Currently browsing posts about: MAHA

The USDA issued an announcement last week: Secretary Rollins Announces Reinvigorated Farm to School Grants Supporting American Farmers and Children.   And here’s her video announcement.

I love the way the USDA uses Orwellian language (meaning the opposite of what it says).

New this year, USDA reimagined the Farm to School Grant program, implementing several improvements, including streamlining the application, removing barriers to innovation, and emphasizing partnerships to give small family farms the best chance at success.

“Yesterday at the MAHA Report announcement, alongside Secretary Kennedy, we announced one of the key actions USDA has already taken to contribute to making our children healthy again – Farm to School Grants. These initiatives are one of the best ways we can deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to children, while also strengthening local agriculture,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “These grants will open new doors for small family farms, expand access to healthy food in schools, and inspire the next generation of Great American Farmers. Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is proud to streamline this program, so it works better for families, farmers, and communities across our nation. Putting America’s Farmers First starts with putting our children first.”

Yes, but.

Somehow, Secretary Rollins failed to mention that the Trump Administration cancelled the $1.13 billion farm-to-school program announced last December.

It’s great that USDA is bringing back this program, a win-win for farmers and schools.

But “up to $18 million” falls far short–16%—of what was meant to be invested in such programs, but cancelled.

Reinvigorated?  Maybe.

Hence Orwellian.

Yesterday, USDA and HHS released the official version of the leaked draft:  Make Our Children Healthy AgainStrategy 

It’s pretty much the same as the one I saw previously and posted about.

A bunch of reporters sent me copies of the draft for comment.  I wrote up some general comments:

Comments on MAHA Strategy Report

First impression:  Wait!  I’ve seen this before.  Make Our Children Healthy Again?  Isn’t that exactly what Michelle Obama was trying to do in 2010 with a Task Force Report, greeted by outrage and disdain for nanny-statism.  So here’s the RFK Jr version of the nanny state.

The report has a lot of ideas for actions that really could improve health, but is short on specifics and weak on regulatory action.  It has not changed much from the leaked version.  Its overriding message is still “more research needed.”   It does not say nearly enough about what needs to be done to improve the diets of America’s children.

On reducing intake of ultra-processed foods, it says it will try to develop a definition as a basis for future research and policy—a distant goal.

On school food, it says it will improve farm-to-school grants without noting the contradiction: this was one of the first programs eliminated by the Trump administration.

It gives a big win to the dairy industry: allows whole milk, eliminates low-fat requirements.

It does promote increased awareness of physical activity in schools but nothing about how schools are to pay for healthier meals or get more time.

It dropped any mention of reducing sugar and salt in processed foods.

What’s still missing is regulation.  So much of this is voluntary, work with, promote, partner.

The big issue for me is what are they going to do about food marketing to children?  They will “explore” “potential” guidelines for industry.  Really?  That’s all?

This is such an opportunity.  I sure wish they had taken it.

MAHA has so much bipartisan support.   This was the time to regulate food marketing to kids—not “explore,” get ultra-processed foods out of schools, and promote farm-to-school programs and school gardens—all shown to improve kids’ dietary intake.  Where’s the policy?

The bottom line: Where’s the action?

Press coverage

• Press release:  MAHA Commission Unveils Sweeping Strategy to Make Our Children Healthy Again
• Video of the press conference
• The Hagstrom Report interviewed lots of groups on reactions. Farm Action reprinted them.  The Ag industry is enthusiastic; others not so much.
• Food Fix: also has lots of comments from various groups
• Scientific American (I’m quoted)
• The New Lede (I’m quoted)
• Reuters (I’m quoted)
• Ag Funder News (I’m quoted)
• ABC News (I’m quoted)
• PBS News interview transcript  The video on X
• Time Magazine (I’m quoted)
• CSPI

Michael Jacobson, founder and former president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is now promoting development of a National Food Museum.  One of its projects is keeping score on administration food policies.

He lists them as positive or negative, like this.

The most recent entry is dated June 26, a negative: the huge cut in SNAP benefits.

Alas, the negatives far outweigh the positives.  Take a look.

Thanks to Food Fix for this collection of tracking sites

• STAT News: Isabella Cueto’s report on MAHA’s minimal progress
• HHS: “MAHA in Action” public health wins (Food Fix says this is more like a campaign site).
• FDA:  Food industry pledges to remove food dyes (promises, but not much action yet)

The big news in my world last week was the leaking of drafts of the forthcoming MAHA strategy report.

At least four reporters sent me copies for comments.

• Leaked version dated August 6 (highlighted to indicate food issues)
• Leaked version dated August 11 (no highlights)

I did not do a careful comparison.  The main difference seems to be that the earlier version had this useful graphic about MAHA’s strategic intentions.

All of this may change when the final report is released, but here are my initial thoughts on its food sections.

First, the background: The first report, despite the hallucinated references, was a strong indictment of this country’s neglect of the health of our children. It stated the problems eloquently. It promised that the second report would state policies to address those problems.

As for this report: No such luck.

It states intentions, but when it comes to policy, it has one strong, overall message: more research needed.

Regulate?  Not a chance, except for the long overdue closure of the GRAS loophole (which lets corporations decide for themselves whether chemical additives are safe).

Everything else is waffle words: explore, coordinate, partner, prioritize, develop, or work toward.”

One good thing: the report mentions marketing to children, but only to “explore development of industry guidelines.”  Nothing about regulation.  This is too little too late.  We know what food marketing does to kids.  It’s way past time to stop it.

A few comments on specific issues mentioned.

• “USDA will prioritize precision nutrition research…”  USDA?  NIH is already doing that, and it is the antithesis of public health research, the kind that really will make Americans healthier.
• The report emphasizes color and other chemical additives (we knew it would), a definition (not regulation) of ultra-processed foods, and a potential front-of-pack label (unspecified).
• It says it will modernize infant formula (really? how?), and will work to increase breastfeeding (again, how?).

And then there are the contradictions:

• Improve hospital food, but the administration is taking money away from hospitals.
• Teach doctors about nutrition (how?)
• Prioritize “whole healthy foods” in nutrition assistance programs (but cut SNAP and WIC)
• Expand EFNEP (but eliminate SNAP-ED)
• Promote healthy meals in child care settings (also defunded)
• Encourage grocery stores in low-income areas (how?)

How are they going to do this?  It doesn’t say.

Are there any teeth behind it?  It doesn’t look like this is anything more than voluntary (and we know how voluntary works with the food industry; it doesn’t).  None of this says how or has any teeth behind it.

And oh no!  MAHA boxes.  I’m guessing these are like what got given out—badly—during the pandemic. 

Resources

• Politico: it published the first leak.  Its current headline: “quite industry friendly”
• Stat News (I’m quoted): This covers the entire report and emphasizes the reneging on trying to reduce pesticides in response to industry lobbying
• New York Times (I’m quoted): also a much longer story emphasizing the pesticide problem
• Washington Post: also emphasizing ag issues
• CNN (I’m quoted): lots on processed foods, as well
• Civil Eats: Should Regenerative Farmers Pin Hopes on RFK Jr.’s MAHA?
• Center for Science in the Public Interest: 

It is striking that the leaked Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Strategy Report, like its AI-assisted predecessor, embodies much of the idiosyncratic beliefs about food and drugs of one person: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He might be right about food dyes, but the report’s recommendations to alter our vaccine framework, restructure government agencies, and promote meat and whole milk are going to promote disease, not health…

The report…seems to twist itself into knots to make it clear that it will not be infringing upon food companies….But we also need to judge the administration by what it does, not what it says. And the administration’s attacks on SNAP, Medicaid, the health insurance exchanges, and the FDA and USDA workforces are poised to make America sicker, hungrier, and more at risk from unsafe food.

• John Oliver on the MAHA movement’s lack of genuine policy initiatives (I’m quoted!)  Do not miss this one.

David Kessler, a physician, lawyer, and former FDA Commissioner, has done a great service for the Make America Healthy Again movement.  He has written a letter to RFK Jr presenting a Citizen’s Petition to the FDA: “Petition to Limit the Exposure of Refined
Carbohydrates used in Industrial Processing in order to Prevent Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease in Children and Adults.”

His petition argues that processed refined carbohydrates should no longer be considered Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS).

These are:

1) refined sweeteners, including corn syrup, corn solids, glucose syrups, dextrose, invert sugar, xylose, maltose, and high fructose corn syrups; and maltodextrin

2) refined flour and starches that are subjected to food extrusion technology, including wheat, corn, tapioca, oat and potato  flour, and starches that are processed by extraction or similar technology, and

3) sucrose, refined flours, or starches that are used with emulsifiers (e.g. mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, polysorbates); dough conditioners and strengtheners (e.g. azodicarbonamide, L-cysteine, calcium peroxide); humectants (e.g. propylene glycol); stabilizers and gums (e.g. carboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose); or modified starches and fillers (e.g. regelatinized starch, modified food starch, dextrins).

The carefully argued and lengthy petition makes a strong case for the unhealthy nature of processed refined carbohydrates.

Wow.

If the FDA agrees—and it has to deal with the petition within 180 days—these ingredients would no longer be GRAS and foods containing them would be considered adulterated and illegal to sell.

Here’s what I said to the press:

• This would cover an extraordinarily large percentage of foods that are ultraprocessed…an extraordinarily impressive document” (New York Times).
• Kessler has given the FDA a way to define the vast majority of ultra-processed foods. In doing so, he has handed RFK Jr a huge gift on the path to regulating these products. It’s just what MAHA has asked for. I hope they take it seriously (CNN).

Can’t wait to see how RFK Jr and the FDA handle this.

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission was rumored to be releasing its second report, this one on policy, yesterday, but that did not happen.

CNN reported: “New ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report to be released in weeks”

The commission is “on track” to deliver its report to the White House by August 12, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “The report will be unveiled to the public shortly thereafter as we coordinate the schedules of the President and the various cabinet members who are a part of the Commission.”

We have had plenty of hints about what it might be promoting:

• Get rid of artificial foods dyes   [ok]
• Cane sugar is better than high fructose corn syrup.  [not when it comes to sugars and calories]
• Beef tallow is better than seed oils [not when it comes to heart disease risk].
• Close the GRAS loophole (the rule that lets food companies say whether the additives they use are safe).  [good idea, about time]

According to Politico, after an

outcry from major food businesses and farm groups that are traditionally allies to Trump, the White House promised to stay away from a crackdown on pesticides and avoid surprising the food industry with new additive targets or regulations.  Industry insiders are expecting the report to…secure more voluntary commitments from companies on the transition to natural food dyes, define “ultra-processed foods,” update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, reform the “generally recognized as safe” designation and limit recipients of federal food aid from purchasing junk food with their benefits.

I love Politico’s quote from a food industry lobbyist: “The White House has certainly gotten the message, both from agriculture and the food sector, that they are on the edge of a nanny state…Like this is Michelle Obama on steroids. The message we’ve gotten from the White House is, ‘Don’t worry, we’re not letting the crazy people run rampant over the food sector.’”

In anticipation of the report’s release, Food and Water Watch issued a statement: “Making America Healthy Will Require Big Ag Confrontation, Not Capitulation.”

The MAHA Commission’s report is a smokescreen designed to draw attention away from the Trump Administration’s dangerous deregulatory agenda. The report will be most notable in what it lacks: any real action on glyphosate, linked to rising cancer rates nationwide…Food & Water Watch research finds that Bayer has spent over $21 million on federal lobbying since the federal Cancer Gag Act…in 2023… — a 43 percent increase over the past ten quarters. State spending is also on the rise. In the past year, Bayer spent more on lobbying than any other year on record in Iowa, a key battleground state where 89% of voters oppose the Cancer Gag Act. The bill failed.

Clearly, much is at stake.  It looks like MAHA versus the realities of MAGA.

I can’t wait to see how this one resolves and hope the wait isn’t too long.  Stay tuned for this one.

Addition August 15: The New York Times seems to have gotten a leaked copy.of the report.  It has plenty to say about this early draft.

USDA Secretary Rollins held a press conference with the dairy industry to announce the removal of artificial color dyes.

This is a voluntary, proactive pledge to eliminate the use of Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts by 2028.  “I applaud the International Dairy Foods Association for stepping up to eliminate certified artificial colors,” Secretary Kennedy said. “The American people have made it clear—they want real food, not chemicals. Together with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, we’re holding the food industry accountable and driving a nationwide effort to Make America Healthy Again.”

In 2029, when the dyes are out of ice cream, ice cream will still be ice cream.  Alas.

Here’s an update on what’s happening with artificial colors.  But before getting to it, here’s the result of my research trip to England: Froot Loops with no artificial colors.   Check out what they look like.

Iceland Food Warehouse, Oxford. Photo Jean Lavigne.

And now for the latest on the cancelling of artificial color additives.

• Synthetic dyes are out. Here’s who’s in and how they’re achieving it:  Major food companies like General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Conagra and Smucker are leading a sweeping shift away from synthetic colours. Here’s where the US food industry stands right now… Read more
• FDA redraws the rainbow to dye another day:  The storm over artificial dyes is clearing and the FDA is ushering in a brighter, cleaner food palette. With Red No 3 fading fast and new colours blooming, brands are now racing to catch the rainbow… Read more
• FDA approves natural blue color, urges accelerated phaseout of synthetic red dye The White House asked companies to remove Red No. 3, an artificial color in candy and cereal, sooner than the 2027 deadline put in place by the Biden administration.
• Texas AG targets Mars over continued use of artificial colours: Despite making a public commitment nearly a decade ago to phase out artificial colours, the M&M’s and Skittles maker is in hot water over its continued use of synthetic dyes in the US… Read more

HHS Secretary RFK Jr says he thinks we need more dairy foods in our diets.

“I grew up in a world where milk was the healthiest thing that you could eat,. There’s a tremendous amount of emerging science that talks about the need for more protein in our diet and more fats in our diet. And there’s no industry that does that better than this industry.

More protein?  Most Americans already consume more than twice the amount required.  Protein is in all minimally processed foods.  If you eat enough calories, you are getting plenty of protein.

The focus on protein is baffling to nutritionists like me.  Surveys report that 70% of us are trying to eat more protein.

This has led to protein madness.

To give just one example (another nutritionally hilarious product):

Plants have less protein than meat, dairy, or eggs, but those amounts add up.  Their amino acid composition is not as close to ours as are animal foods, but eating a variety of plants takes care of the differences.

RFK Jr’s push of protein and fat translates to a push for eating more meat and dairy foods.  Recall Brooke Rollins’ statement about getting rid of leftist ideologies in the dietary guidelines?  I was guessing that meant eating more plants.

We have to wait and see what the guidelines say when they come out, and I’m braced for it.