Dear Friends,

ON THIS WEEK’S PODCAST AND RADIO PROGRAM:

(00:53) America’s new health food champion?;
(19:02) Escalating the war between Russia and Ukraine;
(37:41) Charles’ take on tariffs and “feckless Senate Democrats”;
(53:52) Turkey myths and truths, with Kathy Byrnes Fallon.

Which wild-eyed, granola-crunching, left-wing fanatic recently said: “Obesity rates are absolutely out of control. And it is not the fault of people. We are being fed addictive garbage by massive corporations and eating genetically modified junk. We’re being fed garbage en masse. Systematically. Industrially. We’re almost like the geese they force feed the cornmeal into to make foie gras when their liver explodes.”

Whoever you guessed said that, I doubt it was Buck Sexton. He’s one of the two talking heads who replaced Rush Limbaugh three years ago.

Five days a week, three hours a day, Sexton cohosts the Clay and Buck Show. The program is heard on over 500 radio stations, reaches over 6.7 million radio listeners per month, and boasts over 4 million downloads each month.

I doubt much of my audience listens. I can’t blame you. Mostly, the program is a hyper-partisan promotion of Donald Trump and the Republican Party and a constant rage against evil Democrats. I listen to 15 minutes of the show a couple times a week. Why? So you don’t have to, and yeah, for perspective.

Once in awhile, Clay and Buck say something I agree with. That’s the case with Sexton’s tirade against ultra-processed foods, which I encourage you to listen to: The Shocking Truth About Our Food Supply Crisis. The 53-second clip concludes with a plug for RFK, Jr, Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

There’s a lot to process about this spot-on rant against ultra-processed “garbage,” which Charles and I discuss during the first segment of this week’s program. Here are some questions, in no particular order:

— Given that the Clay and Buck Show is heavily dependent on corporate advertising, will there be pushback from the processed food industry, which has tremendous financial and political clout?

— By calling out genetically modified foods, Sexton is poking industrial agriculture. Will that key constituency of Trump’s coalition push back?

— Sexton’s stand on junk food stands in stark contrast to Limbaugh’s support for processed food, most memorably Limbaugh’s chastisement of the powerful “fruit and vegetable lobby.” Generational change, or is something else going on?

— Have obesity and other diet-related epidemics finally become such a crisis in America that people from all points on the political spectrum are coming together to address the problem?

— Will RFK, Jr, take on the “ultra-processed-food lobby” if he’s confirmed as head of Health and Human Services? After all, Trump did tell him to go wild.

— Will Trump improve his diet under the influence of people like RFK and Sexton, or will he continue to proudly scarf down “addictive garbage”?

So many questions. Makes me hungry for this:

A late-November lunch of fresh greens, eggplant parmesan, and apple slices that Kathy and I enjoyed. Everything on the plate is from our garden, a nearby orchard, or the local grocery store.

Thanks for reading, listening, and eating real food. — Ed Fallon

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In addition to our PODCAST, listen to the Fallon Forum on these affiliates:

– KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames, Iowa)
– KICI.LP 105.3 FM (Iowa City, Iowa)
– WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana)
– KPIP-LP, 94.7 FM (Fayette, Missouri)
– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, New Mexico)
– KRFP 90.3 FM (Moscow, Idaho)
– WGRN 94.1 FM (Columbus, Ohio)
– KKFI 90.1 FM (Kansas City, Missouri)