Washington DC (RI) — Senator Chuck Grassley says the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is pursuing as the nation’s top health official is worrisome to some Iowa farmers. Kennedy has expressed support in the past for banning the farm chemicals glyphosate and atrazine and, in May, a report from his agency linked environmental chemicals to chronic childhood diseases. Grassley is among the senators who’ve quizzed Kennedy this week during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
Kennedy told Grassley he’s been working very, very closely with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and is consulting every stakeholder in the farm community.
Regenerative agriculture involves practices like no-till farming that doesn’t disturb the soil and either limiting pesticide and fertilizer applications or not using farm chemicals at all. Grassley also asked Kennedy if he would use his authority to require drug companies to disclose the price of their medication on TV ads.
Grassley ended his five-minute time slot in this week’s hearing by telling Kennedy he expects him to take steps to bar people waiting for organ transplants from skipping ahead of others in line. In July, Kennedy announced his agency had launched a wide-ranging investigation after news reports indicating an organ procurement organization in Kentucky had removed organs from patients who still showed signs of life.
Senator Chuck Grassley – KIWA Staff Photo
