US food manufacturers “deliver safe, affordable and convenient products”, one of the country’s principal trade bodies has said, after President-elect Trump named industry critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
Trump yesterday (14 November) appointed Kennedy, also known by his initials RFK Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
As head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kennedy, who has taken aim at parts of the US food industry in recent weeks, will be the main health advisor to the US President. The department oversees agencies including the US Food and Drug Administration.
In August, Kennedy, a former Democrat, ended his own presidential campaign and endorsed Trump’s push for the White House. He has launched Make America Healthy Again, a campaign that “prioritises regenerative agriculture, protects natural resources and removes harmful toxins from our food, water and air”.
Kennedy has pinned the “obesity epidemic” in the US on “ultra-processed food”, claiming the country has a “broken food system”.
In a statement provided to Just Food today, Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of federal affairs at industry body Consumer Brands Association (CBA), said: “The makers of America’s household brands deliver safe, affordable and convenient products that consumers want, need and trust, every day. Keeping consumers and their families safe is our number one priority.”
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The CBA counts major food manufacturers operating in the US as members, including Campbell, Conagra Brands, Danone, Mondelez International and Nestlé.
Gallo added: “The federal regulatory agencies within HHS operate under a science and risk-based mandate and it is critical that framework remains under the new administration. As the largest domestic manufacturing employer, supporting more than 22 million American jobs, we are prepared to work with the confirmed appointee and qualified experts within HHS to support public health, build consumer trust and promote consumer choice.”
In a broadcast on Sirius XM last December, Kennedy, while still with an eye on a presidential run, also said the US Department of Agriculture had been “captured by the big agricultural interests”, listing some of the country’s largest ag and meat companies.
Earlier this month, before the US election, he said that a Trump administration would advise the country’s water systems to remove fluoride from drinking water.
Kennedy has also raised questions about vaccines, including making assertions they are associated with autism, even though research has dismissed the link.
Food advocacy group criticises RFK Jr. appointment
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a US non-profit that advocates for “nutrition and health, food safety and sound science”, criticised Kennedy’s appointment.
In a statement, CSPI president Peter Lurie said Kennedy was “not remotely qualified for the role and should be nowhere near the science-based agencies that safeguard our nutrition, food safety, and health”.
Lurie added: “Nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like putting a Flat Earther at the head of NASA. CSPI opposes this nomination and any other nominees who are a direct threat to science and evidence-based solutions.”
Trump said he was “thrilled” to hand the job to Kennedy. “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” he posted on X.
I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2024
Kennedy took to the social-media network to say there is “a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic”.
He added: “I look forward to working with the more than 80,000 employees at HHS to free the agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth.
“Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science.”
Thank you @realDonaldTrump for your leadership and courage. I’m committed to advancing your vision to Make America Healthy Again.
We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 14, 2024
A study published yesterday in the medical journal The Lancet said an estimated three-quarters of the US population, or 172 million, aged at least 25 were either overweight or obese in 2021.
The study, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, predicted that, by 2050, that number would reach around 213 million.
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