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As the Agriculture Commissioner for one of the nation’s largest farming and ranching states, I am thrilled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will join the Trump campaign and add an important voice. I have long advocated for policies that make Americans healthier. I am confident that with President Trump in the White House, we can achieve these important goals.
When I was a child, President John F. Kennedy inspired me with his call to make physical fitness and healthy habits a national priority. I wasn’t the only one. The people responded.
The Presidential Fitness Challenge was a big deal and we should bring it back. Until President Kennedy’s nephew took office, there was no national leadership on this fundamental aspect of human well-being.
Former President Trump shakes hands with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a rally in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. (Reuters/Go Nakamura)
But don’t get me wrong, we are in a chronic disease crisis and our children are suffering. Currently, more than two in five adults are obese and more than one in five children are obese. This is not normal. It didn’t “just happen”. It is the result of decades of bad public policies that have, among other things, spoiled our food.
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At some point, cost and quantity became more important than food quality. Cheap fillers, artificial sweeteners, and all kinds of ultra-processed foods have become the norm. Sadly, America’s declining health status reflects this trend.
Common sense tells us that only whole foods can nourish, repair, and nurture our bodies at the cellular level. Ultra-processed and artificial foods can only inhibit and destroy.
Humans have evolved for millions of years by eating whole, natural foods. You can’t simply undo that deep biology in a few generations without seeing the harm it caused.
But you can change this. One simple and necessary policy change would be to update Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits so that they pay for whole, healthy foods rather than ultra-processed junk. is.
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Many of my colleagues in state food leadership roles are ready and eager to do more.
In Texas, I am responsible for serving more than 5 million school meals each day. With our Farm Fresh program, kids have access to fresh, locally sourced, healthy, real food prepared without added colors, additives, preservatives or salt. They are never flash frozen and are often organic. For many students, it is the only nutritious meal they eat each day.
Expanding this program nationwide will not only help healthier children develop better nutritional habits, but also provide farmers and ranchers with new local markets with lower transportation costs and a shared benefit. It also means giving.
Along these lines, we also have the opportunity to launch a surplus crop program that encourages farmers to donate their surplus crops to local food banks.
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With regenerative farming practices such as no-till cultivation and intensive grazing, our farmers are innovating to bring more food to market with fewer chemicals and less disruption to ecosystems. Masu. This is how we make our soil healthy again.
In Texas, farms, ranches, and other pesticide/herbicide users should contact the Department of Agriculture to ensure that expired and unused chemicals are properly and safely disposed of instead of flowing into soil and groundwater. There is a program.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” are a threat to public health with effects that may not be apparent for many years. The more we do everything we can to remove PFAS from the environment, the healthier we will be.
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Like Big Pharma, Big Food’s role is to put its profits ahead of our health. I enthusiastically support his RKF Jr. campaign to hold these industries accountable by reforming the food and drug approval and patent systems. In this respect he is uniquely qualified. He remains strong, even though the $1.7 trillion pharmaceutical industry has unfairly vilified him for decades.
Our great American farmers know this Big Food Fight and are under incredible pressure. Family farms are closing or being sold to commercial factory farms at an alarming rate. Farmers Under President Trump’s Efforts to Open New Markets, Use Effective Tariffs to Force Fair Competition, and Lower Costs to Make Farming Profitable Again Thanks to this, we achieved better results than any other period.
Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and most of the leading causes of death are related to what we put into our bodies, consciously or not. Our country knows from our experience with COVID-19 that people suffering from these chronic conditions are far more vulnerable to disease.
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Many factors have combined to make Americans overweight, stressed, unhappy, and unwell. Eating healthy, exercising, continuing to sleep, and maintaining a daily routine will help you feel better.
Just as cells are the basic building blocks of our bodies, our bodies are the basic building blocks of nations, societies, and cultures. I think President Trump understands this as well.
Food production is our birthright, accounting for a significant portion of all economic activity as well as national security and welfare. Today, with President Trump and RFK Jr.’s leadership, America stands on the edge of a new dawn of sustainable, profitable, and healthy agriculture that protects the environment and supports this essential American industry.
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Making America healthy again is not just about how we look on the beach, it’s about healing our culture and our nation from the ground up, and we have to start with our children.
President Trump will lead us to this bright and healthy future. And he chose the right person for the job: Robert Kennedy.
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