HHS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Charlotte to participate in a Healthy America panel discussing good food

Joanne Williams
Editor

(Joanne Williams/TCJ – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (center) was part of a panel discussing health food and farmers’ contributions at an event in Charlotte on June 16.)

It couldn’t have been a sunnier morning to visit an apple orchard and talk about this country’s farmers and healthy foods.

The Country Mill was the place, and a panel including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., State Rep. Tom Barrett, Michigan Farm Bureau President Ben LaCross, and Alysa Sanford, another Bureau representative, both farmers as well, were center stage in the Cider Barn, greeted by an invitation-only crowd of about 200 people from all over mid-Michigan, and a press corps of more than 20 media professionals.

Co-owner Bridget Tennes helped park cars while husband Steve Tennes greeted visitors and prepared his 12-year-old daughter, Faith, to help open the hour-or-so long event by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The event was Tuesday, June 16.

Security included a metal scanner, purse searches and credentials or the invitation to attend. There were police, dogs, and other security. There were a handful of current and past political representatives in the crowd. 

Tennes, who offers more than just apples from his 213-acre farm, was interested in hosting the event for the healthy eating emphasis Kennedy is pursuing.  Part of that effort is valuing farmlands and  farms. “We need to save our farmlands to grow healthy food, because when the land is gone, it’s gone,” Tennes said.

The event was presented through the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), and the panel, which included Hannah Anderson, senior director of Healthy America Policy, was moderated by Rep. Barrett.

“The least expensive medicine we have is putting healthy food in our bodies,” Barrett said.

Kennedy did not mince words. He said the America diet is killing us, and that we are being “mass poisoned by ultra-processed foods.” The solution is eating fresh, non-processed, protein-packed foods, he said. 

In a side remark, Barrett mentioned that Kennedy had been working out at a Planet Fitness in Holt earlier in the morning.

Kennedy urged people to change their diets and patronize local family markets, and suggested schools do the same. 

For the most part, the presentation stayed away from politics or hot button topics. As the event wrapped up, two separate women in the audience yelled questions about health insurance and Medicare. They were both peacefully escorted out.