- within Food, Drugs, Healthcare and Life Sciences topic(s)
- in United States
- within Real Estate and Construction and Tax topic(s)
- with readers working within the Environment & Waste Management industries
Key Takeaways
- On September 9, 2025, the "Make America Healthy Again Commission," (the Commission) chaired by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., issued the "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report" (the Strategy Report), which includes several recommendations related to food and nutrition.
- The Strategy Report's food and nutrition recommendations emphasize more research and updated guidance rather than major new regulatory changes, signaling limited immediate policy shifts.
- Stakeholders interested in food and nutrition issues have an opportunity to engage with the agencies tasked with these initiatives.
Overview
On September 9, 2025, the "Make America Healthy Again Commission," established pursuant to President Trump's February 13, 2025 Executive Order 14212 and chaired by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., issued the "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report" (Strategy Report).
The Strategy Report outlines the Administration's plan to address childhood chronic disease. The report is broad and spans issue areas including vaccines, food, nutrition, chemical exposure, physical activity, and medical practices for a comprehensive overview of the full report). This alert focuses specifically on the Administration's stated goals around food and nutrition and organizes such goals around the federal entities charged with implementation under the Strategy Report. As with most initiatives in the report, the descriptions of these proposed initiatives related to food and nutrition are short on detail and come against a backdrop of significant funding cuts to the agencies and programs charged with their implementation and, more broadly, to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) under HR 1. Recognizing the current uncertainty around next steps, stakeholders with an interest in these areas have an opportunity to engage with federal entities and explore what action could look like in these spaces.
The Strategy Report offers 30 proposed initiatives addressing food and nutrition. Most of these initiatives (19) are classified as actions to "realign incentives," which the Commission describes as "policy reforms, deregulation and structural improvements to advance innovation." Five (5) of the initiatives are focused on fostering collaboration with the private sector, four (4) are focused on improving nutrition/food focused research, and two (2) focus on increasing public awareness. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and HHS (and most prominently the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)), will be involved in the majority of these actions.
For stakeholders in health and nutrition, the report signals federal attention to these issues with limited immediate policy shifts. Stakeholders wanting to provide input can use this guide to easily understand which federal entity is tasked with each action. The Manatt Food and Nutrition team will be closely monitoring any next steps from the Administration and working with clients to understand the impacts of these initiatives as they unfold.
Key Initiatives Related to Food and Nutrition
View the entire table here.
Acronyms Key
ACF: Administration for Children and Families
AHA: Administration for a Healthy America
CDC: Centers for Disease Control
CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
DoD: U.S. Department of Defense
FDA: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
ED: U.S. Department of Education
FTC: Federal Trade Commission
EPA: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NIH: National Institutes of Health
USDA: U.S. Department of Agriculture
VA: Veterans Affairs
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
