Can RFK Jr make the American food regimen wholesome once more?

Robert F Kennedy Jr got down to change the best way Americans eat and drink.

From dyes in Fruit Loops cereal to seed oils in rooster nuggets, Kennedy – who’s President-elect Trump’s decide to guide the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) – has lengthy spoken out in opposition to substances that, based on him, they hurt the well being of Americans.

“We are betraying our kids by letting the (meals) industries poison them,” Kennedy stated at a rally in November, after ending his unbiased presidential bid and endorsing Donald Trump.

But if Kennedy hopes to focus on junk meals, he’ll first need to upend the nation’s meals rules and conflict with Big Food.

“What he suggests is that we assault the meals trade,” stated Marion Nestlé, a former New York University diet professor. “Will Trump assist him on this? I’ll imagine it after I see it.”

The former environmental lawyer — who nonetheless faces Senate affirmation — is taken into account by many to be a controversial selection, given his historical past of constructing unsubstantiated well being claims, together with that vaccines could cause autism and that Wi-Fi expertise causes most cancers.

Yet a few of his concepts on FDA reform have discovered assist from well being consultants, lawmakers and anxious shoppers, together with some Democrats.

Kennedy “will assist make America wholesome once more by shaking up HHS and the FDA,” Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis wrote on social media this week, welcoming his nomination. After receiving public backlash for praising him, Polis certified his endorsement, writing on social media that “science should stay THE cornerstone of our nation’s well being coverage.”

Ahead of the election, Kennedy, a former Democrat, provided a number of concepts for addressing persistent illness underneath his slogan “Make America Healthy Again.”

He has usually advocated for the elimination of ultra-processed meals — merchandise modified to incorporate added fat, starches and sugars, equivalent to frozen pizzas, chips and sugary breakfast cereals, that are linked to well being issues equivalent to most cancers, heart problems and diabetes.

He primarily focused college lunches, telling Fox News, “We have a era of youngsters swimming in a poisonous soup proper now.”

Part of Kennedy’s new mandate will embody oversight of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has greater than 18,000 workers.

The company is tasked with making certain the protection of prescribed drugs and the U.S. meals provide, however lately it has been criticized by some lawmakers and shopper teams, who’ve accused it of a scarcity of transparency and motion on meals security .

The 70-year-old has vowed to take a sledgehammer to the company and hearth workers he says are a part of a “corrupt system”.

“There are whole departments, just like the FDA diet division … that have to go, that aren’t doing their jobs,” Kennedy instructed MSNBC this month.

He additionally pushed to eradicate meals dyes, together with Red No. 3, and different components banned in different international locations.

The former Democrat additionally singled out extra controversial well being points, together with fluoride in consuming water, which he says needs to be banned altogether, and uncooked milk, which he says has well being advantages regardless of the elevated danger of bacterial contamination.

He can also be enthusiastic about seed oils, writing on social media that Americans have been “unknowingly poisoned” by merchandise equivalent to canola and sunflower oil utilized in quick meals eating places.

Several public well being consultants assist Kennedy’s purpose of addressing the issue of ultra-processed meals, which they are saying the United States eats at a lot increased charges than many different international locations.

“It’s simply thrilling to listen to somebody advocate for doing one thing about persistent illness,” Nestlé stated.

Kennedy’s purpose of eliminating some meals components and colorings may be useful, stated Dr. Peter Lurie, govt director of the Center for Science within the Public Interest, a nonprofit group that advocates for meals security.

The former FDA official stated that a number of meals dyes, together with crimson No. 3, banned in California, are anticipated to be blocked by the US authorities as a result of considerations about carcinogens.

The FDA rejected Kennedy’s declare that the United States authorizes hundreds of components banned within the European Union. A spokesperson stated it was essential to “dig deeper and perceive the context behind the numbers” when evaluating rules within the US and EU, which use totally different methodologies.

But public well being consultants and former officers stated quite a few Kennedy’s targets weren’t useful and, in some instances, dangerous.

For instance, consuming uncooked, unpasteurized milk – a course of that helps kill micro organism – could make individuals sick and even kill them, analysis has discovered.

“There isn’t any proof of any dietary advantage of any magnitude that we all know of from not pasteurizing milk,” Dr. Lurie stated.

Kennedy’s proposal to take away fluoride from consuming water may be problematic, as a result of fluoride, within the low ranges present in water, has been proven to enhance dental well being, Garner stated.

Removing it from the water provide would even be exterior its jurisdiction, as a result of fluoride ranges are managed by states.

Nor does his declare that seed oils contribute to the weight problems epidemic have any foundation in science, Dr. Lurie stated.

“We see no proof for this. In truth, they appear to be essential merchandise to the extent that they exchange saturated fat” equivalent to butter, he stated.

According to some consultants, meals reforms, whereas an integral a part of the general public well being debate, may merely be unrealistic each politically and bureaucratically.

“It’s much more difficult than he lets on,” Dr. Lurie stated. “These are actual challenges, and you’ll encounter trade opposition at each flip.”

For one factor, the FDA has no authority over all “ultra-processed meals,” a number of former officers instructed the BBC.

Instead, they stated, the method is extra difficult. Both the United States Department of Agriculture and the FDA regulate the meals trade. The FDA does not make the foundations: It implements insurance policies permitted by Congress and works to restrict unhealthy meals by imposing limits and labeling on sure vitamins, equivalent to sodium and saturated fats.

Kennedy’s feedback “represent nice political rhetoric,” Garner stated. “From my perspective, I do not see how this may be achieved with out drastic adjustments in different insurance policies and infrastructure.”

He will even need to cope with trade response to proposed bans on pesticides and genetically modified organisms generally utilized by American farmers, former FDA officers stated.

“Companies are going to complain,” stated Rosalie Lijinsky, a former FDA official of 33 years.

The trade is accustomed to restricted oversight from each Democrats and Republicans – even throughout Trump’s first time period – whereas a lot of Kennedy’s targets would contain additional regulation.

Several meals trade teams met with lawmakers forward of Kennedy’s nomination this month to foyer in opposition to him, Politico reported final month.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, stated this week that he plans to satisfy with Kennedy earlier than his affirmation listening to and “spend loads of time educating him about agriculture.”

Kennedy’s place additionally places him at odds with President-elect Trump, a longtime lover of quick meals who labored to roll again stricter well being necessities for college meals throughout his first time period.

“You get some concepts that make some sense, however they’re precisely the sort of concepts that this administration is hostile to,” Dr. Lurie stated.

In an announcement to the BBC, the Food Industry Association, which represents meals retailers, producers and producers equivalent to General Mills, stated it regarded ahead to working with Trump’s workforce to “be certain that coverage meals and pharmaceutical sectors proceed to be based mostly on science, to cut back regulatory complexity”.

Industry complaints about Kennedy’s agenda are not any shock, stated Jeff Hutt, spokesman for the Make America Healthy Again political motion committee, which is urging Republican lawmakers to substantiate Kennedy.

The purpose of the well being motion, Hutt stated, is “to prioritize the well-being of America over company income.”

“While the concept of ​​banning ultra-processed meals just isn’t politically attainable, it’s a debate we have to have,” he stated.

Kennedy may nonetheless work throughout the present U.S. regulatory framework to enhance American meals methods, former officers stated.

Nestle stated Kennedy may eat ultra-processed meals by altering the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which set dietary requirements for trade and federal authorities packages, together with college meals and army meals.

“They have a huge effect on the meals trade,” Nestlé stated. “That would make a giant distinction.”

The tips are up to date each 5 years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and DHHS, which has beforehand stated there’s inadequate proof in opposition to ultra-processed meals.

However, officers and diet consultants expressed concern in regards to the means by which Kennedy proposed to implement his agenda, together with firing FDA nutritionists.

The transfer would have main penalties for meals security, Lijinsky stated. “If you lose your finest consultants, you are going to have issues,” he stated.

Ultimately, Garner stated it is troublesome to disentangle a few of Kennedy’s extra cheap dietary enchancment targets from the false well being claims he unfold.

“There is a chance right here,” Ms. Garner stated.

“But I believe there’s a truthful concern based mostly on different points and the way his method to these points may play out right here.”