RFK, MAHA say how they'll confront chronic diseases in kids. Why are some disappointed?

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign to curb the chronic diseases plaguing millions of Americans is expanding to include new guidelines for food and pharmaceutical advertising and a proposal to increase breastfeeding rates through a "safe supply of donor human milk."

Those recommendations are included in a report released Sept. 9 from Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again Commission that also seeks to establish a number of other policy reforms, including a new definition for ultra-processed foods, revised dietary guidelines, limits on food dyes and increased scrutiny into infant formula among its policy reforms.

Notably, Kennedy's group does not address pesticide regulations, which have been a major area of concern to the Trump Cabinet secretary's MAHA base.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins defended pesticides in a Sept. 9 press briefing, saying products used by farmers undergo "the most rigorous," "the most data-backed," and "the most scientifically deep review process in the world.

"Arguably, there is no perfect process. But it is a strong process that our farmers stand by," she said. "A crop protection tool, such as pesticides, is absolutely essential for America not to compromise our food supply system."

The report is the second installment of the Make America Health Again Commission established by President Donald Trump in an executive order during Kennedy's swearing-in ceremony in February.

The policy reforms in the report include a proposal for accreditation reform for medical education programs with a focus on treating the root causes of chronic disease in the United States, and a proposal to increase breastfeeding rates through a "safe supply of donor human milk."

Some applauded the report. Vani Hari, a MAHA food activist who works closely with Kennedy, said she was impressed with the progress.

"If you had asked a year ago if any progress would be made on the reduction of food chemicals in ultra-processed food, I would have said no. It’s nothing short of remarkable what Secretary Kennedy has accomplished with the MAHA Commission and this strategy looking into the chemicals in our food," she said. "Americans might finally get the safer versions of products that food companies make for other countries."

But others aren't so happy. The report does not delve into policies for regulating pesticides, especially glyphosate, the main active ingredient in Roundup, which many environmental nonprofits and Kennedy's MAHA base have sought.

Zen Honeycutt, a key Kennedy ally, called an earlier leaked draft about the report's statement on pesticides "profoundly disappointing."

"This MAHA Commission Report section on pesticides was clearly influenced by chemical corporations," she wrote on her blog, adding that the report is "pandering to pesticide company profits and catering to the convenience of agrochemical farmers."

The first commission report released in May targeted ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activities, chronic stress and "overmedicalization."

The second report delivers an action plan to combat these factors fueling chronic diseases. While some MAHA supporters were expecting policy reforms, specifically regarding the farm industry’s use of pesticides, the report heavily relies on research.

"If Republicans want to retain MAHA support long-term, they need to stop siding with agrochemical companies and take leadership on these issues," said Charles Eisenstein, who served as chief speechwriter for Kennedy’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign.

The Trump administration has worked to balance the demands of the MAHA movement aligned with Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic and longtime environmental lawyer, with the concerns of farmers and ranchers, a key Trump constituency.

More than 250 groups representing farmers, ranchers and agrochemical companies urged the Trump administration in June to seek their input on future MAHA Commission activities. The White House this summer held a series of meetings with food and farm groups to discuss the work of the commission.

The report says that the Environmental Protection Agency will work to inform the public of its pesticide review process and collaborate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote precision application of pesticides, which can reduce their overall use.

The EPA will consider exclusions from pollution laws for some farms and meat processing operations, the report says.

Some of Kennedy’s more controversial topics regarding vaccines and fluoride were also mentioned in the report. The commission report said HHS will investigate vaccine injuries, "modernize" vaccines, "correct" conflicts and "ensure scientific and medical freedom."

"What we have in this report is a commitment of this administration to address those questions with gold standard science," said Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health. "America's children will look forward to a brighter future, healthier, and will have longer lives than we at the table will."

Contributing: Leah Douglas, Ahmed Aboulenein and Jessica DiNapoli, Reuters

Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected].