It’s no secret that rural areas of the United States vote overwhelmingly Republican, so it surprised nobody when farmers came out in huge numbers for Donald Trump. Yet, it seems many of those land-tilling voters weren’t expecting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to actually become a huge influence in their business, despite many strong reports that Trump would appoint him to a position of power.
Kennedy is expected to be placed in charge of the Department of Health and Human services. This means the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also set to be under his control. While his nomination still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, it seems likely that we will once again have a Kennedy in a position of power in the States.
Writing in Ag Daily, soybean farmer and contributor Amanda Zaluckyj was steadfast in her opinion that RFK Jr. was going to be an unmitigated disaster for agriculture in the U.S., describing him as “an absolute danger” to the industry.
Kennedy is known for his zany views, which include heavy links to anti-vaccination organizations and opposition to other policies which have a solid scientific consensus around them. He is a purveyor of conspiracy theories, and has amplified the sorts of claims that even the stupidest corners of Reddit don’t believe.
As per NPR, some of his previous public opinions include the notion that Wi-Fi causes cancer, and that chemicals in the water supply have led to more and more children believing they are transgender. And that’s not even mentioning the fact he has claimed to have a worm in his brain, which may or may not be the result of eating raw meat from strange animals.
In terms of his harmful beliefs that pertain to agriculture, many farmers have raised concern about his distrust of genetically modified seeds. This fear is rooted in hearsay, and is in opposition to hundreds, if not thousands, of repeatable scientific studies. He has also gone on record about his hatred of pesticides. While these chemicals certainly have had their issues and caused a number of problems in the food chain, they are also a vital part of American agriculture.
Kennedy has also long been a critic of big agriculture, which is actually one of his more reasonable stances. The former presidential candidate has called for multiple restrictions on various food additives and dyes, as well as criticized the agricultural industry for promoting the American obesity epidemic and polluting farmland to the point it is becoming unusable.
So, it’s rather a mixed bag for the potential head of the Department of Health and Human Services. And some farmers have come out and said they appreciate his opposition to what they see as important issues in American agriculture. How his tenure pans out is yet to be seen, but it’s already clear that it won’t be easy for him to win friends in America’s farmland.