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Behind closed doors, the ag-chemical industrial complex has been working overtime to ensure that its control over our food supply becomes nearly impenetrable — all at the expense of individual citizens.
Most importantly, it understands that the most powerful mechanism to accomplish this is by having Congress pass the requisite laws. And a central figure for the industry in this plan is House Agriculture Committee Chair Rep. Glenn Thompson (R‑PA).
According to Open Secrets, Rep. Thompson received $602,355 in campaign contributions in 2023-24 from the crop production and basic processing sector, in addition to the agricultural services and products sector. He recently acknowledged that not everyone would share his opinion about two key provisions that are on his agenda for the upcoming Farm Bill.
Not surprisingly, these two provisions stand to directly benefit his major campaign contributors.
First is the proposal that pesticide companies would gain legal immunity from lawsuits — as long as their products adhere to federal EPA labeling guidelines.
“The EPA labeling requirement gives consumers the illusion of safety, but in reality, it protects pesticide companies, not people,” said Elizabeth Kucinich, a national leader in regenerative food policy and former director of policy at the Center for Food Safety. “If this liability shield passes, Americans harmed by toxic chemicals will have no legal recourse. It is a betrayal of public trust and a violation of the principles of justice and accountability that this country is supposed to stand for.”
“EPA has shown time and again it will always find a way to approve a pesticide, no matter how harmful to human health or the environment,” said Bill Freese, science director at the Center for Food Safety. “States must retain the right to protect their citizens by warning of pesticidal harms, like cancer, even though EPA is afraid to do so.”
Second, the Food Security and Farm Protection Act (S.1326), a repackaged version of the EATS Act (Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act), would override state-level animal welfare and chemical-use standards, effectively stripping states of the power to impose stricter standards.
For example, this federal law would nullify California’s Proposition 12 (the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative) and Question 3 in Massachusetts — both of which aim to protect animals from incredibly inhumane forms of confinement on factory farms. Even worse, according to an analysis by the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School, this legislation has the potential to void over a thousand state and local laws and regulations related to public health and safety.
Given that Republicans control the House, Senate and White House, the Farm Bill — with these two provisions — is almost certain to pass without amendment. And this draconian legislation could absolve the ag-chemical industry from future liability, preventing a repeat of the multi-billion-dollar glyphosate lawsuits — and leaving Americans more vulnerable than ever to corporate negligence.
As such, protecting organic — the only safe haven we have from these measures — becomes more important by the day.
Yet, with 15,000 USDA employees having resigned last month, it raises the question whether the National Organic Program is so severely understaffed that effective oversight of our industry is no longer possible.
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
What were you hoping to accomplish with the rebrand?
We wanted to bring to life Kuli Kuli’s evolution from America’s #1 moringa brand to the leading platform for climate-smart superfoods. Today, half of our products feature superfoods other than moringa — incredible plants like baobab, hibiscus, lucuma and purple tea.
Our visual identity needed to reflect that evolution while clarifying our functional benefits on shelf and staying true to our roots in female empowerment and regenerative agriculture.
Can you discuss the key visual and verbal elements?
Our rebrand centers around bold, modern packaging that uses vibrant colors, a distinctive logo and rich patterns inspired by the beautiful textiles worn by our farmer partners across Africa and India.
Each product line — whether gummies, blends, lattes or moringa powder — has its own unique visual system while clearly belonging to the Kuli Kuli family.
Functional icons and product benefits are now more prominent to help shoppers navigate by need state (like “Energy Minus Jittery” or “Your Belly’s Barista”), and our verbal identity embraces a tone that’s warm, wise and vibrant. We introduced phrases like “Nutrition You Can Really Feel” and “The World’s Most Powerful Plants” to highlight both efficacy and ethos.
What were the key challenges that you faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges was evolving a beloved brand while preserving its authenticity. At the same time, we knew that our growing product portfolio and broader retail presence required a brand system that could scale.
Finally, as a small, women-led B Corp working with farmers across the globe, it was essential that we ensured every visual and word honored our partners respectfully. That meant developing new photo guidelines, impact language and design choices that center on collaboration.
A 2-year, multi-institutional and global research study reported that rats exposed to glyphosate doses that have been deemed “safe” by regulators for the human population, including children and pregnant women, were found to have caused 6 of the top 10 most common cancers in the world.
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