New Scorecard Finds Major Food Companies Backsliding on Pesticide Commitments as Federal Protections Erode

EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA – As You Sow, the nation’s leading shareholder representative, today released its updated Pesticides in the Pantry scorecard, revealing that major food manufacturers have regressed on pesticide reduction practices and disclosure. The updated scorecard finds that the industry average score has fallen to just 2.5 out of 27 points—a failing grade—with several former leaders eliminating commitments they previously touted.

The findings come at a critical moment for pesticide policy. Last month, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to designate glyphosate-based herbicides as essential to national security, potentially shielding manufacturers from liability. The order drew criticism from supporters of the Make America Healthy Again movement, who have long advocated for reducing pesticide exposure—highlighting divisions over pesticide policy even within the administration’s coalition. Meanwhile, the proposed 2026 Farm Bill includes provisions that would prohibit states from mandating health warnings on pesticides that differ from EPA-approved labels, and the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Monsanto v. Durnell on April 27, a case that could determine whether federal law bars state failure-to-warn lawsuits brought by more than 100,000 plaintiffs who allege glyphosate caused their cancer.

The updated scorecard assessed 17 major food companies across nine key performance indicators related to pesticide transparency, risk reduction, and farmworker protection. General Mills, which led the scorecard in 2023 received a score of 0 points this year, after removing its pesticide-related disclosures. ADM and Conagra, which also earned some of the highest scores in 2023, similarly backslid. Only four companies improved their scores: Del Monte, Post Holdings, Lamb Weston, and Nestlé. Of particular note, zero companies across the industry have adopted farmworker protection policies or standards for high-concern pesticides like neonicotinoids—a class of systemic, neurotoxic insecticides linked to massive pollinator die-offs and associated with potential developmental, neurological, and reproductive harms in humans.

“At a time when federal regulators are weakening oversight and shielding chemical manufacturers from accountability, corporate transparency on pesticide use has never been more important,” said Cailin Dendas, Environmental Health Coordinator at As You Sow. “Instead, we’re seeing companies move backward—eliminating commitments and reducing disclosure. This backsliding not only puts consumers, farmworkers, and ecosystems at risk, but increases supply chain and farm level risk, and decreases accountability to shareholders.”

The full Pesticides in the Pantry scorecard, including company-by-company rankings and detailed methodology, is available here.