U.S. HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Warns of Threat to American Family Farms as Industrial Agriculture Grows
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently addressed a pressing question from follower Shirley Troubadour asking why are figures like Bill Gates and China permitted to acquire vast swathes of American farmland?
The environmental attorney, activist and cabinet member, known for his outspoken stance on industrial agriculture, delivered a detailed critique, linking the rise of factory farming to a loss of democratic values and national food sovereignty.
RFK Jr. recounted his 20 years of experience investigating factory farms, spotlighting the case of Smithfield Foods, once the largest pork producer in the U.S.
He described how Smithfield, in partnership with North Carolina State Senator Wendell Murphy, built a slaughterhouse capable of processing 30,000 pigs daily. Murphy, RFK Jr. alleged, pushed through 28 laws in the 1990s to shield factory farms from lawsuits, paving the way for a drastic shift in hog farming.
“They dropped the price of pork from 60¢ a pound to 2¢ a pound,” RFK Jr. said, explaining how this undercutting forced 28,000 independent hog farmers in North Carolina out of business. These were replaced by 2,200 factory operations, mostly owned or contracted by Smithfield.
RFK Jr. detailed how surviving farmers were coerced into signing contracts with Smithfield, mortgaging their homes to build “Murphy 1100s”, large hog warehouses. “They lose all control, become serfs on their own land,” RFK Jr. lamented, noting that Smithfield dictated farming practices, supplied piglets, and controlled the supply chain.
This model, he argued, gave Smithfield dominance over 80% of North Carolina’s hog production, a strategy later replicated in Iowa, securing 80% of the national hog market.
The insight took a geopolitical turn when RFK Jr. revealed Smithfield’s 2013 sale to WH Group, a Chinese conglomerate, for $4.7 billion, the largest Chinese acquisition of an American company to date.
“Now China owns all that hog production in America and controls our landscapes,” he warned, framing it as a threat to Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a democracy rooted in independent family farms.
RFK Jr. connected these developments to broader concerns about Bill Gates, who has been criticized for purchasing over 270,000 acres of U.S. farmland, making him one of the largest private landowners.
While not detailing Gates’ specific actions, RFK Jr. implied a similar consolidation trend undermines food quality and democratic integrity. “Industrial agriculture not only gives us substandard food, but it’s also taking control of our landscapes,” he concluded.
Actor and comedian Rob Schneider echoed these sentiments saying, “There is no other way to describe what has happened to American family farms being replaced with the factory farm food industry as anything other than deceitful, greedy, terribly destructive and unhealthy. And also, unsustainable.”
Schneider’s comment aligns with RFK Jr.’s call to action, resonating with a growing movement advocating for small-scale farming.
The remarks have sparked debate, with supporters praising RFK Jr.’s focus on corporate overreach. Data from the USDA supports some of his claims, showing a 50% decline in family farms since 1980, with industrial operations now dominating poultry, egg, and milk production.
A 2018 study in PMC: Antibiotic Use in Agriculture and Its Consequential Resistance in Environmental Sources: Potential Public Health Implications further linked factory farms to health risks like antibiotic-resistant bacteria, lending credence to concerns about sustainability.
Not A Sponsored Article
This article is not sponsored. Consider sponsoring our next article from as little as $0.06¢ or R1 and we will attribute your contribution.
Leave a Reply