Junk food turns public villain as power shifts in Washington
The new Trump administration might be coming to steal your snacks.
For years, the federal government has shied away from regulating junk, fast and ultra-processed foods.
Now attitudes are changing. Some members of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle are gearing up for a fight against “Big Food,” or the companies that produce much of America’s food and drink. Nominees for top health agencies are taking aim at ultra-processed foods, which make up an estimated 70% of the nation’s food supply. Based on recent statements, a variety of potentially politically charged policy options for regulating ultra-processed foods could be on the Trump team’s menu, including warning labels, changes to agribusiness subsidies and what products consumers can purchase through government food aid restrictions.
The push to reform America’s diet is driven largely by those on the right, who have long been darlings of the left. Trump supporters such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose controversial nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services still faces the Senate, are embracing ideas that promote natural foods and alternative medicine. confirm. It’s a movement they call “MAHA,” or Make America Healthy Again. Their interest creates momentum because their goals have fairly broad bipartisan support, even in a deeply divided Congress, where lawmakers from both parties focused on the issue last year.
This is likely to be a fierce battle, as the food industry wields enormous political clout and has successfully thwarted previous efforts to regulate its products or marketing. The “food processing and marketing companies” category, which includes Tyson Foods and Nestle SA, had annual lobbying expenditures of $26.7 million in 2024, According to OpenSecrets. That’s up from nearly $10 million in 1998.
“They absolutely played a big role in delaying the effectiveness of regulation in the U.S. and were very, very successful,” said Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco. “It does feel like there needs to be a moment of reflection, and people Start asking questions like: ‘Why do we have to live like this?'”
“ultra-processed food“It’s a widely used term It means different things to different people and is used to describe items from soda to many frozen meals. These products often contain added fats, starches, sugars, etc. Researchers say eating ultra-processed foods is linked to varying degrees with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, mental health problems and premature death.
Nutrition and health leaders are optimistic that a reckoning has begun. Kennedy pledged to remove processed foods from school lunches, limit certain food additives such as dyes in grains and shift federal farm subsidies away from commodity crops widely used in ultra-processed foods.
The growing concern in Washington has sparked new interest in the law, with lawyers exploring cases that would sue major food manufacturers for selling products they say cause chronic disease.
Bryce Martinez, now 18, targeted nearly a dozen companies including Kraft Heinz, The Coca-Cola Co. and Nestle USA in December. Food manufacturers sued. He developed diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at age 16 and tried to hold them responsible for his illness. According to the lawsuit filed in Philadelphia General Court, the companies knew or should have known that ultra-processed foods were harmful and addictive.
The ongoing lawsuit alleges that Martinez grew up eating heavily advertised name-brand foods that are staples of the American diet — listing sugary soft drinks, cereal and Lucky Charms, Skittles and Snickers, frozen and packaged foods Dinner etc.
Nestle, Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz did not respond to emails seeking comment for this article. The Consumer Brands Association, a trade association for consumer goods manufacturers, disputes the accusations.
“Attempts to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed or to demonize foods by ignoring their full nutritional content,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy, said in a statement. will mislead consumers and exacerbate health disparities.”
Other law firms are seeking out children or adults who believe they were harmed by eating ultra-processed foods, increasing the likelihood of lawsuits.
one Indiana Personal Injury Firms “We are actively investigating ultra-processed food (UPF) cases,” it says on its website. Trial attorneys in Texas are also exploring possible legal action against federal regulators they say have failed to regulate ultra-processed foods. Processed food.
“If you or your child suffers from a health problem that your doctor believes is directly related to eating ultra-processed foods, we want to hear your story,” they say on their website.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey are sounding the alarm about ultra-processed foods. Sanders Legislation to be introduced in 2024 This could lead to a federal ban on junk food advertising to children, a national education campaign and labels on ultra-processed foods not recommended for children. Booker co-signed the legislation with Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a meeting December hearing FDA Commissioner Robert Califf is calling for more funding for research as he examines the link between ultra-processed foods and chronic disease.
Kaliff told the hearing that food companies have exploited “the same neural circuits involved in opioid addiction.”
Sanders, who chaired the hearing, said there was “increasing evidence” that “these foods are intentionally designed to be addictive,” asserting that ultra-processed foods contribute to the diabetes and obesity epidemic and contribute to millions of deaths. Hundreds of billions of dollars in medical costs. expenditure.
Kelly Brownell, professor emeritus at Stanford University and co-editor of the journal Food Addiction, said research on food and addiction “has accumulated to a critical point.” an academic handbook Regarding this issue.
Attacks from three fronts — lawyers, Congress and the incoming Trump administration, which all appear interested in the fight — could bring enough pressure to challenge Big Food and potentially spur improvements in American health. minimum life expectancy among high-income countries.
“Maybe moving away from highly processed foods in some ways could actually change the rates of obesity among the American public very quickly,” said Robert Redfield, a virologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who served under Trump. Administration, in the comments December events Sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Allegations that Big Food companies knowingly create and sell addictive and harmful products are similar to Milestone’s previous allegations against Big Tobacco $206 billion settlement Reached in 1998.
“The companies allegedly exploited the tobacco industry’s playbook to target children, particularly black and Hispanic children, through integrated marketing with cartoons, toys and games, and social media advertising,” Rene RochaAn attorney with Morgan & Morgan LLP, which represents Martinez, told KFF Health News.
Martinez’s 148-page lawsuit against the food manufacturer is drawn from documents made public in a lawsuit against tobacco companies that own some of the food industry’s biggest brands.
Similar accusations were leveled against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers before agreeing to pay tens of billions of dollars. Settlement with states in 2021.
The FDA eventually placed restrictions on the labeling and marketing of tobacco, and the opioid epidemic led to legislation that increased access to life-saving drugs to treat addiction.
But the Trump administration’s zeal to fight Big Food may face unique challenges.
The FDA’s ability to enforce regulations is hampered in part by funding. While the agency’s drug division collects industry user fees, its food division relies on a more limited budget set by Congress.
Change may take time, as some critics say the agency is moving at what critics call a “slow pace.” Last year the FDA revoked a provision Brominated vegetable oils are allowed to be used in food. The agency determined in 1970 that the additive was not generally considered safe.
Efforts to limit the marketing of ultra-processed foods could spark lawsuits alleging that any restrictions violate commercial speech protected by the First Amendment. Kennedy — if he is confirmed as HHS secretary — may have difficulty gaining support from a Republican-led Congress that advocates reducing federal regulations that the president-elect supported during his previous term. White House serves fast food.
“The question is, can RFK make a difference?” said David L. Katz, a physician who founded the True Health Initiative, a public health advocacy group Misinformation nonprofits.
“Previous governments didn’t do much in this area, and RFK was associated with a particularly anti-regulatory government.”
at the same time, U.S. population It is considered one of the most obese countries in the world and has the highest rates of multiple chronic diseases among high-income countries.
“There was a huge grassroots effort because we were so ill,” said Jerrold ManderFrom 2009 to 2011, he served as Undersecretary for Food Safety at the Ministry of Agriculture. “A big part of it is that people shouldn’t get it at such a young age. If you don’t have it by the time you’re 18, you’re lucky.” Chronic illness is amazing. “
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues as one of the agency’s core operating programs Cave —An independent source of health policy research, polling and news.
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