Washington’s war on corn Is starving rural America

I’m a corn and soybean farmer. I’m also a first-generation farmer who built my farm from scratch, and I fully expect it to be passed down through the generations. This is the way of American agriculture. I don’t expect handouts to keep me afloat, but I do expect a fair market and a government that understands the value of what my fellow farmers and I produce. But lately, it feels like Washington is trying to turn the public against the very crops that have fed and fueled this nation for more than a century.

From where I stand, America’s corn and soybean fields are being sacrificed to politics and misinformation. The administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary has launched a campaign labeling corn-based and oilseed products, especially corn syrup and corn oil, as unhealthy “processed foods.” It’s a message that may play well in urban press briefings, but out here, where the rubber meets the road and consequences are real, it’s sowing confusion in the marketplace and cutting deep into the livelihoods of farm families.

All of my corn crop is sold to a local processor of corn syrup, oils, and feedstuffs. My corn isn’t just a crop; it’s an economic foundation for me. Corn syrup, corn oil, feed corn, and ethanol together sustain millions of American jobs and inject billions into rural economies. When policymakers stigmatize these products, the ripple effects reach far beyond the farm gate. Food manufacturers, facing political pressure and public misconceptions, are already reformulating recipes and sourcing substitutes. Many of those substitutes are imported. The result: fewer domestic sales, falling demand, and another blow to U.S. farmers already battling high input costs and shrinking margins.

Let’s be clear: there’s no scientific basis for this anti-corn campaign. The Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly affirmed that corn sweeteners and oils are safe and nutritionally comparable to their alternatives. Yet Washington’s rhetoric, coupled with legislators’ silence, ignores these findings. The results replace fact with ideology. This shift isn’t improving public health, it’s undermining an industry – my industry – that anchors the nation’s food supply and rural workforce.

The numbers don’t lie. Agricultural economists estimate that removing corn sweeteners from the U.S. food supply would strip roughly $5 billion a year from farm revenue. That’s money that pays for equipment, land, and labor – and keeps small-town businesses in my local community alive. Across the Midwest, rural counties already face declining populations, shuttered schools, and rising food insecurity. You see, farmers like me don’t sit on our money. We spend it at the new truck store, the used truck store, the hardware store, and the repair shop, and in many areas, we pay property taxes that fund our local public schools. Washington’s policies threaten to make matters worse, pushing family farms to the brink.

America’s farmers have endured trade wars, droughts, and volatile markets. And now, we’re being squeezed by crushingly higher costs of inputs because of tariffs on the very products we use to grow and build things – lumber, steel, and aluminum. And if that isn’t enough, being undercut by our own government’s rhetoric that claims what we grow is actually hurting our fellow American consumers is the last straw. The same policymakers who claim to champion “Made in America” manufacturing are standing by while domestic agriculture – the original American industry – is weakened by misinformation from within this administration.

Farmers care deeply about nutrition and health. We feed our families with the same food we sell to you. But good policy should rest on evidence, not emotion. Demonizing corn-based or oilseed ingredients may satisfy political activists, yet it accomplishes nothing for public health and everything to destabilize rural economies. A genuine commitment to food security requires a strong agricultural base—one that includes both corn and soybean growers who have kept shelves stocked and prices stable through multiple global crises.

Congress should not stand idle while unelected bureaucrats rewrite America’s food policy based on flawed assumptions. Lawmakers must remind the administration that rural America is not a testing ground for ideological experiments. It’s the foundation of our economy and a cornerstone of national strength.

Washington’s war on what I and farmers all across this nation produce is more than a misguided health initiative; it’s an assault on the American farmer’s productivity, innovation, and self-reliance. We must never lose sight of the farmers who are the backbone of this nation and faithfully serve as the economic engine for our rural communities. Now’s the time for Washington to stand up, clear their throats, and make it clear to constituents who and what they’re for.

Chris Gibbs and his family own and operate 560 acres of crops, hay, and cattle. Gibbs is retired from the United States Department of Agriculture and currently serves as president of the Gateway Arts Council, Chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party, and the Ohio Rural Caucus. He is the President of Rural Voices USA and Rural Voices Network.