Donald Trump Keeps Draining Swamp By Replacing Food Lobbyist With Former Food Lobbyist

Further, the revolving door between lobbying and posts like Leftwich’s isn’t particularly unusual — and that’s true of both Democratic and Republican administrations, according to Ferd Hoefner, policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

While representing NSAC on the hill, Hoefner took part in meetings with Leftwich on the Senate Agriculture Committee, on issues like authorizing a farm-to-school program as part of the 2010 Child Nutrition Act. He described the experience as positive.

“Joel certainly is someone who knows how things work,” Hoefner said. “He has a practical side. We may not always agree on positions, but we can certainly easily work together to move things forward.”

Still, it will be too early to know exactly what a Trump administration will mean for our food system until the USDA secretary pick is announced.

One apparent front-runner, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, has raised eyebrows for both his temperament and food policy positions.

Miller called Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton a “cunt” on Twitter last month, in a tweet he blamed on an error made by a campaign staffer. And he’s been labeled a “king of cupcakes and deep-fried advocate” for his junk food-inclusive approach to school nutrition.

Trump’s selection this week of U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as secretary of health and human services, the agency that oversees the Food and Drug Administration, has also prompted concerns.

As Politico reported Wednesday, Price’s congressional record includes voting against the Food Safety and Modernization Act and the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. He also opposed menu labeling rules for convenience stores and grocers under the Affordable Care Act.

Still, food advocates are pressing on.

Regardless of whom the Trump administration selects as agriculture secretary, Tom Colicchio, celebrity chef and co-founder of the food advocacy group Food Policy Action, emphasized that his organization will push them to “take care of the health of our country across the board.”

“We encourage Washington to keep turning the dial forward towards good food policy because that is what consumers want and every American deserves,” Colicchio said in an email.

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Joseph Erbentraut covers promising innovations and challenges in the areas of food and water. In addition, Erbentraut explores the evolving ways Americans are identifying and defining themselves. Follow Erbentraut on Twitter at @robojojo. Tips? Email [email protected].