- Video shows President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr unveiling their new Make America Healthy Again report
Leaders in the Ag industry are pushing back on claims that farm products and farming practices are primary contributors in poor health outcomes of American children.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In the months since President Trump returned to office farmers have had to deal with a lot of whiplash.
The administration has offered vocal support to farmers while limiting their trade with tariff’s and now they are claiming farmers are essential to making America Healthy again.
“If we lose the farmers the MAHA agenda is bankrupt," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr in an interview with CNN.
“It’s a disingenuous nod that farmers and ranchers are great, they are providing a safe and abundant food product for the country. Then turn around and say there are Ag chemicals in everything and they are making our kids sick. How do you square those two things up?” Said Mark McHargue, the president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau.
The 73 page report claims that there has never been a more unhealthy generation of American children, a top target of the report is processed foods.
But McHargue says that farmers aren’t where the Secretary needs to lay blame.
“Fundamentally when they come off the farm they are safe products. A lot of the products get refined, things taken out things put back in. Those are the type of things that a lot of people are looking at that on the farm side, we don’t control any of that,” said McHargue.
The report also lays out exposure to pesticide and herbicide use as a top health concern for children.
But the most recent USDA report shows that in 2023, 99% of all food samples were within safe limits and McHargue is worried the administration’s language could mislead consumers.
“Exposure is not the same thing as risk. On Glyphosate some of this is like if you took two pop cans and spread it over a football field,” said McHargue
While the report is getting significant push back from the Ag Sector it did receive the support from Nebraska’s chief executive.
Governor Pillen hasn’t been shy about sharing his close relationship with President Trump and he was in attendance at Thursday’s ceremony unveiling the report.
“What were your thoughts when you see this report that could be harmful for our farmers and you see Governor Pillen right there with President Trump?”
“We appreciate the Governor having a good relationship with President Trump and Brook Rollins but we really do need to make sure when we say our farmers produce the safest, most abundant food in the world that it is backed up by sound science. And not just have talking points in the game because that could hurt the Ag Sector,” said McHargue.
