""We're clearly at an all-time high of public attention, policymaker attention and health care attention on food," says Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts. "We're at a moment where there could be real change." But the backlash against Kennedy's vaccine views is sucking the air out of his more popular food agenda."
"Now, the MAHA movement is intensifying scrutiny of America's food - from how it's produced and marketed to who profits - and demanding concessions from food and beverage makers. Zoom in: "One thing that they're rightly targeting is artificial food dyes. In general, the nutrition community is in favor of that," Mattei says. "They increase the palatability and aesthetic of the food, but they're harmful." But MAHA's emphasis on self-empowerment - and self-responsibility - over relying on medical professionals has its limits."
Public and policymaker attention on food and nutrition has reached unprecedented levels, creating potential for significant change. Ultra-processed food consumption remains high but shows declines: the share of adults with a 'poor diet' fell from 49% in 1999 to 37% in 2020, and CDC reports reduced consumption from 2017 to 2023 across all ages. Demand for natural and healthier foods is rising across demographics, prompting consumers to inspect ingredients and prompting activists to target industry practices such as artificial dyes and marketing. However, the MAHA movement's vaccine activism and emphasis on individual empowerment risk undermining public health progress.
Read at Axios
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