In a charged atmosphere of policy reform and public distrust, the newly formed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission convened for the first time Monday, and it wasted no time setting a sweeping agenda.
Flanked by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the commission pledged to revise the federal dietary guidelines from the ground up, signaling a dramatic departure from the previous administration’s nutritional framework.
“We are going to make sure the dietary guidelines will reflect the public interest and serve public health, rather than special interests,” Kennedy declared following the meeting.
2025-2030 Guidelines Under Microscope
The Biden-era dietary report is undergoing what USDA and HHS call a “line-by-line” review, an unprecedented re-evaluation that will culminate in a new set of federal nutrition recommendations set to be released before the December 31 deadline.
This isn’t business as usual. Rollins and Kennedy say the 2025-2030 guidelines will be radically different.
“I commend President Trump on his bold leadership to empower Americans to live longer, healthier, more abundant lives,” Rollins said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues across the Cabinet and leading efforts at the Department of Agriculture to encourage healthy choices, outcomes and families.”
In a joint statement, the agencies promised “holistic process improvements to ensure transparency and minimize any conflicts of interest.”
And Rollins didn’t mince words. “Gone are the days where leftist ideologies guide public policy,” she said. “These new guidelines will be based on sound science, not political science.”
Seeds of Controversy: What’s Actually in the Old Guidelines?
So, what exactly is being reconsidered?
The existing guidelines published under the Biden Administration include a recommendation to incorporate oils into a healthy dietary pattern, noting that oils provide “essential fatty acids.” Among those listed: canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oils.
But the MAHA movement, which now enjoys formal backing from HHS and USDA, has long criticized the widespread use of seed oils, arguing that they’re linked to inflammation and chronic disease. Supporters instead advocate for traditional fats like beef tallow and natural lard.
Interestingly, the current guidelines advise Americans to limit consumption of “fats high in saturated fat” including butter and lard, the very foods the MAHA camp is trying to reclaim.
Kennedy Meets Big Food — and Makes a Big Move
On Monday, Kennedy met with some of the biggest players in the U.S. food industry: Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Tyson Foods, WK Kellogg Co, The J.M. Smucker Company, and PepsiCo. The Consumer Brands Association was also present.
What came next was a bombshell announcement.
HHS will move to eliminate the controversial Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) loophole. This regulatory gap allows ingredient manufacturers to introduce new chemicals into the food supply without notifying the FDA or the American public.
In Kennedy’s words, updating the guidelines and closing that loophole is “a giant step in making America the healthiest country in the world.”
A New Era for Public Health Policy?
The move to revamp the guidelines follows a growing chorus of criticism over how nutrition policy in the U.S. has long been influenced by politics and industry lobbying, not always by science.
“RFK Jr. is here because Americans lost confidence in public health officials,” he said, citing the rise of the MAHA Commission as a response to a “spiritual crisis” in American healthcare.
Kennedy and Rollins say their new blueprint is aimed at restoring that trust, not just by revising what’s on the plate, but by redefining who gets to decide what’s healthy in the first place.
Whether this is the beginning of a new era or just the latest swing in America’s nutritional pendulum remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the nation’s food policy is being rewritten and this time, the authors say they’re putting the people first.
