Big Ag Seeks Immunity, The Hill Wants You to Notice NOW
When The Hill publishes a piece titled "Total legal immunity for dangerous pesticides? Stop Big Ag’s scheme now," one might assume this concern for corporate accountability is universal. Yet, this sudden outrage over legal shields for hazardous products seems selective. While it’s certainly important to expose Big Ag's attempts to evade liability for their chemical concoctions (which, let's be
clear, they absolutely are doing), the framing implies this is some shocking, novel affront to justice. (Perhaps they missed the pharmaceutical industry's COVID vaccine liability shield, or the defense contractors' perennial get-out-of-jail-free cards?) The article details how industry-backed legislation and court decisions seek to preempt state-level lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers. This
isn't an isolated incident; it's a feature, not a bug, of corporate lobbying in America. These 'schemes' are funded by the very corporations that benefit from them. (How many 'donations' do you think Big Ag executives funnel into political campaigns?) The outrage only appears when convenient, when the target isn't politically protected by, say, a $100 million annual K Street spend by
pharmaceuticals, or Pentagon contracts. One might wonder: where's The Hill's blistering commentary on similar 'schemes' that protect other powerful industries? Or is the public only meant to be alarmed when a less-favored lobbying group is pulling the strings?