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In the first year of President Trump’s term in office, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy was appointed with a mandate to fulfill the policies of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. The MAHA agenda has proposed drastic changes to the federal government’s policies involving science, medicine, health, food and agriculture. In conjunction with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), many of the proposed changes are centered on food, agriculture and nutrition.
MAHA & Food
MAHA’s stated goals are to address the root causes of America’s chronic disease epidemic through changes in federal policy on nutrition, environmental toxins, and healthcare systems. In the context of food, the USDA outlines the following initiatives as the goals of MAHA for food, agriculture and nutrition:
Restoring Science & Research: Expanding NIH and agency research into chronic disease prevention, nutrition and metabolic health, food quality, environmental exposures, autism, gut microbiome, precision agriculture, rural and tribal health, vaccine injury, and mental health.
Historic Executive Actions: Reforming dietary guidelines; defining ultra-processed foods; improving food labeling; closing the GRAS loophole; raising infant formula standards; removing harmful chemicals from the food supply; increasing oversight and enforcement of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising laws; improving food served in schools, hospitals, and to veterans; and reforming Medicaid quality metrics to measure health outcomes.
Process Reform & Deregulation: Streamlining organic certification; easing barriers to farm-to-school programs and direct-to-consumer sales; restoring whole milk in schools; supporting mobile grocery and processing units; modernizing FDA drug and device approval; and accelerating EPA approvals for innovative agricultural products.
Public Awareness & Education: Launching school-based nutrition and fitness campaigns, Surgeon General initiatives on screen time, prioritizing pediatric mental health, and expanding access to reliable nutrition and health information for parents.
Private Sector Collaboration: Promoting awareness of healthier meals at restaurants, soil health and land stewardship, and community-led initiatives, and scaling innovative solutions to address root causes of chronic disease.
(USDA, September, 2025)
MAHA & Food to Date
The actions taken so far by the USDA in fulfilment of the proposed MAHA agenda are:
- A $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program to help American farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity
- Approved 18 States to restrict unhealthy items from purchase with SNAP benefits
- Revised the Farm to School Grant Program for 2026 to increase the availability of local foods in Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operations and connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing.
- Supported the passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, making whole milk a part of schools’ menus (Currently waiting revision in the House of Representatives).
- Encouraged and supported companies in the voluntary removal of unnecessary ingredients in food products.
Opposition and Criticism of MAHA’s Food Agenda
Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Rollins, Trump’s administration, proponents in Congress and the MAHA movement as a whole have faced criticism and opposition to their policies from some elected officials, public advocates, farmers, food businesses and concerned citizens alike. One of the main complaints levied against the agenda is that it is high on promises and proposals for reform, but offers very little in the form of concrete actions that the federal government will actually take. Many proposed changes often call for “more research” in place of clear steps to achieve the goals outlined. Others have pointed out that there are many contradictions between the stated goals and the actions the government has taken. Here are some of the main criticisms:
- Little data and research produced to support the statistical information and claims of the MAHA proposal
- Insufficient scientific evidence for claims and a conflation between opinion and fact
- Dismantling of farm to school programs at the same time the USDA claims to be extending fresh food initiatives for school meals
- Drastic cuts to access and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which represents around 70% of federal food subsidies
- Proposed limiting of the use of pesticides, food additives and the reduction of ultra processed foods in the food supply are championed by MAHA, but with no regulation or policy changes to enforce the changes
- A farmer centric approach is highlighted, but with little input from farmers, especially small to medium scale farmers, instead policies are alleged to be at the direction of corporate food conglomerates or “Big Ag”.
MAHA’s Continuing Agenda & Proposals into the Future
Despite the controversy, the MAHA agenda is set to have an extensive impact in shaping the future of the American food system. As 2026 approaches, the federal agencies under the direction of Kennedy and Rollins aim to expand their reform of SNAP and the way it and other food programs are administered, reclassify what healthy food is and what should be in the food supply and reshape the structure of agricultural production and funding.
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