*

MAHA report criticizes highly processed foods and

additives in

American diet

*

It does not call for specific regulatory changes or

policies

*

Farm group have warned that further regulation could hurt

food

production

(Adds Trump comment in paragraph 3; outside scientist in

paragraphs 7-8; MAHA activist comment in paragraphs 9-10)

By Leah Douglas, Michael Erman and Renee Hickman

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - A commission led by U.S.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday issued a

report that said processed food, chemicals, stress and

overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors

behind chronic illness in American children.

The report, from the commission named after the Make America

Healthy Again, or MAHA, social movement aligned with Kennedy, is

focused on what he says is a national crisis of increasing rates

of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders,

allergies and neurodevelopmental conditions like autism.

"MAHA is hot," President Donald Trump said during a press

event. "We will not allow our public health system to be

captured by the very industries it's supposed to oversee."

Kennedy said there was consensus among the commission's

members to prioritize what he called the ultra-processed food

crisis and to work to improve the food American children eat.

The report also highlighted studies linking health disorders

in humans and animals to the weed killers glyphosate and

atrazine, but did not call for specific regulatory changes or

restrictions on pesticides used in farming. It said the

chemicals should be further researched.

It criticized the U.S. approach to vaccines in children,

saying European children are recommended to receive fewer. He

called for study of the impact of vaccines on childhood chronic

disease and of vaccine injuries.

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has for many years

pushed debunked theories about the safety of vaccines contrary

to scientific evidence. As head of the agency, he has overseen

cuts of about 20,000 of 80,000 employees due to layoffs and

departures.

Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the

Public Interest, a food and health watchdog, said the report

recycles longtime concerns of Kennedy, from vaccines to seed

oils.

"To the extent that they come up with good ideas, they're

going to run into the self-inflicted wound of their own

decimation of the federal workforce. Many of their better ideas

will not be doable," Lurie said.

Many of the MAHA activists that surround Kennedy were

present in Washington for the release of the report, which they

largely applauded as a vindication of their work.

But, one such activist, Kelly Ryerson, who campaigns against

the use of glyphosate-based pesticides, called the report "very

cautious on the subject of pesticides," adding that she'd like

to see more Environmental Protection Agency action on the topic.

Bayer, which is involved in thousands of lawsuits

surrounding its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, said some

details around pesticides in the report were not "fact based."

"We believe a fact and data-driven approach with robust

science that follows international gold standards is necessary

to support these important initiatives," Bayer said.

As an environmental lawyer, Kennedy was associated with

three lawsuits related to Roundup, which is owned by Bayer after

its acquisition of Monsanto.

ULTRAPROCESSED FOOD

The food industry has said that additives in packaged food

have been thoroughly reviewed by regulators and help it remain

shelf stable.

The American Soybean Association was critical of the report,

which they said was "drafted entirely behind closed doors" and

inaccurately suggests that pesticides and soy oils contribute to

negative health outcomes.

"We're discouraging people from consuming heart-healthy oils

and driving them to instead use fats that will make them less

healthy and cost them more in the process," said ASA Director

Alan Meadows, a soybean farmer.

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York

University, told Reuters the report was "a devastating critique

of what's happened to America's children."

But she said, "to deal with the root causes of the

conditions detailed here, this administration will have to take

on Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, Big Chemical, and get

coal-burning plants to clean up their emissions. A lot of this

is counter to the MAGA agenda, and the decimation of federal

agencies can't help."

The report called for enhanced surveillance and safety

research into drugs and childhood health outcomes and clinical

studies comparing whole-food to processed-food diets in

children.

The definition of ultra-processed food is hotly debated,

while the report describes it as industrially manufactured

products.

The report says that core products of so-called "Big Food",

which typically references companies such as Kraft Heinz ( KHC )

, Nestle and PepsiCo ( PEP ), are

ultra-processed.

Kraft Heinz ( KHC ) manufactures Heinz Ketchup and Kraft mac &

cheese, Nestle produces frozen pizzas and dinners under the

Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine brands, while PepsiCo ( PEP ) owns

Frito-Lay, a salty snacks business.

The report also cites infant formula as an ultra-processed

food that is concerning.

FARM LOBBY PRESSURE

Thursday's report will be followed by policy prescriptions

due in August. Trump signed an executive order in February

establishing the commission whose members include Kennedy,

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, other cabinet members and

senior White House officials.

Before the report's publication, farm lobby groups had

warned that criticizing specific farm practices could impede

collaboration on the administration's health agenda and put food

production at risk.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the lobby

groups had strongly pressured the administration to not mention

pesticides in the report.

EPA head Lee Zeldin said on a call with reporters that

farmers are key partners in enacting the MAHA agenda and that

any changes to pesticide regulations would need careful

consideration.