5 Reasons Why Food Experts Are Worried About Trump’s New Agriculture Secretary

Just before the inauguration, news leaked that Donald Trump’s long-awaited pick for Agriculture secretary would be former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue. In a way, it was a relief to some people, since it’s true that, unlike some of Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominees, Perdue at least meets the minimum qualifications of the position: He grew up on a row farm in Georgia, got his doctorate in veterinary medicine, is no stranger to agribusiness, and even wore a red tractor tie to Trump Tower. Unfortunately, his nod hardly eliminates people’s panic about unmitigated disaster at the 100,000-employee, $155 billion agency now that it’s under Trump’s control, especially since Perdue thinks they see pretty eye-to-eye on agriculture policy, and served on the president’s agriculture advisory board.