"A long-awaited and highly controversial report issued on Tuesday by the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission provides a few “crumbs” for public and environmental health advocates, but big wins for powerful food and chemical industries seeking to skirt limits on their products and practices.

The report, unveiled in a press event in Washington DC, is significantly more friendly to corporate interests than a prior MAHA report released in May, which called for sweeping changes to US food, health, science and regulatory systems to address rising rates of chronic disease.

In contrast, the new report speaks of already “robust” regulatory oversight from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and removes or softens language about health risks stemming from exposures to pesticides and other chemicals. It also stresses a need for deregulation in farming operations to reduce the “regulatory burden” of permitting requirements for such things as hazardous waste handling.

The Trump administration said the new report outlines its “approach to pursuing rigorous, gold-standard scientific research to guide informed decisions, promote healthy outcomes for children and families, and drive innovative solutions.”"

Carey Gillam and Shannon Kelleher report for The New Lede September 9, 2025. [2]