Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs [View all]

Source: NPR

November 17, 2024 6:00 AM ET



President-elect Donald Trump won farm country by wide margins in this month's election, with rural voters helping fuel his return to the White House. But some farmers, economists, analysts and others in the agriculture industry are voicing alarm over Trump plans that could disrupt America's $1.5 trillion food industry. Trump moved this past week to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration. A nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

In a column published on Friday, soybean farmer Amanda Zaluckyj called the choice "a literal middle finger to agriculture, which constituted a key piece of Trump's base." Writing in the trade journal Ag Daily, she described Kennedy as "an absolute danger" to the American farm industry. "He has gone as far as saying he would 'weaponize' regulatory agencies to eliminate the use of pesticides," Zaluckyj said, adding that Kennedy has "voiced strong opposition to the scientific consensus" on farm industry practices. Zaluckyj isn't alone in raising questions about Kennedy's role.

In an essay published in September, before Kennedy was named to head HHS, biotech analyst Dana O'Brien described Trump's "embrace" of Kennedy as "a threat to American agriculture." "The elevation of Kennedy by Trump is chilling," O'Brien wrote in the online trade journal Agri-Pulse. "It represents a wholesale shift in politics and farm policy."

Kennedy has a long track record voicing conspiracy theories, including baseless claims that Wi-Fi causes cancer and "leaky brain"; that school shootings are attributable to antidepressants; and that chemicals in water can lead to children becoming transgender. Some agriculture experts worry similar unproven or unscientific views could now reshape U.S. farm and food policy.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2024/11/17/nx-s1-5193867/farmers-agriculture-experts-reaction-trump-rfk-jr-tariffs