"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is putting public health at risk by continuing to let farmers spray glyphosate, a weed killer linked to cancer, directly on top of oats before harvest, a practice that commonly results in residues of the pesticide remaining on popular foods made with oats, according to a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed April 20 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), asks the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to respond to a 2018 petition that calls on the EPA to ban the use of glyphosate for drying out crops before harvest and to lower the level of glyphosate residue allowed to linger on oats from 30 parts per million (ppm) to just 0.1 ppm. The EPA has never responded to the petition, which was filed by EWG and a group of food companies and grocers.
The lawsuit focuses on the EPA’s current “maximum residue limit” (MRL) for glyphosate in oats, which are widely eaten by children in cereals, cookies and other products, and alleges the limits do not adequately protect children’s health.
Tests conducted by EWG and others have found glyphosate residues in a range of popular foods, including oat-based cereals and snacks, concluding that oats are a major source of glyphosate exposure for babies and young children."
Shannon Kelleher reports for The New Lede April 21, 2026 (Ed. Note: EWG publishes The New Lede.)
