Washington (AP) – As President Donald Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the top health officer of the nation, his administration inherited a extensive list of ideas to “make healthy”, from the ban on TV drug advertising to deposit From restrictions on raw milk.
While these unorthodox suggestions – and Kennedy’s discredited views of vaccines – have dominated the recent headlines, a number of more well -known ideas have aroused interest in Capitol Hill and in the US to become linked to banned obstacle and diabetes with ultra -supported foods.
For decades, groups in public health have been demanding similar steps, praising the Federal Leader and increasing public campaigns about the risks of American nutrition that are loaded with salt, sugar and fat.
When Kennedy is exposed to confirmation procedures on Wednesday and Thursday, the supporters of health are in an unpleasant position: caution of the idea of some of Kennedy’s ideas, while they warn of the catastrophic consequences of others.
“If there is the possibility to promote public health, you have to take it,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA officer who is now heading the non -profit center for science in public interest. “So you cannot ignore the guy in everything because they resist it in some things.”
Like many experts, Lurie says that Kennedy’s record of vaccines should prevent him from becoming health secretary. And he is deeply skeptical, Kennedy can provide his ideas for food and nutrition.
Kennedy’s confirmation is far from the Senate that he faced each other from Republicans and Democrats in the chamber’s health and financial committees. Kennedy has played down his long history in the anti-Accacine movement, but experts say that the legislator should concentrate on it.
“The elephant in the room is the vaccine policy,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the centers for the control and prevention of diseases under Barack Obama. “In medicine we say: ‘Above all, no damage.’ I am certainly not convinced that RFK Jr. would not harm our vaccine policy and our children.
Nevertheless, such worries have not prevented some democrats from finding common interests.
The former MEP of Ohio, Tim Ryan, has an op-ED entitled: “Hey Democrats: We should work with RFK Jr. on the repair of America’s food system.”
Senator Cory Booker, a vegan, said reporters that he and Kennedy “speak out of the same game book in terms of food reforms”.
Booker’s office did not answer a request for comment.
Trump and Kennedy are an unlikely alliance
Trump’s unlikely alliance with Kennedy, a lifelong democrat until 2023, reflects a diverse segment of Americans who are increasingly taking care of chemicals in their food, water and distrust of medical experts, government officials as well as great food and drug manufacturers.
Kennedy’s supporters of the Longshot Presidential Campaign were California, who were concerned about food dyes in muesli and midwestern factory workers who were annoyed by COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
But the conflict between Trump’s anti-regulation approach and Kennedy’s anti-corporate posture has a skeptical that a gigantic part of the so-called Maha agenda will ever pass.
The requirement of healthier foods at school, for example, has long been rejected by food and agricultural companies that overwhelmingly supported Trump in the last elections, and donated his campaign with a lead of almost 4 to 1 over Kamala Harris, as with the records records OpenSecrets.org was designed.
During Trump’s first term, the political commissioners weakened the school nutrition guidelines introduced as part of the “Let’s Move” campaign by Michelle Move. The rules required schools to offer more fruit and vegetable options.
Changes in the federal program include the coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and Human Services and dozens of state education programs.
“You don’t have the political coherence to achieve this,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin from the American Public Health Association. “People have spoken about improving the quality of school meals for many years, but it takes a lot of money and cooperation to do this at the national level.”
Even apparently smaller goals such as the ban on potentially harmful food additives would require recent regulations and employees of the FDA – which Kennedy sworn “to” clarify “.
US foods contain hundreds of ingredients that are not permitted in Europe because American companies are not obliged to apply for the FDA approval before they are introduced. Companies can destroy themselves that recent colors or chemicals are “generally recognized as safe”.
The efforts for the reform of the decades-long system were rejected in court and defeated in the congress, with the industrial lobbyists being supported.
Apparently popular ideas such as discouraging ultra -sapedic foods could also prove to be unsustainable.
“I don’t think most of the Americans know that they talk about ice cream, frozen dinner and fast food when they talk about ultra -proofed food,” said Benjamin. “Are we really talking about changing the entire American meal experience?”
Experts hope for the best, but prepare for the worst
If Kennedy is blocked by the nation of the nation’s food system, he would have many other ideas to pursue it.
“What we have are a few good things that are very unlikely that they will be burdened against a few bad things that are very harmful, but are much more practical,” said Lurie.
Kennedy has threatened to dismiss hundreds of employees in the National Institutes of Health and Slash FDA regulations on a gigantic number of unproven treatments, including stem cells, psychedelics and discredited treatments from the cowid era such as Ivermectin.
Even apparently tiny changes in vaccines could have harmful consequences, say experts.
Kennedy could dissolve the current federal vaccine committees and occupy them with consultants who are hostile to vaccines. Currently, insurers have to pay for children to receive recommended recordings from these experts. However, the requirement would expire if Kennedy’s commissioned it to support updated shots and vaccination plans.
For the time being, Larry Gostin says Georgetown University that he and other supporters hope for the best, but I am preparing for the worst.
“If he develops ideas that are good and implementable, I will be the first to applaud it and help me success,” said Gostin, a lawyer. “I am only very skeptical that he will do that.”
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