Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement will officially take center stage in Washington D.C. this week.
Reports out of D.C. now indicate the RFK, Jr. will now move full steam ahead with the MAHA campaign and that his first order of business is to tackle “Big Food.”
RFK is expected to meet with executives from General Mills, PepsiCo, and other big-name brands on Monday, according to a report from Politico.
The meeting was apparently encouraged by the White House as President Donald Trump reportedly wants department heads like RFK, Jr. to meet with leaders from the industries they oversee.
Kennedy has voiced concerns about seed oils, dyes, preservatives, and other ingredients often found in processed foods and sugary drinks.
Reports suggest food companies will be on board with some related changes, though it’s expected there will be a lot of pushback over axing seed oils, since they are so inexpensive and versatile.
However, RFK, Jr’s influence over the food industry has already had a major impact, even well before he officially took the role as HHS Secretary.
In January, the FDA announced a ban on Red No. 3 from food and drugs, a move that aligned with years of warnings from RFK Jr. about artificial food dyes.
“We are betraying our children by letting these industries poison them,” Kennedy warned at a November campaign rally prior his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services by then President-elect Donald Trump.
As part of the move, the FDA will require all manufacturers to remove Red No. 3 from food products by January 15, 2027, and from drugs by January 18, 2028.
The dye was banned from cosmetics in 1990 due to cancer concerns.
“The first thing I’d do isn’t going to cost you anything because I’m just gonna tell the cereal companies: Take all the dyes out of their food,” Kennedy said last October.
Trump endorsed Kennedy’s criticism of food manufacturers when announcing his nomination.
Fast forward to today and RFK, Jr.’s next move with MAHA.
There’s been a stronger push from state reps and the federal government to limit sugary and highly processed food and drink options for government food benefits, called SNAP.
Leaders including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and other lawmakers in Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Texas, and Wyoming, are looking to restrict SNAP.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has also previously said she’s working with RFK to advance the MAHA movement, and specifically mentioned restricting SNAP.
Despite Trump’s support, according to The Wall Street Journal, he is skeptical of restrictions or bans since they are typically unpopular with the public.
Included in RFK, Jr’s new iniatives will be vaccines.
Kennedy has indicated that he’ll effectively be reviewing the childhood vaccination schedule.
As the head of the “MAHA Commission,” Kennedy said he’ll investigate vaccines, as well as pesticides, food additives, microplastics, and antidepressants, to see if they have contributed to a rise of chronic illness.
The HHS secretary has also halted the CDC’s “Wild to Mild” campaign promoting the flu vaccine. Kennedy wants advertisements going forward to promote the idea of “informed consent” in vaccine decision-making, which would include giving people information about the adverse events associated with vaccines.
RFK is preparing to remove several members of the external committee that advises the FDA and CDC on vaccine approvals and other key public health decisions.
Recommendations from that committee, known as ACIP, are almost always followed by HHS and could impact the childhood vaccination schedule. Kennedy has postponed ACIP’s first panel to “accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting.”