RFK Jr.’s Organic Crusade Has Sparked a Weird Political Realignment

It also puts him on a collision course with people who worry that a switch to organic crops would make it much harder for the US to achieve its climate goals. Organic crops tend to produce less yield per acre, thus requiring larger areas of land to grow the same amount of crops, which in turn increases carbon emissions and threatens biodiversity as more land is converted to agriculture.

On January 14, environmental research group The Breakthrough Institute published a letter opposing Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS secretary. The letter cites as a warning the Sri Lankan government’s April 2021 decision to switch to organic farming, which led to plummeting yields, skyrocketing food prices, and protesters storming the presidential palace. The Sri Lanka chemical ban was encouraged by environmental activist Vandana Shiva, whom RFK Jr. has described as a “hero” and a “role model.”

If he is confirmed in the HHS role, RFK Jr. will have limited influence on agricultural policy, says Emily Bass, associate director of federal policy, food, and agriculture at Breakthrough. But he would have oversight of the Food and Drug Administration, which enforces regulation of food in the US. “Pesticide residue limits are something that he could certainly influence with his regulations,” says Bass. And “limiting use of genetically modified crops, or more strictly monitoring their existence in the food supply, is something that could create a chilling effect on agricultural production.”

The HHS secretary also oversees the National Institutes of Health, which funds and coordinates medical research in the US. Bass says Kennedy may try to direct the agency and the FDA to produce research into pesticides and food additives that is then used to support litigation trying to change how the US farms. This might shift the FDA away from being an explicitly regulatory agency to more of an activist organization.

His ability to do any of this is likely to be constrained by Brooke Rollins, Trump’s pick for USDA chief, who is seen as a very conventional candidate for the role. Rollins’ chief of staff is Kailee Tkacz Buller, the former president and CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association. RFK Jr. has consistently attacked oil seeds, writing on X that “seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods” and directing followers to buy hats with the slogan “Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.”

In her confirmation hearing, Rollins indicated that she’d follow the president’s line on agriculture, and President Trump is unlikely to want to upset the farmers and agriculture industry figures who are his natural constituents. “I work for him. I am a cabinet member,” she said at the time.

There are already signs that conservative lawmakers are warming to organic farming. “Historically we haven’t gotten a lot of interest from the more conservative-leaning members of Congress,” says Gorden Merrick, senior policy and programs manager at the Organic Research Farming Foundation, a nonprofit that advances research into organic agriculture.

Now, Merrick says, he’s having a lot more meetings with “very conservative” legislators. “A lot of them did say they’re interested in hearing more about organic because of the influence of RFK and the growth of Make America Healthy Again.”