Lawmakers raise concerns about seed oil, pesticide findings from MAHA commission
Republican lawmakers are urging members of the Trump administration to ensure the Make America Healthy Again Commission relies on sound science in developing recommendations about pesticide use and seed oils.
The bicameral letter was addressed to members of the MAHA Commission, including USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.
The commission was created early in the Trump administration. Kennedy leads the panel with a focus on combating health challenges in the country, including obesity and diabetes. The commission is first expected to study the possible causes of chronic diseases in children, including diets, environmental factors and food production techniques.
The panel is then expected to submit an assessment with the results of their analysis.
In the letter, lawmakers wrote that they appreciate these efforts but want to ensure outcomes are backed on sound science and risk-based analyses. Without citing specifics, the lawmakers said the MAHA Commission’s work needs to be safeguarded from “activist groups promoting misguided and sometimes even malicious policies masquerading as health solutions.”
“The influence of these groups in the Commission would result in shoddy science; a less abundant, less affordable food supply; greater reliance on foreign adversaries for our food; diminished U.S. agricultural production and manufacturing; and, ultimately, poorer health outcomes,” the letter reads.
Specifically, the lawmakers expressed concern the panel’s work could be used as an opportunity to platform criticisms of food categories or ingredients like seed oils. Additionally, they worry the panel could be influenced by groups that have long pushed against pesticide use. Without these products, food costs could go up for consumers and the U.S. could be more reliant on imports, the lawmakers wrote.
In public appearances before and after their nominations, Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary have been critical of both seed oil and pesticide use. Ahead of his confirmation, senators from agricultural states met with Kennedy to receive assurances that he would have little oversight on pesticides.
However, it’s unclear exactly how the MAHA Commission could act on these issues and what influence Kennedy and other MAHA players could have.
Reps. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Mark Alford, R-Mo., joined Nebraska Republican Sens. Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer in leading the letter. It was signed by nearly 80 other Republican lawmakers.
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