A new report from RFK’s Make America Healthy Commission focuses on research, mild policy reforms, deregulation, agency restructuring, and increased education to combat childhood illnesses.
The Health Secretary is burned by both parties’ senators
At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on September 4th, Health Secretary RFK Jr. defended changes to vaccine policy.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to curb the chronic diseases that plague millions of Americans is expanding to include new guidelines for food and drug advertising and suggestions to increase breastfeeding rates through a “safe supply of donor breast milk.”
These recommendations are included in a report released September 9th by the Make America Healthy Commission in Kennedy. It seeks to establish many other policy reforms, including new definitions of ultra-high-processed foods, revisions to dietary guidelines, restrictions on food dyes, and an increase in infant formulas amidst its policy reforms.
In particular, Kennedy’s group has not addressed pesticide restrictions, a major concern for Trump’s Cabinet Secretary Maha base.
Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins defended pesticides at a press conference on September 9, saying the products used by farmers are “the strictest,” “the most data-filled,” and “the most scientifically intensive review process in the world.”
“There’s definitely no perfect process, but it’s a powerful process that our farmers are waiting for,” she said. “Pesticides and other crop protection tools are absolutely essential to America to ensure that we do not compromise our food supply system.”
The report is the second installment of the Make America Health Again Commission, established by President Donald Trump by executive order at Kennedy’s oath ceremony in February.
The report’s policy reforms include proposals for certification reforms for medical education programs focused on treating the root causes of chronic diseases in the United States, as well as suggestions for increasing breastfeeding rates through a “safe supply of donor milk.”
Some praised the report. Bani Hali, a Maha food activist who works closely with Kennedy, said she was impressed with her progress.
“If I asked if there was any progress a year ago about reducing food chemicals in ultra-highly processed foods, I would have said no. It’s not surprising what Secretary Kennedy accomplished with the Maha Committee and this strategy. “Americans may ultimately get a safer version of the products food companies make for other countries.”
But others aren’t that happy. The report does not delve into the policies to regulate pesticides, particularly glyphosate, which are the main active ingredients of Roundup, which are the pesticides, particularly glyphosate, that have been sought by many environmental nonprofits and the Maha base in Kennedy.
Kennedy Ally’s important Zen Honeycutt called the previous leak draft on the pesticide report statement “very disappointing.”
“This Maha Committee report on pesticides was clearly influenced by chemical companies,” she wrote in her blog, adding that the report “protects the benefits of pesticides and addresses the convenience of agrochemical farmers.”
The first committee report, released in May, covers ultra-highly processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity, chronic stress and “excess semen.”
The second report provides an action plan to combat these factors that promote chronic disease. Although some Maha supporters were hoping for policy reforms regarding the use of pesticides in the agricultural industry, the report relies heavily on research.
“If Republicans want to maintain Maha’s support for the long term, they need to stop surveillance with pesticide companies and show leadership on these issues,” said Charles Eisenstein, who served as a failed speechwriter for Kennedy’s 2024 presidential election.
The Trump administration has worked to balance the demands of the MAHA movement alongside Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic and longtime environmental lawyer, with concerns from farmers and ranchers, the main Trump district.
More than 250 groups representing farmers, ranchers and pesticide companies urged the Trump administration in June to ask for opinions on future MAHA committee activities. This summer, the White House held a series of meetings with food and farm groups to discuss the committee’s work.
The report says the Environmental Protection Agency can inform the public of the pesticide review process and work with the US Department of Agriculture to promote the accuracy application of pesticides, reducing overall use.
The EPA will consider exclusion from contamination laws for some farms and meat processing operations, the report says.
Some of Kennedy’s more controversial topics on vaccines and fluoride are also featured in the report. The committee’s report said it would investigate HHS’s investigation into vaccine injuries, “modernize” the vaccine, “answering the conflict correctly” and “ensure scientific and medical freedom.”
“What we have in this report is this administration’s commitment to addressing these questions about gold standard science,” said Dr. Jay Bhatacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health. “Children in America look forward to a brighter future, they will be healthier and will have a longer lifespan than we are at the table.”
Contributions: Leah Douglas, Ahmed Aboulienin, Jessica Dinopal, Reuters.
Adrianna Rodriguez can visit adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
