Published 3:07 pm Thursday, May 22, 2025
The Make America Healthy Again Commission’s report, issued May 22, says it’s committed to ensuring the survival and prosperity of U.S. farmers, but farm groups are concerned that the report targets critical chemicals.
The “Make Our Children Healthy Again” report identifies four “potential drivers” behind a “rise in childhood chronic disease” — poor diet, aggregation of environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity and chronic stress and overmedicalization.
“The American food system is safe but could be healthier,” the report states. “Most American children’s diets are dominated by ultra-processed foods high in added sugars, chemical additives and saturated fats, while lacking sufficient intakes of fruits and vegetables.”
The report specifically mentions ultra-processed grains, sugars and fats.
“The greatest step the United States can take to reverse childhood chronic disease is to put whole foods produced by American farmers and ranchers at the center of healthcare,” the report continues.
The “rise” of ultra-processed foods has corresponded with a “pattern of corporatization and consolidation” in the American food system, the report states, noting that only 16 cents of every dollar spent on food goes to farmers, while 84 cents are absorbed by food manufacturers, marketers and distributors.
“A small number of corporations control a large share of food production, processing, distribution and retail,” the report states. “Many of the core products of ‘Big Food’ companies are (ultra-processed foods) and nutrient-poor foods and beverages.”
Regulation of the food industry also presents challenges to smaller farmers and smaller food producers, the report states.
Key regulations, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) enacted in 2011, implemented “rigorous compliance requirements for food safety that smaller farms often lack the resources to meet. This has inadvertently led to increased costs and burdensome paperwork that disproportionately impact family-run operations.”
The report calls for continued studies to better understand the cumulative effects of multiple exposures to various chemicals, including crop protection tools such as pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.
“American farmers rely on these products, and actions that further regulate or restrict crop protection tools beyond risk-based and scientific processes set forth by Congress must involve thoughtful consideration of what is necessary for adequate protection, alternatives and cost production,” the report states. “Precipitous changes in agricultural practices could have an adverse impact on American agriculture and the domestic and global food supply.”
The National Association of Wheat Growers issued a statement that the organization is “deeply concerned with the content and implications” of the report.
“Unfortunatey, the report contains misleading claims that could undermine public trust in our nation’s food system,” said Pat Clements, Springfield, Ky., farmer and NAWG president. “We urge the Trump administration to ensure that the MAHA Commission’s future work is guided by sound science and peer-reviewed research. American consumers deserve facts — not fear — when it comes to how their food is grown and produced.”
NAWG noted that the Environmental Protection Agency is still the agency in charge of regulating pesticides, and while assertions made in the report do have an impact, its recommendations are not legally binding.
The American Soybean Association “strongly rebukes” the report for being “brazenly unscientific” and damaging to consumer confidence.
“Should the administration act on the report — which was drafted entirely behind closed doors — it will harm U.S. farmers, increase food costs for consumers and worsen health outcomes for all Americans,” the soybean association stated in a press release, calling on President Donald Trump, “who has long been a friend of farmers,” to step in and correct the “deeply misguided” report.
Soybean farmers are disturbed that the report contains recommendations that “are not at all grounded in science” and seem to advance the agenda of “food elitists and activist groups that have long sought to undermine U.S. agriculture,” the soybean association stated.
“These developments are even more troubling after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely assured members of Congress earlier in the week of the report’s release that ‘there is not a single word that should worry the American farmer.’”
The National Farmers Union in a press release praised the White House for bringing attention to the health and well-being of America’s children.
Policy solutions must ensure family farmers retain the tools they need to support their livelihoods, and progress must not be stymied by one-size-fits-all restrictions, the farmers union said.
“We urge the administration to include the voices of family farmers and ranchers … and to ensure that solutions are rooted in sound science, fairness and transparency,” the farmers union stated.
CropLife America, which represents the U.S. pesticide industry, said the report recognizes the EPA’s “robust and science-based decision making,” but “unfairly casts doubt on the integrity of the federal review process.”
“This report will stir unjustified fear and confusion among American consumers who live in the country with the safest and most abundant food supply,” Alexandra Dunn, president and CEO of CropLife America, said in a press release.
Without access to EPA-approved pesticides, “significant crop losses would threaten the livelihood of family farms and lead to higher grocery prices and fewer healthy food options for families — the very opposite of what the MAHA Commission seeks to achieve,” CropLife America said in the release.
Online
The “Make Our Children Healthy Again” report can be found online at the following link: https://foodfix.co/wp-content/uploads/MAHA-MASTER-DOC.docx.pdf
