Americans will have to wait several weeks for the Trump administration’s next steps in its agenda to “Make America Healthy Again,” according to three people familiar with the matter.
While President Donald Trump’s MAHA Commission will submit its strategy to the White House on Tuesday — sticking to an executive-ordered deadline — scheduling issues stand in the way of its public release.
The commission is “on track” to deliver its report to the White House by August 12, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “The report will be unveiled to the public shortly thereafter as we coordinate the schedules of the President and the various cabinet members who are a part of the Commission.”
Officials are aiming to launch their strategy by the end of this month, according to the three people familiar.
The commission’s first MAHA report, issued in May, laid out the case that ultraprocessed foods, pharmaceutical prescriptions and environmental toxins are driving a crisis of childhood chronic disease in America. Much of the reports’ findings echoed longtime arguments of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who leads the commission.
The second installment is expected to propose strategies and reforms to tackle those issues. Actions can include, per the president’s executive order, ending certain federal practices that “exacerbate the health crisis” and “adding powerful new solutions.”
Public health experts, MAHA supporters and industry advocates alike have been anxiously awaiting the commission’s recommendations, and how far they will go.
There is lingering unease among farmers and agricultural groups after the first report flagged studies that suggest links between commonly used pesticides and various illnesses such as cancer and liver problems. Groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation called those “unproven theories” and warned that calling use of common pesticides into question could jeopardize Americans’ confidence in the food supply.
Federal health and agricultural officials sought to reassure farmers in the ensuing weeks. This month, a high-ranking Enviornmental Protection Agency official told attendees at a sugar industry conference that agencies would “respect” the current regulatory framework, as reported by DTN Progressive Farmer, an agriculture news and analysis company.
Another potential battleground is the federal path forward on ultraprocessed foods. Kennedy has led a public campaign for major food brands to voluntarily remove artificial additives and dyes from popular products, but nutrition advocates have pushed for the administration to crack down with regulations.
This month, a former leader of the US Food and Drug Administration challenged the agency to remove ultraprocessed foods from the market by essentially outlawing certain ingredients.
But some have remained skeptical that federal MAHA leaders will take drastic action.
“We need policies to change big food and the food system, so it produces healthier foods,” Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America, said in a news briefing Monday. “Will [the MAHA commission] move beyond PR efforts, voluntary agreements and handshakes — none of which have really worked to improve the food system in the past — and suggest regulatory action with real teeth?”
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