How RFK, Jr.’s MAHA plan could affect the food-away-from-home business

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has yet to air a detailed plan for the crusade he’s dubbed MAHA, for Make America Healthy Again. But several particulars have emerged in recent days as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services settles into his role, giving the food-away-from-home industry a preview of what to expect as Kennedy shoots for what he calls “radical transparency.”

The former environmental lawyer’s appointment has been controversial because of his unorthodox views on certain food-related issues. That nonconformity showed in some of his recent suggestions on issues pertinent to the supply chain, such as the cost of eggs.
  
To contain the spread of avian flu, the detection of a single infected laying hen usually brings the extermination of an egg farm’s whole flock. The practice has severely limited production of eggs for consumption, lighting a rocket under their price.
 
It also cuts into the generation of birds whose eggs replicate the flocks. Fewer young birds, known as pullets, are available to replace the older fowls who were destroyed.
 
But proponents argue that the extreme effort is necessary to prevent the flu virus from spreading to even more flocks and worsening the situation.

Kennedy has suggested a radically different approach. During interviews on Fox News, he’s suggested that infected birds not be destroyed. Instead, he said last week, farms should let the flu virus spread throughout the flock in hopes of revealing chickens that may be immune to the pathogen. Those birds could be the foundation for replenishing commercial flocks.

They could also provide direction in developing a fool-proof vaccine for the livestock. But Kennedy has expressed concerns about relying on vaccines to protect the egg supply. As he explained to Fox host Sean Hannity, if the vaccine isn’t 100% effective, the viruses that aren’t killed might mutate into a super-bug form that could jump to other species, including humans.

As the Secretary of HHS, Kennedy does not have authority for the administration’s agricultural policies. But the cabinet official who does, U.S. Department of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, has voiced support for giving Kennedy’s hands-off suggestion a try. She told Fox News that she knows of farmers who’d be willing to let the infection progress through their flocks in hopes some birds will indeed be immune.

The notion has not won the support of the mainstream scientific community, however. Scientists warn that letting the flu virus run rampant could foster the same sort of mutation and drug resistance that Kennedy fears from ineffective inoculation.

Seed oils

Since taking office, Kennedy has also spoken out against what he’s long identified as a lurking health threat, the use of seed oils in the production of food. Media like canola, soy and sunflower oils are frequently used in ultra-processed foods, which Kennedy has blasted as a direct health threat. 
Recent studies have also shown a connection between cancer and excessive consumption of certain fatty acids that are found in seed oils.
 
Kennedy has championed a switch back to beef tallow and other animal-derived fats and oils for frying. He’s been openly praising the Steak n Shake family dining chain for changing the medium within its fryers to beef tallow.
“We’re very grateful to them for RFK'ing the French fries,” Kennedy told Hannity.

A portion of the scientific community agrees with Kennedy’s anti-seed-oil stance. But much of it holds to the contention that seed oils are healthier because they abound in unsaturated fats, which have less of a tendency to clog blood vessels. 

Beef tallow was once the frying medium routinely used in foodservice. But operations have largely switched to vegetable oils, including seed oils, or seek and tallow blends. They were prompted in part to provide more healthful products, and in part because vegetable oils are usually less expensive. 

Rethink of GRAS

Kennedy has yet to take any action related to seed oils. But he has directed the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider the longstanding practice of allowing food manufacturers to add ingredients generally recognized as safe (GRAS) to products without a lengthy review process by federal monitors. The examples often cited are ingredients like salt or vinegar.

Requiring re-approval of a product because of a GRAS ingredient’s addition would be a major change in the way some line extensions get to market. But Kennedy contends that the process could be necessary. 

“For far too long, ingredient manufacturers and sponsors have exploited a loophole that has allowed new ingredients and chemicals, often with unknown safety data, to be introduced into the U.S. food supply without notification to the FDA or the public,”  Kennedy said at the time his directive to the FDA, an agency under the HHS umbrella, was issued.

‘Get the dyes out’

The secretary has also reportedly taken action to remove artificial dyes from foods. According to several news reports based on a leaked memo, HHS has informed the CEOs of major food processing companies that they should remove all of the unnatural ingredients before Kennedy’s term as HHS secretary ends. 

If the companies do not voluntarily comply, according to the reports, the agency intends to take action.  

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