Back in May, RFK Jr’s MAHA Commission released a report offering a “devastating critique of what American society has done to its kids,” says nutrition expert Prof. Marion Nestle. The follow-up, which was supposed to offer concrete solutions, misses the mark, she claims.
The leaked draft of the much-anticipated MAHA report now widely circulating in the media contains no real surprises or new legislative proposals, causing relief in some quarters and frustration in others.
The document, which the White House told reporters “should be treated as speculative literature,” reiterates previously announced plans to review the GRAS process, define ultra-processed foods, work with industry to phase out synthetic food dyes, modernize requirements for infant formula, finalize new front-of-pack labeling rules, and simplify the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to focus on minimizing highly-processed foods and added sugar.
It also proposes removing restrictions on full-fat dairy sales in schools and through federal nutrition programs such as WIC [the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children].
While some industry associations had feared a crackdown on widely-used pesticides, the draft instead proposes working with industry to ensure public “confidence in the EPA’s robust pesticide review procedures” and partnering with “private sector innovators” on precision ag to reduce pesticide use.
Marion Nestle: ‘Everything is vague and voluntary’
Marion Nestle, PhD, M.P.H., Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health Emerita at New York University, had praised the initial MAHA report, “hallucinated references” notwithstanding, as a “stunning” critique of the US food system.
The follow-up, however, is deeply disappointing, she told AgFunderNews. “I was hoping for action. The MAHA movement is activist. Is its crowning achievement going to be getting color additives out of breakfast cereals and ice cream? Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar? And closing the GRAS loophole at long last? OK, but none of those will Make American Kids Healthy Again.”
She added: “There’s no evidence of policy in this report. The fact that it mentions marketing to kids is terrific but how about doing something about it?”
‘This administration is at war with science’
Similarly, given RFK Jr’s recent statements and actions around vaccines and other public health issues directly contradict expert advice, she is not reassured by the draft report’s repeated commitments to “gold standard science.”
“I read those statements as flat-out political rhetoric, not to be believed for an instant. It’s obvious that this administration is at war with science, evidence-based research, scientific reasoning, and critical thinking in the US. Witness: HHS statements about the importance of individual experience as data and as a basis for decision-making.”
All in all, she said, the document “states intentions, but when it comes to policy, it has one overriding message: more research needed. Regulate? Not a chance, except for the long overdue closure of the GRAS loophole letting corporations decide for themselves whether chemical additives are safe.
“Everything else is the vague ‘explore, coordinate, partner, prioritize, develop, or work toward.’”
Other elements of the draft document are simply “weird,” she argued, including its proposal that USDA would “prioritize precision nutrition research,” something that NIH is already doing, and which in her view “is the antithesis of public health research, the kind that really will make Americans healthier.”
The document is also riddled with contradictions, she noted, including a commitment to improve hospital food at the same time that the administration is taking money away from hospitals, and prioritize “whole healthy foods” in nutrition assistance programs such as SNAP which the administration is aggressively cutting.
Nutrition consultant Lisa R. Young, PhD, RDN, added: “This report is disappointing, as it fails to build on the momentum of its initial findings with meaningful policy proposals. Voluntary initiatives rarely work.
“While HHS plans to launch awareness campaigns promoting the benefits of whole foods for better health, the report does not propose regulatory measures to curb the widespread availability of ultra-processed snacks. Without regulations, real progress is unlikely. The report does take the preliminary step of defining ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which could eventually support regulation.
“Stronger labeling requirements for foods high in saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium would also have been a welcome addition, yet this issue remains unaddressed.”
Friends of the Earth: MAGA and MAHA don’t mix
Environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth also highlighted the clash between MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) and MAGA (Make America Great Again), arguing that the former’s stated goals are undermined by the latter’s policies.
The “token nods to whole foods, organics, and conservation” amount to “empty promises in light of the administration’s many rollbacks to healthy school food and conservation programs,” claimed the nonprofit, which blasted the document as “a gift to the agrochemical industry.”
CSPI: ‘Talk is cheap’
Health advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) added: “It’s quite rich for an administration that is plunging the country into a nutrition security and food safety nightmare to now promise to make America healthy “again.”
“The administration’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill is pushing healthy food out of reach for millions of Americans and is ripping health care coverage from millions more. The administration, with the help of DOGE, has totally upended biomedical research in America, delaying progress on fighting cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases.”
Meanwhile, the focus on some of RFK Jr’s pet peeves continues to distract from broader structural issues that limit access to healthy food and healthcare, added the CSPI, which noted that the document is “largely focused on voluntary action and education instead of regulation.”
It added: “We 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.”
Breakthrough Institute: We need ‘research agenda to make farms more productive and crops more nutritious’
Daniel Blaustein-Rejto, director of food and agriculture at environmental think tank The Breakthrough Institute, noted that the draft “nods at the potential for precision agriculture to reduce pesticide use, but it leaves out bigger opportunities: regulatory reform to unlock biotechnologies and a research agenda to make farms more productive and crops more nutritious.”
He added: “Gene editing, genetic modification, and related tools can create crops that require fewer pesticides, deliver more nutrients, and better withstand extreme weather. Just as important, investing in research to boost productivity ensures that yields keep pace with demand. Without it, food becomes more expensive and children’s access to fruits, vegetables, protein, and other healthy foods suffers. An agricultural strategy serious about children’s health should put crop productivity research at its core.”
Dr. Kantha Shelke: ‘MAHA may be more performative than substantive’
Dr. Kantha Shelke, principal at food science and research firm Corvus Blue and senior lecturer, food safety regulations at Johns Hopkins University, told us: “Most concerning is the operational void. Peppered with vague initiatives to convey Operation Warp Speed nuances, there’s simply no evidence of concrete follow-up plans, timelines, or implementation strategies.
“Example: An RFI for Operation Stork Speed [to ensure the ongoing quality, safety, nutritional adequacy, and resilience of the domestic infant formula supply] is not a policy. It is just laying the groundwork for “maybe” developing one.
“This, in conjunction with the press releases about food dyes, suggests MAHA may be more performative than substantive, prioritizing political messaging over the rigorous, evidence-based health policy the “gold standard science” branding promises.”
Further reading
‘Stunning’ MAHA report draws praise and fury: Stated goals undermined by GOP policies, say experts
Fermentation will power next wave of natural colors say startups as FDA targets synthetic food dyes
RFK Jr takes aim at self-GRAS process, but what does it mean in practice?
RFK Jr: ‘He believes in nutrition, but MAHA and MAGA don’t really seem to square’
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