Trump Administration Food Scorecard
In a whirlwind of activity in its first 10 weeks in office, the Trump administration has devoted more attention to food and agriculture policies than any previous administration. While several initiatives spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. promise to improve the public’s health, most of the other initiatives will undermine health, jeopardize farmers’ livelihoods, and exacerbate hunger and suffering in the United States and abroad. Those cuts also will reduce scientific and legal expertise within government agencies.
What can we expect in the coming months? For starters, the president’s promised tariffs, which will be met with retaliatory tariffs from trading partners in Asia and Europe, likely will increase food (and alcoholic beverage) prices. If farmers are affected by the tariffs and other actions, expect Washington to spend tens of billions of dollars on a bail-out. And we will have greater clarity on how firings, budget cuts, and demoralization affect the creativity and dedication of federal employees.
Positive
(Dates shown are either when the events occurred or were reported in press accounts.)
2/13/25 – President Trump creates the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, which initially will “address the childhood chronic disease crisis.”
3/28/25 – RFK Jr. supports West Virginia and other states in banning food dyes and allowing states to bar the use of SNAP benefits to buy sugar drinks.
Negative
(Dates shown are either when the events occurred or were reported in press accounts.)
3/2/25 – U.S. Department of Agriculture fires staff at the National Plant Germplasm System, a vast federal collection of seeds, roots, branches and stems that is a “living library” aimed at protecting against famine in the US and elsewhere.
3/7/25 – USDA eliminates the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, which include outside experts and are parts of the US food-safety system.
3/17/25 – Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. lauds Steak ‘n Shake for replacing vegetable oil with beef tallow, increasing the risk of heart disease.
3/17/25 – USDA allows poultry and pork processing plants to accelerate line speeds, making it harder for food-safety inspectors to examine every carcass.
3/17/25 – 89 Food and Drug Administration staffers, including key technical experts, were fired, making it harder to keep food safe, honestly labeled.
3/19/25 – USDA halts $1.5 billion program that helped small farms and producers provide food to food banks and schools.
3/20/25 – Administration halts the 30-landmark year-long Diabetes Prevention Program.
3/20/25 – FDA postpones for 2½ years the implementation of a rule (required by the Food Safety Modernization Act) designed to speed the identification of tainted foods.
3/27/25 – RFK Jr. will fire 10,000 HHS employees, including 3,500 at the FDA. It is unclear yet how many will be in the agency’s food division.
3/28/25 – Inspired by RFK Jr., Utah is first state to ban fluoridation of drinking water, which protects against tooth decay.
3/28/25 – Administration seeks to end the US Agency for International Development, which has provided billions of dollars annually in food and other aid to needy countries.
