RFK slams processed foods, pesticides, as harmful, Kansas farmers respond
- A new report blames ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, inactivity, stress, and overmedication for driving chronic diseases in children.
- The report, commissioned by President Trump and led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also points to corporate influence and lobbying as contributing factors.
- The report calls for more research into the health effects of various substances, including PFAS, pesticides, and food additives.
- The agricultural community criticized the report's findings on pesticides, expressing concerns about its potential impact on public trust and farming practices.
- The report also targets excessive medication use in children and calls for further research into vaccine safety.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blames ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity, chronic stress and “overmedicalization” for driving chronic diseases in U.S. children, according to a commission report published May 22.
The 69-page report, titled “Making Our Children Healthy Again,” also says these drivers are partly propelled by corporate influence and government lobbying.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a commission to "Make America Healthy Again" during Kennedy's swearing in ceremony Feb. 13, and tasked it with investigating chronic illness and delivering an action plan to fight childhood diseases, starting with a report due within 100 days — which it hit just under the deadline.
Trump, Kennedy and other administration officials touted the report during an afternoon event in the White House East Room. The president declared it marks "a historic milestone on our mission to make America healthy again.”
Trump recounted his political alliance with Kennedy, a former Democrat and the nephew of Democratic President John F. Kennedy, who dropped his longshot independent campaign for president and endorsed the GOP candidate.
"He came on board and we got very lucky," Trump said, telling Kennedy: "You really helped, and I want to thank you very much."
In return, Trump put Kennedy in charge of the nation's health agencies, giving him license to turn his MAHA movement into government policy, despite criticism from the medical community about his views on vaccines and other issues.
The MAHA Commission report marks Kennedy's broadest effort yet to put his stamp on federal health policy.
“At its core, this report is a call to action for common sense," Kennedy said. "We’ve relied too much on conflicted research, ignored common sense, or what some would call ‘mother’s intuition.’”
MAHA commission members responsible for the report attended the event. They include Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, Food and Drug Administration commissioner Martin Makary and National Institutes of Health director Jayanta Bhattacharya.
In a call with reporters earlier in the day, Kennedy said the commission will work over the next 80 days to issue policy recommendations for the White House based on the report's findings.
"This report is really … a diagnosis. The prescription comes in 100 days,” he said.
What RFK report says about ingesting pesticides, environmental chemicals
Report authors flag environmental toxins and call for more research to study the health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, microplastics, fluoride, electromagnetic radiation, phthalates, bisphenols and pesticides.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” consist of more than 12,000 man-made chemical compounds used in consumer products such as non-stick, greaseproof and waterproof coatings and surfaces.
PFAS don’t easily decompose in nature and because of this, they build up in human bodies and might contribute to certain cancers and other serious health complications.
Kennedy’s push against fluoride — a naturally occurring mineral found in water, soil, air and various foods – has led to health regulators to remove ingestible fluoride supplements from the market. Fluoride has been added to the public water supplies for decades and dental products, such as toothpaste, as a dental cavities prevention measure.
So far, Utah and Florida are the only states that have banned fluoride from drinking water. Several other states like Kentucky, Louisiana and South Carolina have anti-fluoride bills on the table.
The report calls out two herbicides — glyphosate and atrazine — and says an updated assessment on these common substances will be coming out in 2026. The primary exposure to glyphosate, which is used in weed killers like Roundup, occurs through food.
Ahead of the report's publication, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall expressed concern the report’s findings could erode the public’s trust in the U.S. food supply, “limit farming practices based on unproven theories,” and risk “reducing access to affordable and nutritious foods,” according to a statement published May 20.
Agency heads assured on a call about the commission report that the nation's food supply is safe.
"Farmers need the tools in the toolbox to continue to feed the world, but it doesn't mean we can't do better," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.
Kansas farming associations push back on report
The report drew criticism from the agricultural community, who said that it didn't paint an accurate view of pesticides. Chris Tanner, president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, said he is concerned about "misinformation about pesticides" in the report.
"For wheat farmers like myself, crop protection tools are not optional; they are essential. These tools allow us to prevent devastating yield losses from diseases, weeds, and pests specific to wheat. They enable us to implement conservation-friendly practices, including no-till farming, which would be impossible without them," Tanner said in a press release.
Through their responsible use, we maintain consistent production despite challenging weather conditions, while keeping food prices affordable for American consumers and supporting the economic viability of farms like mine and the rural communities that depend on agriculture." said Chris Tanner, president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers.
Kansas Soybean Association president Brett Neibling echoed Tanner, saying the pesticides mentioned in the report are vital for farmers.
"Having access to critical crop protection tools is central to achieving that social license to operate as we know best. We urge federal decision makers to continue relying on sound scientific data practices to inform agricultural policy," Neibling said.
The Kansas Farm Bureau didn't directly comment on the report, but did share an assessment of it from the American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall. He said it was "troubling" that the White House endorsed a report that sowed seeds of doubt on the food system.
“Farmers are identified as ‘critical partners,’ yet were excluded from development of the report, despite many requests for a seat at the table. The report also expresses a desire to ensure farmers continue to thrive, but undermining confidence in our food system directly contradicts that noble goal," Duvall said.
Duvall said the report focuses on outlier studies and unproven theories to build a false narrative about the food system.
"I can confidently say that farmers and ranchers share the goal of improving health outcomes in America," Duvall said. “We are carefully examining the nearly 70 pages of contradictory assertions and look forward to further discussions with administration officials."
RFK MAHA report targets ultra-processed foods, food dyes, sweeteners
The report takes a close look at the American diet and flags ultra-processed grains, sugars, fats and food additives as problems fueling chronic diseases.
Authors say ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, replace healthier foods and encourage people to eat more. UPFs include foods like chips, cheeseburgers, French fries, soda, cake, candy and cookies.
Research shows they may be linked to a number of health issues like childhood obesity, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and depression in women. They've also been associated with cognitive decline and cancer.
The report also targets food additives such as artificial dyes, titanium dioxide, propylparaben, butylated hydroxytoluene and artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, sucralose and saccharin. The World Health Organization concluded in a 2023 report that the “occasional consumption” of aspartame — typically found in sugar-free drinks like Diet Coke − is generally safe.
Kennedy has already begun his campaign against food dyes, announcing in a April 22 news conference that the administration plans to eliminate eight dyes from medications and food by the end of 2026.
The dyes that will be phased out in less than two years are FD&C Blue Nos. 1 and 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow Nos 5 and 6. In the coming months, the process will begin to revoke authorization of Orange B and Citrus Red No. 2, according to the HHS.
Kids are on 'too much medicine,' MAHA report says
In the report, authors argue that “American children are on too much medicine” and criticize the childhood immunization schedule for encompassing more vaccines than Europe.
The commission encourages larger clinical trials to look into the safety of childhood vaccines and potential links to chronic diseases. However, experts have said decades of evidence demonstrate the safety and benefits of these shots.
Babies are supposed to receive vaccines that protect against about 15 different infectious diseases. Most require more than one dose, which amounts to nearly 30 jabs by age 2.
Report authors also said that less time spent outside in nature, and more time spent on screens and social media is contributing to the rise of negative physical and mental health outcomes in U.S. children. The commission said these outcomes are exacerbated by "overmedicalization," calling out medications that treat anxiety, depression and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are commonly used medications that were called out in the report. SSRIs are approved by the FDA to treat a range of conditions such as anxiety, depression, bulimia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and are used off-label to treat several others.
On a call with reporters, NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya criticized the medical literature supporting certain treatments and how to use them in children, calling it a "replication crisis."
"We have a crisis that requires rethinking almost every aspect of how we think about disease and the prevention of disease," he said.
Contributing: Zac Anderson, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY; Reuters.
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.