Let’s take a beat to reflect that RFK, Jr., an avowed enemy of pesticides – he has won lawsuits against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto – has no ability in the Trump administration to rein in pesticides, even as Secretary of Health. In fact, as Eating In America covers this week, Trump was successful, without Kennedy, in helping Monsanto get a Supreme Court decision immunizing the Roundup maker from claims of health damages from the glyphosate in Roundup.
Kennedy came to Trump with an important voting constituency, but in repeated administration actions it has been apparent RFK Jr.’s power is at the surface level and never ran deep. That the enormous power of Big Agriculture and the pesticide industry can negate Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement requires our recognition and a response.
What is an appropriate, balanced response?
We do well for ourselves to make thoughtful, informed choices among the pesticide-contaminated food and environments presented to us, but policymakers and scientists are charged with making extra-thoughtful, extremely well-informed choices on our behalf. However, it feels as though the policy choices currently being made—and imposed on science—have been unusually heavily influenced by corporate interests and not at all weighted properly to protect the public.
I keep in mind that I have sometimes seen it happen that overzealousness in supposed public protection might expend resources that could be better allocated elsewhere for the public’s benefit, or that corporate regulations bind an industry so tightly that public access to beneficial goods and services is limited.
This isn’t that. In my opinion and response, this is an outrageous co-opting of public office that will result in far more harm to the public than good. Trump has delivered a triple win for the pesticide makers in the last three weeks. Check out the new https://www.eatinginamerica.co/p/pesticide-makers-are-having-a-field.
Let’s take a beat to reflect that RFK, Jr., an avowed enemy of pesticides – he has won lawsuits against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto – has no ability in the Trump administration to rein in pesticides, even as Secretary of Health. In fact, as Eating In America covers this week, Trump was successful, without Kennedy, in helping Monsanto get a Supreme Court decision immunizing the Roundup maker from claims of health damages from the glyphosate in Roundup.
Kennedy came to Trump with an important voting constituency, but in repeated administration actions it has been apparent RFK Jr.’s power is at the surface level and never ran deep. That the enormous power of Big Agriculture and the pesticide industry can negate Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement requires our recognition and a response.
What is an appropriate, balanced response?
We do well for ourselves to make thoughtful, informed choices among the pesticide-contaminated food and environments presented to us, but policymakers and scientists are charged with making extra-thoughtful, extremely well-informed choices on our behalf. However, it feels as though the policy choices currently being made—and imposed on science—have been unusually heavily influenced by corporate interests and not at all weighted properly to protect the public.
I keep in mind that I have sometimes seen it happen that overzealousness in supposed public protection might expend resources that could be better allocated elsewhere for the public’s benefit, or that corporate regulations bind an industry so tightly that public access to beneficial goods and services is limited.
This isn’t that. In my opinion and response, this is an outrageous co-opting of public office that will result in far more harm to the public than good. Trump has delivered a triple win for the pesticide makers in the last three weeks. Check out the new https://www.eatinginamerica.co/p/pesticide-makers-are-having-a-field.