bayer is the sole U.S. source of white phosphorus, so an order ostensibly about protecting a weedkiller supply chain simultaneously locks in domestic production of an ingredient used in incendiary military devices. Health and weapons-safety advocates now share an interest in the same Bayer facilities, and any future disruption to those operations would affect both agricultural inputs and U.S. defense procurement at once.
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