Uncertainty heading into a presidential election cycle, a continued trade war with China (it's only a "Phase One" agreement, after all) and potentially sluggish U.S. economic growth has many Wall Street analysts recommending investors rotate into defensive stocks. And unsurprisingly, consumer staples stocks are getting the nod heading into 2020.

It makes sense. Consumer staples stocks - which provide things that people need on a near-daily basis, from food to toiletries - make excellent investments in virtually every economic environment, but they're especially attractive during economic slowdowns. That's because people simply can't cut back on consumer staples like they can other products. As a result, the sector has historically outperformed the broader market during downturns.

"We expect the market to vacillate between a pro-cyclical outcome and a defensive one as data comes in and trade tensions and the election evolve," Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's chief U.S. equity strategist, wrote in a note to clients in early December. "We slightly favor the more defensive outcome given our well below the consensus forecast for S&P 500 earnings growth next year."

Admittedly, if we get another bull run like we did in 2019, consumer staples might lag a bit. While their 2019 total return (price plus dividends) through Dec. 30 of 27.3% is far better than their 12-year average annual return of 10.4%, it still was about three percentage points behind the S&P 500. However, if the market gets choppy, and especially if a correction or bear move is in the cards, expect this sector to shine.

Against that backdrop, here are the best consumer staples stocks to buy for 2020. These picks, which include a pair of funds, offer an ideal combination of growth, downside protection and yield that should come in handy if turbulence kicks up in 2020.

Archer Daniels Midland

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Archer Daniels Midland (, $46.12) is a global food processing and commodity trading giant that is responsible for hundreds of products, including grains, flours, edible oils, proteins and more. And it was plenty happy to see the revised USMCA trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada signed by all three countries' trade representatives on Dec. 10.