Farmers Are Turning on the MAHA Movement

Small farmers in America feel that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the leader of the MAHA movement, has turned his back on them. 

Despite promises of investing in American agriculture and supporting farmers growing healthy, fresh foods, Kennedy has stood by as federal programs critical to American farmers were cut and questioned core industrial farming practices, like pesticide use, without scientific grounding. 

While Kennedy often talks about nutrition being central to his work, the administration’s actions tell a different story. In March, two critical programs, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement and Local Food for Schools, were cut, eliminating a vital connection between local farmers and schools, food banks, and childcare centers.

Will Westmoreland, a farmer from Polk County, MO, says he isn’t opposed to the idea of healthier food, but he believes “there are more effective voices out there for better agriculture and better rural policies than him.”

Many farmers see Kennedy’s broad attacks on pesticides as uninformed and harmful. Michelle Miller, a former farmer who educates consumers about modern farming practices and policies online,  explained: “Some farmers spray often, some only at the start of the season, and some not at all. If we want to make America healthy again, can we please start by listening to the people already breaking their backs to feed us?” 

Stephanie Nash, a Tennessee farmer and advocate for small producers echoed that sentiment. “Conventional farmers in this country produce 30 to 40 percent more than most others worldwide,” she said. “If we want to protect food security and the future of farming, we need to support these farmers, not vilify them.”

For many in the agricultural community, the disconnect is clear: farmers will keep farming—with or without federal help—but the communities MAHA claims to champion will bear the brunt of these policies. Affordable, fresh food becomes harder to access when local producers lose support, and without programs to attract younger farmers, the average age of U.S. farmers—now in the mid-60s—will keep climbing.

“Education and fair pay are the keys,” Nash said. “If we paid farmers more to produce in America and created more programs to support young people, we could bring a new generation into agriculture and secure our food future.”