The Department of Health and Human Services officially released the “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy,” which focuses on strategies to address childhood chronic disease. Pillars of the report include advancing research, refocusing incentives, private sector collaboration, and increasing public awareness. On the agriculture side, the report makes recommendations on a variety of topics, including pesticide research and education, soil health, and agricultural innovation. There are also deregulatory recommendations for organic production, local food access, and small farming operations.
The agriculture community had a generally positive response after expressing grave concerns about the first Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report. However, various MAHA-affiliated organizations have criticized the report as a sell-out to “big agriculture” and pesticide companies.
In response, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Kenneth Hartman Jr., released the following statement:
"The policy recommendations related to crop production, released today by the MAHA Commission, appear to be a reasonable and science-based approach for achieving its objectives. We are encouraged that when the commission engaged with agricultural stakeholders and followed the science, it reaffirmed what we already know: EPA is the appropriate agency for regulating crop inputs. We are also delighted to see precision agriculture, soil health, and land stewardship prioritized, as these are areas in which corn farmers have led the way for many years. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress as they turn to the implementation of the report."
Source: Michigan Corn Growers Association