President-elect Donald Trump won farm country by wide margins in this month’s election, with rural voters helping fuel his return to the White House.

But some farmers, economists, analysts and others in the agriculture industry are voicing alarm over Trump plans that could disrupt America’s $1.5 trillion food industry.

Trump moved this past week to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration. A nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

In a column published on Friday, soybean farmer Amanda Zaluckyj called the choice “a literal middle finger to agriculture, which constituted a key piece of Trump’s base.”

Writing in the trade journal Ag Daily, she described Kennedy as “an absolute danger” to the American farm industry.

“He has gone as far as saying he would ‘weaponize’ regulatory agencies to eliminate the use of pesticides,” Zaluckyj said, adding that Kennedy has “voiced strong opposition to the scientific consensus” on farm industry practices.

Zaluckyj isn’t alone in raising questions about Kennedy’s role. In an essay published in September, before Kennedy was named to head HHS, biotech analyst Dana O’Brien described Trump’s “embrace” of Kennedy as “a threat to American agriculture.”

“The elevation of Kennedy by Trump is chilling,” O’Brien wrote in the online trade journal Agri-Pulse. “It represents a wholesale shift in politics and farm policy.”

Kennedy has a long track record voicing conspiracy theories, including baseless claims that Wi-Fi causes cancer and “leaky brain”; that school shootings are attributable to antidepressants; and that chemicals in water can lead to children becoming transgender.

Some agriculture experts worry similar unproven or unscientific views could now reshape U.S. farm and food policy.

“His distrust of genetically modified seeds is longstanding and in opposition to thousands of scientific studies,” wrote Blake Hurst, a farmer and former head of Missouri’s Farm Bureau, in the journal Agri-Pulse.

Hurst described Trump’s ties to Kennedy as an “unholy alliance.”

Kennedy has long condemned industrial food corporations as well as Big Ag trade groups, which he says have driven an obesity epidemic in the U.S. while polluting farmland and bankrupting smaller family farms.

“America’s current ag policy is destroying America’s health on every level,” Kennedy said in a video posted on social media last month.

“Corporate interests have hijacked the USDA’s dietary guidelines to make natural, unprocessed foods an afterthought.”

Kennedy is calling for restrictions on a host of food additives and dyes. He wants to reduce the dominance of ultra-processed foods; he’s called for reforming the SNAP food assistance program — formerly known as food stamps.

In naming Kennedy to head one of the nation’s most powerful food regulatory agencies, Trump appeared to embrace that vision: “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex,” Trump said on the social media platform X.

According to Trump, under Kennedy’s leadership, “HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives.”

Trump’s decision to make Kennedy a major player in U.S. food policy has also drawn support from some farmers.

Sid Miller, a farmer and rancher who serves as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, praised the selection.

“Today, more than two in five adults and over one in five children in America are obese,” Miller, a Republican, wrote in an essay posted on the Texas Department of Agriculture website.

“This didn’t ‘just happen’ — it is the outcome of misguided public policy and corporate influence,” Miller said.

Concern over tariffs’ impact on farmers

Kennedy’s nomination isn’t the only Trump move raising concern among farmers and others in the industry. They’re also voicing alarm over Trump’s proposal to levy stiff tariffs on Chinese goods.

A study released last month by the National Corn Growers Association found a tariff-driven trade war with China could cost U.S. soybean and corn farmers as much as $7.3 billion in annual production value.

“This burden is not limited to the U.S. soybean and corn farmers who lose market share and production value,” the study’s authors predicted. “There is a ripple impact across the U.S., particularly in rural economies where farmers live, purchase inputs, utilize farm and personal services, and purchase household goods.”

Experts say the next indication of how food and agriculture policy will play out over the next four years will come when Trump announces his pick to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The online publication Farm Journal reported that many of the names being considered by Trump’s team to head the Agriculture Department have deep ties to industrial farming.

Cooking with kids can be a challenge. There’s the mess, the chaos, and concerns about safety. But the whole point of Mark Bittman’s new cookbook “How to Cook Everything Kids,” is to get your young chefs comfortable with the kitchen.

Now, I can’t tell you to do it if I’m not willing to do it myself! So I tried out his book with my children. Reggie (11), Gabrielle (8) and Annalise (7) picked out recipes, and Mark Bittman bravely joined us in-person to show us how it’s done.

On the menu: “Chicken Mark Nuggets” and “Chicken with Orange Sauce.” Long story short: my kids had a blast and so did I!

Ayesha Rascoe with her kids and food journalist, Mark Bittman.

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Chicken Mark Nuggets

You won’t believe how easy it is to make crispy tidbits of chicken in the oven. And they’re waayyyy better than what you get at a drive-thru window. You can double this recipe to feed a lot of hungry people, or if you want to freeze leftovers in an airtight container. They can be heated later in the microwave.

SERVES 4
TIME: 30 minutes

• 1 pound boneless chicken (tenders, breasts, cutlets, or thighs)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 cups corn flakes
• 3 tablespoons good-quality vegetable oil, plus more as needed

STEPS

“Chicken Mark Nuggets” coming out of the oven.

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1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Cut the chicken into chunks about 2 inches long. Put them in a medium bowl, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and pour in the milk. Toss with a fork until the pieces are all coated with the milk. Let the chicken sit while you get everything ready to cook.
2. Put the corn flakes in a shallow bowl and crumble them with your hands or a potato masher. Crush the flakes into crumbs about the size of coarse bread crumbs. (For a more even coating, make finer crumbs by pulsing the cornflakes in a blender or food processor.)
3. To set up for breading and baking: Put a large rimmed baking sheet on a counter or table and smear the bottom with the oil. On one side (depending on whether you like to work from the left or the right), put the bowl with the crumbs. Next to that, put the bowl with the chicken.
4. Toss the chicken again with the fork to make sure all the pieces are wet. With tongs (or your hands), one at a time lift a piece of chicken from the bowl and roll it in crumbs until coated all over. As you work, put the pieces on the oiled pan, spreading them out so they’re evenly placed without touching. (Be sure to wash your hands once you’re done with this step.)
5. Set a timer for 10 minutes and let the chicken bake without touching. You’re looking for a crunchy-looking golden brown crust to form on the bottom as the oil sizzles. You’ll see it around the edges when the pieces are ready, and you’ll be able to turn them easily without tugging. Tongs are the best tool to avoid splatters, but sometimes a stiff spatula can help loosen every bit from the pan. If they’re not ready to turn when the timer goes off, set it for another 5 minutes and check again to see if they’re ready to turn.
6. If you used breasts or tenders, bake the second side for another 5 minutes (or 8 minutes for thighs). You want the second side to be about the same color as the first. To test for doneness, carefully remove the pan and cut into a piece with a fork and small knife so you can peek. The meat should feel firm against the fork and cut easily and you’ll see no pink. The juices should be clear. You don’t have to check every piece once you get the hang of what they look like.
7. Sprinkle the nuggets with a little salt and pepper if you like. Serve them plain, or with a condiment or homemade sauce for dipping on the side.

Finished “Chicken Mark Nuggets.”

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Chicken with Orange Sauce

Feel like a total chef when you whip up perfectly golden chicken and a bright, buttery sauce. It’s easy, especially if you have some help.

SERVES 2-3
TIME: 45 minutes

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more if you like
• 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken tenders or thighs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup orange juice
• Pepper (if you like)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, parsley, or chives for garnish

STEPS

Ayesha Rascoe’s son, Reggie (11), sautés chicken with help from Mark Bittman.

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1. Spread the flour out in a large shallow bowl next to the stove. Add the salt and stir with a fork to combine. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss the pieces in the mixture until every nook and cranny is covered.
2. Put the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter foams and the oil is hot and shimmering, quickly but carefully use tongs to lift a piece of chicken above the bowl, shake off the excess flour, and put it in the pan. Smooth side down first is best, but if you can’t, no big deal. Try with some of the other pieces. It’s more important that the chicken is spread out as much as possible.
3. When all the pieces are in, adjust the heat so the edges sizzle without burning. If the flour is getting dark fast, turn the heat down under the pan. Cook without touching until the chicken smells like toast and you can see the edges curling up from the bottom of the pan, 3 to 5 minutes for breasts and 5 to 7 minutes for thighs. While the chicken cooks, dump the flour out of the bowl, wash and dry it, and put it next to the stove again.
4. Tug on the thinnest piece of chicken with the tongs to see if it will lift easily and peek at the bottom. It should be golden brown. If it is, turn the pieces over, using a stiff spatula. If the chicken isn’t ready, set the timer for another minute and check again.
5. Repeat Step 4 to cook and brown the other side. As the pieces finish browning, move them to the clean shallow bowl and turn the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Even though the outsides are brown, the chicken will probably still be pink inside. That’s okay. It will finish cooking in the sauce, but you’re going to need to use a clean platter or dinner plates for serving. (Unless you want to just serve from the skillet—your choice.)
6. Add the orange juice to the skillet and adjust the heat so it steams and bubbles. Use a stiff spatula to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add the last 1 tablespoon butter and stir until it melts and the sauce bubbles again.
7. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, using the spatula to move it around and coat it in the sauce until the thickest piece is no longer pink inside, about 5 minutes. To check, use a small knife to cut a slit and peek inside. Taste the sauce and see if it needs more salt, then move the chicken to the platter or plates and spoon the sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped herbs and eat.

Finished “Chicken with Orange Sauce.”

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Eleana Tworek and Melissa Gray contributed to this story, with a special thank you to Julia Redpath.