On August 13, 2025, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) announced that it petitioned the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the food chain. PEER notes that its petition highlights three human exposure pathways it asks the MAHA Commission to address:
Biosolid fertilizers made from sewage sludge contain high levels of PFAS. According to PEER, nearly 20 percent of U.S. agricultural land is estimated to use sludge-based fertilizers and as many as 70 million acres of farmland may be contaminated. PEER notes that PFAS from the sewage sludge are taken up by plants and accumulate in fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy;
PEER states that “[t]he fluorination process used by a large manufacturer of plast