How is MAHA doing so far? Not so great.

A bunch of items got me thinking about the gap between what MAHA promised and what it is actually doing: mostly talk, but not much action.

I.  This post from Senator Elizabeth Warren on X.

II.  The New York Times: How Kennedy did on children’s health reforms

Everything seems to be a mixed bag:

• Dietary guidelines advising eat real food and restrict highly processed foods, but also advising more meat, fat, and saturated fat.
• State restrictions of sodas and other sugary foods on SNAP, but other requirements that have dropped enrollments.
• An FDA proposal to close the GRAS loophole, but cuts to personnel will make oversight impossible.
• Removal of artificial dyes from food products, but this is voluntary.
• Defining ultra-processed foods, but this is held up and its fate is uncertain.
• Promises to put real food in schools, but no rules have as yet been issued nor is more money being appropriated.

III.  “MAHA Moms Built a Movement. MAGA Bros Have Taken It Over,”

With the midterm elections approaching and MAHA voters increasingly dissatisfied with Trump, it’s worth asking: How exactly did a cause powered by women turn into one run by men? And will the women who built the MAHA movement ever revolt?

IV.  KFF  Health News:  Trump and Kennedy’s Health Industry Deals Haven’t Been Enforced and Are at Risk of Vanishing

Like the focus on artificial dyes, however, many of the administration’s highest-profile health initiatives rely on voluntary agreements. The goals, such as lower drug prices and nutrition classes for doctors, have widespread appeal, cutting across party lines and economic divisions.  But the administration-industry deals lack the enforcement teeth of more traditional federal regulation. Their details are vague, and minimal oversight makes it hard to monitor progress. In some cases, the administration has claimed victories that have yet to materialize.

Comment

I had some cautious hope that this particular piece of this administration’s plans might actually get somewhere.  At the beginning, RFK Jr sounded like he really did want to improve American diets and Make America Healthy Again.  Apparently, he was unable to stand up to food industry pressures, as is most evident by his failure to get glyphosate out of the food supply.

His one resounding success?  Destroying confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccinations, despite tons of evidence that their benefits hugely outweigh risks.

In a word, disappointing.