By Associated Press’s Amanda Sietz
Washington (AP) According to a draft document that The Associated Press was able to access, reports that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to enhance the health of America’s children do not call on the government to make major changes to its farming or food policy.
Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again strategy report, which provides the government with a road plan to assist its inhabitants in reducing chronic diseases, increasing physical activity, and losing weight, is regarded as one of his most notable accomplishments as the country’s health secretary. Kennedy had devoted a large portion of his career to criticizing the dangers of chemicals sprayed on vaccines, ultraprocessed foods, prescription medications, and crops before traveling to Washington.
As the country’s leading health leader, his alliance has therefore anticipated that he will move decisively. However, a draft of the so-called MAHA report, which was first revealed by The New York Times on Thursday night, primarily urges the government to conduct additional research on prescription medication usage, chronic illnesses, poor air quality, and American diets.
The research identifies four issues that contribute to chronic diseases in the United States: inadequate nutrition, chemical exposure, inactivity, and excessive pharmaceutical usage.
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The report, which was sent to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, has not yet been made public by the White House. The most recent report is the policy counterpart to a May MAHA report that contained a number of mistakes.
Although HHS officials have maintained the report has been finalized since Tuesday, White House spokesperson Kush Desai declined to clarify if the copy that the Associated Press obtained was the final one.
According to Desai, the Administration is dedicated to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to “Make America Healthy Again” by utilizing Gold Standard Science. However, any publications claiming to represent the second MAHA Report should be regarded as speculative literature until they are formally disclosed by the White House and MAHA Commission.
The study was eagerly awaited by those in the agricultural sector, who were concerned that it might demand restrictions or inquiries into the use of pesticides and herbicides that American farmers frequently apply to crops in order to suppress weeds and increase yields. The report’s potential criticism of corn syrup, a popular sweetener in American cuisine, worried other farmers. Kennedy’s MAHA campaign, which has drawn a broad coalition of suburban and rural mothers, Trump supporters, and liberals worried about the country’s food supply, has made both products a major talking topic.
Rather, the paper advocates for a campaign to increase public trust in pesticides.
As the report reached the president’s desk, the agriculture sector’s concerns subsided. On Tuesday, Calley Means, one of Kennedy’s closest advisors, called for MAHA backers to collaborate with large farm firms.
Means also admitted that it can be annoying how quickly political change is happening.
“We need to build bridges,” Means stated, adding that “if the corn and soybean growers are our enemies, we will not prevail.”
A request for comment on Friday was not answered by Means. Kennedy’s spokesperson likewise chose not to comment.
The National Institutes of Health, which has seen a 40% funding cut under the Trump administration, is urged by the study to conduct a number of studies on the health of Americans, including investigations on vaccination injury, autism, air and water quality, prescription medications, and nutrition.
Kari Hamerschlag, the deputy director of food and agriculture at the charity Friends of the Earth, said the report also asks for adjustments to the foods offered in hospitals and schools, which will be difficult to implement given the Trump administration’s funding cuts. The Republican-led government earlier this year destroyed a $1 billion fund that assisted food pantries and schools in buying food directly from nearby farmers.
Hamerschlag stated that this will not change our farming and food systems. People will not become healthier as a result of this. They must support their suggestions with evidence.
