CNN
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Poor diet, environmental toxins, unhealthy habits and medicines have contributed to the nationwide rise in chronic illnesses, especially children, Trump’s top officials said in a report Thursday that they will lay the foundation for an outline of government policy “Re-Our Health in America.”
Maha committee leaders, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will present President Donald Trump at a White House event Thursday afternoon with conclusions that reflect Kennedy’s longstanding priorities.
The government committee recommends that federal agencies reassess the country’s childhood vaccine schedule, scrutinize ultra-highly processed foods, and study pesticides widely used in commercial agriculture.
The report is the first step in the administration’s plan to address what President Trump called the American chronic disease crisis. In the executive order on February 13th, Trump requested an initial assessment of potential drivers of chronic disease within 100 days. The committee plans to provide the strategy within the next 100 days.
But even before his release this week, farmers, food manufacturers and some Republican lawmakers had raised concerns about the impact of the report on American food supply, particularly the call to reevaluate pesticides approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Autism advocates and researchers oppose Kennedy’s proposal that environmental and drug factors make the rate of autism spectrum disorder booming. The report suggests a link between autism and food dyes or environmental toxins, but does not discuss Kennedy’s previous claim that there is a link between vaccines and autism.
It is also unclear how much broader recommendations in the report will take to start research into nutritious foods, vaccines and environmental exposures.
“We don’t have a budget,” Kennedy told reporters at a briefing Thursday. “At this point, there are no specific policies that can be funded within the budget. We intend to resolve policy recommendations over the next 100 days.”
However, he added: “If we can reduce the numbers we intend to do during this administration, we will save more money in the long term and in the short term.”
Vaccines and drugs
The MAHA committee is looking for a wider schedule of pediatric vaccines, more research into the potential negative effects of vaccinations, and more research into “true” placebo studies of those childhood vaccinations, reflecting many of Kennedy’s long-standing gathering points to many people regarding vaccine safety. The committee encourages “open dialogue” about the risks and benefits of vaccines.
The report does not explicitly elicit a disproveable link between vaccination and autism, but points out that “many (parents) are concerned about the proper use of vaccines and their potential role in the growing pediatric chronic disease crisis.”
Asked about the subsequent research on vaccines and autism, Kennedy said, “Prescriptions are 100 days and explain how they handle them, but they already have a lot of research. We didn’t wait for this report to begin investigating crises, including the autism crisis.”
Officials are recommending that the National Institutes of Health be linked with Medicare and Medicaid data and expand new projects to examine environmental factors in childhood diseases. HHS launched its platform this month to study the potential causes and economic impacts of autism.
The report also states that drugs, including ADHD drugs, antidepressants, asthma and GLP-1 drugs, are being overprescribed as a result of “false incentives” in the healthcare system. It cites studies that suggest that there is no clear benefit to antipsychotic antidepressant medicine in children.
It also states that ADHD, depression and intellectual disability are diagnosed “disproportionately” in young children, leading to “unnecessary drugs, treatment, and social stigma.”
The committee’s report flagged studies suggesting a link between commonly used atrazine and glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup and diseases such as reproductive disorders, cancer and liver complications. However, it also quickly cited research from the Food and Drug Administration and the EPA, which states that the majority of food samples and agricultural practices are in compliance with federal regulations.
The EPA previously said that these products are unlikely to cause cancer. However, the media reports that the MAHA committee is likely to emphasize that widely used herbicides will be pushing forward with reports by lawmakers representing agricultural groups and agricultural regions.
“We welcome efforts to improve health outcomes in America, but recommendations to limit agricultural practices based on unproven theories can have unintended consequences,” the United States Farm Bureau Federation said in a statement Tuesday ahead of the release of the report. “History tells us that even if the loss is caused by inaccurate or incomplete information, it takes a very long time to rebuild public trust after it is lost. This is certainly true when it comes to the food system.”
In a statement to CNN, the National Association of Corn Growers said the report is deeply troubled.
“Declines of extensive research and testing have shown that pesticides, including atrazine and glyphosate, can be safely applied to intended applications,” the association states. “We are urging the administration to respect existing scientific organizations on pesticides and to proceed to include American farmers in the debate as this process evolves.”
Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith also raised the concern that day during a Senate budget hearing with Kennedy.
“If Americans lose faith in the safety and integrity of their food supply due to inappropriate claims that mislead consumers,” Hyde Smith said.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Thursday that the question in the report was aimed at improving agricultural technology, not to destabilize America’s trust in food supply.
“Do we all agree with everything? Of course not. But I think we all agree where we landed. This means that this is not a binary choice between industry, agriculture and health,” Rollins said. “What has been so encouraged by Secretary Kennedy and me, when I was with Texas, and dozens of conversations, is that this doesn’t compromise our ability to do our best.
Food and Nutrition
The report states that children consume too much ultra-highly processed grains, sugars and fat, which contributes to childhood obesity and diabetes rates. It also cites food additives containing artificial sweeteners and preservatives, suggesting that some studies may be linked to chronic diseases.
The committee recommends independent studies of food ingredients that are generally recognized as safe, and recommends long-term NIH trials that compare ultra-highly processed food diets with whole food regimens.
“I think everyone is trying to prioritize the ultra-processed food crisis and reduce our trust,” Kennedy told reporters Thursday.
The report also calls for industry lobbying and “business capture” by health agencies long-deeply lamented by Kennedy.
“The drug money strongly influences Congressional law through lobbying and manipulation of patient advocacy groups, suggesting it exerts substantial financial control over the FDA and its employees,” he said, reflecting comments by the Health Secretary to FDA employees last month.
The report details lobbying, advertising campaigns and scientific literature funding by the pharmaceutical and food industries, and lays the foundation for crackdown that can be recorded in the committee’s subsequent strategic reports.