To Make America Healthy Again, Break up Big Ag

Factory-farmed animals are raised in cruel conditions, spending their lives on top of each other, covered in their own waste. Animals raised in these conditions are fed pesticide-ridden feed and antibiotics. And like any factory, these operations discharge dangerous pollution, driving a cancer-linked drinking water crisis in several states.

It’s no surprise that more than 70 percent of American adults are concerned about toxic chemical exposure in their food and drinking water. But to truly make America healthy again, we need to break up Big Ag once and for all.

President Trump once criticized America’s food monopolies. In November 2024, he called out the “industrial food complex” and pledged  “that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides… and food additives that have contributed to [an] overwhelming health crisis.”

But a year into his second term, Trump and Kennedy Jr. have done more to solidify those monopolies than to challenge them.

Corporate profits are at the heart of America’s pesticide and factory farm crises. A select few companies dominate the agrichemical sector, locking farmers into a treadmill of dependence on toxic pesticides and the seeds bred to withstand them.

Today, just two companies own 90 percent of the genetic traits of domestic corn, soybeans, and cotton. One of them, Bayer, is the German mega-corporation behind Roundup — America’s most used pesticide. The World Health Organization classifies Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, as likely carcinogenic. Tens of thousands of Americans have pending or settled cancer lawsuits against the corporation.

Meanwhile, just four companies control 81 percent of the beef market, 65 percent of the pork market, and 55 percent of the poultry market.

The Trump administration’s unscientific dietary guidelines are a gift to these corporations. By promoting animal protein consumption at rates far above the recommendation of most doctors, Trump is pushing for more factory farming — and thus more power for the monopolies. And Americans’ health will pay the price.

Trump has the power to restrict pesticides and transition meat production out of the factory farm model. Instead he’s doubling down, backing pesticide manufacturers’ quest to evade culpability for terrible health impacts.

Trump’s disingenuous pledges to “make America healthy again” are nothing but lies, designed to distract from his real goal of bolstering Big Ag, not taking it on.

This piece was originally published by our sister site OtherWords.org.