(NewsNation) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to meet Monday with executives from the food companies he has long accused of contributing to Americans’ health issues.
NewsNation has confirmed that executives from food conglomerates like PepsiCo and General Mills will attend the meeting, which is Kennedy’s first such meeting.
While details about the meeting are limited, including the timing, Kennedy has said he’ll post updates on X after it ends.
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Kennedy and advocates from the “Make America Healthy Again” commission contend that heavily processed foods have contributed to increases in obesity and chronic diseases, especially among children.
“Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized. Childhood vaccine schedule, electromagnetic radiation, glyphosate, other pesticides, ultra-processed foods, artificial food allergies, SSRI [anti-depressants] and other psychiatric drugs, PFAS, PFOA, microplastics, nothing is going to be off-limits,” Kennedy told staff last month.
MAHA has been tasked with developing a strategy around children’s health within the next six months.
In the past and even throughout his confirmation process, Kennedy criticized food corporations for the role food additives, color dye and seed oils play in chronic diseases in children and obesity in the U.S., though some seed oils are deemed safe by the FDA.
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“I don’t want to take food away from anybody. If you like a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them,” Kennedy said during his confirmation hearing. “But you should know what the impacts are on your family.”
Under Kennedy’s leadership, HHS is undergoing significant changes, including offering $25,000 buyouts to 80,000 employees, signaling a major shift in the department’s priorities.
