Hello Farm Friends,
It is a chilly negative 7 degrees here at the farm on what happens to be inauguration day 2025. I make it a point to not discuss politics in the farm blog, but there was one issue from the election that really stood out to me. I never expected a politician to stand up and talk about the issue of the declining health of Americans, our food system, and our agricultural system. I have always held the belief that there is too much corporate money in politics and campaign finance for any politician to ever challenge a big industry. So, whether you like him or not, I am grateful that RFK Jr. brought these very real issues to the forefront of the media and the political world. I have always felt these were some of the biggest issues that we face as people, and as a society, and the lack of discussion around them was problematic..
Do I truly believe that Trump 2.0 is going to Make America Healthy Again? No. I would say I am hopeful, but not optimistic. And that’s not a knock against the administration, it’s an acknowledgment of how powerful the food and chemical industries are in our country. Our campaign finance system and the army of special interest lobbyists filling the halls of Washington D.C. have captured our economy and the federal policy around healthcare, food, and agriculture. Do I expect these corporations to roll over and give up their profits to make America healthy again? I do not.
I do think they will make token changes if it doesn’t cost them anything (like the banning of Red Dye #40), and they will consider other changes that bring them bigger profits, and I suppose that’s some improvement. But the bigger issues we face are systemic, and these corporations hold a LOT of power and are doing great in the current system, so I question their willingness to go along with any meaningful level of change. The power of these industries will force the administration to make serious compromises which will basically undermine the goal of MAHA. Changing the health of Americans and our landscape goes all the way back to changing our mindset about the values that we prioritize (putting health higher than profit), and I’m not convinced we are there as a society yet.
Just for fun, let’s ask the question: Why can’t we have healthy food at an affordable cost? If Trump 2.0 is serious about MAHA, then the federal government would have to change it’s policies, incentives, and subsidies to work towards that goal.
As it stands now, almost 70% of the average American’s caloric intake comes from ultra-processed foods. And these foods are primarily manufactured from commodity crops like corn, soybeans, sugar beets, canola, etc. And the vast majority of agricultural subsidies from the USDA flow to commodity producers. In other words, the current government policy for agriculture supports, crop insurance, and subsidies all incentivize the production of ultra-processed food. And there are 2 primary beneficiaries of the system (hint, it’s not the farmers). First, the huge food processing corporations are able to buy inputs at a costs that is often lower than the cost of production, which really helps improve profit margins. Two, commodity agriculture depends on patented seeds, herbicides, and chemical inputs, and so the amalgamated biotech/chemical companies like Bayer/Monsanto are making huge profits selling these inputs to farmers in the commodity system.
To make America healthy again, we would need to make our food healthy again, which means we would have to make our soil and land healthy again. And doing that more or less means doing away with harmful agricultural chemicals. Do you envision Dupont, Syngenta, and Bayer folding up shop and shifting production to dandelion tinctures or biological amendments? I don’t see that happening.
It would ultimately require industry folks to re-prioritize health over profits, and that is more or less the opposite of our current economy. The only change that I think is feasible would be health AND profits, and I don’t know what that looks like in an industrial system.
For a moment, let’s consider it from the opposite direction. IF the federal government wanted to MAHA, the concrete first steps that it could take would be to completely revise the subsidy structure of the USDA. Either get rid of it all together so that processed foods reflect their true, unsubsidized value, which makes healthy food more cost competitive; or, change it to subsidize healthy food production to bring down the cost of healthy food. Oh, and for the love of God, could we please change school lunches to be healthy instead of serving as a sponge to soak up surplus ag commodities? There is no path to MAHA with changing school lunches!
Most politicians willing to consider that would immediately face a primary challenger funded by the chemical industry, as well as all the marketing and rhetoric that their money pays for. Which is why no politician up until now has dared broach the subject. Most politicians put their own self-interest of staying in office ahead of the good of the American people. That’s human nature I suppose. Trump 2.0 is not running for re-election, and he is disruptive, and so it will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. It’s all a bit surreal that the president who claims fast food is his favorite is now proposing the Make America Healthy Again initiative!
But at the end of the day, I am highly skeptical of real top down change. But that’s ok, because I’ve never held that expectation or belief that change would ever come from the top down. I have always been a believer in change on the individual level, from the ground up. And my hope in all of this is that the discussion of the issues, and bringing them to light, will encourage more Americans to make changes in their own lives to improve the nutrition and health. I’ll hit on that more in Part II
Stay warm out there!
Todd
We appreciate that you know how powerful food intake is. Thank you for helping us in your special way of delivering good produce and knowing that chemicals are not helpful. I think your Two Bear Farm is super spectacular. And I love that you write so well.
I too, never thought I’d see the day that our unhealthy food system would be given a political platform. I agree with you that real change starts at the individual level, but I think people have been learning for awhile just how broken (and that’s being generous) our food system is. More and more people are choosing to buy local and support small farmers, and I’m optimistic that it is gaining momentum!
Casey and Cally Means have, in my opinion, played a part in why this message has risen to the top level. They are fighting hard for change and I don’t see them stopping anytime soon.
While it would be amazing to see our entire food system “healed” I don’t see that happening either.
However, every win is a win and I’m fairly optimistic that we will see something positive come out of RFK Jr and the MAHA movement. Even if we just have more healthy options, and more awareness that’s a win.
We are incredibly blessed to have Two Bear Farm here locally, with you and Rebecca and the team. There’s something special about that soil there, and I’ve no doubt it has something to do with how well it’s cared for. Thank you for everything you do.
Thank you!!
Wonderfully written