Episode #32: MAHA

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria talk with Kelsey Keener about MAHA’s (Make America Healthy Again) impact in the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

Kelsey is a 3rd-generation farmer in Southeast Tennessee at Sequatchie Cove Farm (you can read his blog at this link or follow him on Instagram @sequatchiecovefarm).

His grandparents started the farm 25 years ago, and he learned from his parents and continues to teach his children about regenerative farming, as well as the community and other farmers.

They discuss:

* The (brief) history of MAHA

* Their personal biases around MAHA and the positive and negative details of what MAHA has promoted and achieved

* The reason why MAHA’s ideas and actions are extremely impactful

* Skepticism about climate change and what Kelsey understands about climate change as a farmer

* Changes MAHA has made in the first 100 days of the Trump administration and how it’s impacted Kelsey’s work as a small farmer

* How much food actually costs versus what we pay for it as consumers

* Kelsey shares surprising information about the egg shortage and government-funded relief payments

* How the government currently subsidizes farming and why that might not align with popularized MAHA speaking points

* How Kelsey thinks MAHA’s current policies will affect small farms in the future

* Are food dyes and fluoride the most important issues to focus on for most people?

Helpful links:

* HHS’s list of what has been accomplished in the first 100 days

* Food Policy Tracker’s first 100 days of MAHA

* $1 billion that was going to help put farm fresh food in schools and food banks was cancelled. This was an amazing program that was getting fresh vegetables and even grass-fed beef into school cafeterias. Kelsey talks more about this in the episode. More info here, here, here.