The Trump administration has identified ultra-processed foods and chemical exposure as potential hazards in its plan to improve the health of American children, but does not propose widespread restrictions on such foods or pesticides, according to a draft of the report obtained by the Washington Post.
Instead, the “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy” — which isn’t final and may not be publicly released for weeks — said the government will continue efforts to define ultra-processed food and work to increase public awareness and confidence in how pesticides are regulated.
That approach is in line with some recent policy proposals but falls far short of the major changes some of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s supporters have called for. It’s unlikely to provoke fury from the food and agriculture industries Kennedy has railed against and that once feared a sweeping crackdown on their products.
President Donald Trump formed a “Make America Healthy Again” commission chaired by Kennedy to address the root causes of chronic disease and childhood illness. The commission released a report in May identifying the causes of childhood chronic diseases that are shortening Americans’ lifespans. The latest report is meant to serve as a blueprint to cure those ills.
The draft report, first reported by the New York Times, provides new details on how health agencies will try to address broadly recognized dangers to American health, including air and water pollution, exposure to microplastics, and poor nutrition. It also targets long-established public health practices including vaccination and the fluoridation of drinking water. And it calls for new working groups and research into health issues, including a task force focused on chronic disease.
It’s unclear whether the draft was revised before the Tuesday deadline to submit it to Trump.
An HHS spokesman declined to comment and referred questions to the White House. Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said “any document purported to be the MAHA report should be treated as speculative literature” unless it has been released by the administration.
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