Advocates Applaud MAHA Report On Chemical Harms, But Say It Falls Short

"Exposures to pesticides and other chemicals, ultra-processed foods and over-prescription of medications are among the factors contributing to an epidemic of chronic disease in America’s children, according to a government report issued Thursday by the Trump administration’s controversial “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission.

The 68-page assessment calls for a “transformation” of US food, health and “scientific systems” as a means to address what the report calls the “sickest generation in American history in terms of chronic disease”.

The report blames complacency in scientific and medical institutions, corrupted federal and state policies guided “more by corporate profit than the public interest,” and US food and agricultural systems that have “embraced ultra-processed ingredients and synthetic chemicals.” The report specifically calls out corporate influence over research, regulators and lawmakers as factors contributing to the problems.

The commission’s work, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been under close scrutiny and generated controversy even before it was released amid expectations that it might highlight health concerns linked to powerful industry interests, including the use of toxic pesticides in agriculture."

Carey Gillam reports for The New Lede May 22, 2025.