257 Food and Ag Groups Demand Transparency and Representation in Future MAHA Reports

257 state and national associations with some relevance to food & beverage on June 17 sent a letter to Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking transparency from and representation in the development of future Make America Healthy Again reports, because “The process by which the Commission’s most recent report was created lacked transparency and any opportunity for public engagement.

“As a result, the report contained numerous errors and distortions that have created unfounded fears about the safety of our food supply,” it said.

The MAHA Commission is chaired by Secretary Kennedy and includes the secretary of agriculture, FDA commissioner, director of the National Institutes of Health and 10 other Trump administration officials. 100 days after its creation, it published its first report on May 22, which largely blamed a health crisis among American youth on ultraprocessed foods, environmental chemicals and a lack of exercise among kids. The commission continues to meet and promises another report in August.

The food and ag groups penned a 1.5-page letter to Kennedy with 5.5 pages of signatories. Most are state or regional associations, but also American Farm Bureau Federation, Calorie Control Council, Corn Refiners Assn., International Food Additives Council, International Fresh Produce Assn. and the Center for Ag Research at Washington Policy Center.

Consumer Brands Assn. was not a sponsor; we’ve asked them why and will add to this story if we get an answer.

“As organizations representing millions of farmers, ranchers, food producers and ingredient manufacturers, we write to urge you to ensure food and agriculture have a seat at the table during the development of policy recommendations related to the recent Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report, as well as any future commission activities,” the letter said.

“We are greatly troubled by the work of the MAHA Commission to date… Since the release of the report, it has been discovered many of the studies referenced to support erroneous claims significantly misrepresented their findings or in some cases are entirely nonexistent.”

A journalism organization called NOTUS, which call itself nonprofit, nonpartisan and a product of the Allbritton Journalism Institute, contacted some of the cited authors cited by the MAHA Report and several said they did not write the reports that supported some of MAHA’s claims.

“In a letter, Congress expressed its own concerns that this process could be abused by activist groups seeking to advance their own longstanding anti agriculture agendas — concerns potentially validated following the rollout of the report.

“While we appreciate recent outreach to some stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector, to genuinely provide the transparency and gold-standard science pledged in the report, we urge the administration to formally include farmers, ranchers and food producers in a collaborative stakeholder process throughout all future work of the commission.

“We also advise the administration to create the opportunity for public comment on all future reports and activities of the commission. America’s farmers and food producers share the goal of healthy outcomes in our country and have been on a decades-long journey of continuous improvement. They have relied on technology and innovation to provide a safer, more abundant and affordable supply of food and agricultural goods.”

The letter points out numerous milestones of food and agriculture since the 1940s, including the tripling of U.S. agricultural output and decreased use of labor, land and inputs. “These innovations and others have made the U.S. food and agriculture system the envy of the world.

“Despite these successes, the MAHA Commission report paints a very different, inaccurate story about American agriculture and our food system. The unintended consequences of making uninformed decisions for U.S. food production based on misinformation or unproven theories would be sweeping for our nation’s farmers. It would lead to U.S. producers increasingly falling behind our global competitors, making our country more reliant on foreign imports for our food supply. Further, America’s families would see food prices rise.

“We also have concerns that by raising unfounded fears about the safety of our food supply, the report may have the unintended effect of discouraging consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables contrary to the goals of the commission.

“The MAHA Commission would benefit from inviting public comment and formally including representatives from food and agriculture in any future reports.”