Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s clarion for children’s health struck a bipartisan political nerve when he declared in his MAHA message on August 23, 2024, “We need to love our children more than we hate each other.” One year later, the MAHA mission is still gaining force. Diverse allies continue to rally around food and farming issues, and polls show voters are paying attention.
Legacy media sought to discredit Kennedy over vaccines, past autism claims, and quirky anecdotal behaviors, but these efforts did not distract voters from issues of the “chronic disease epidemic,” including obesity, diabetes, and cancers fueled by pesticide residues, food dyes, and factory chemicals.
President Trump delivered on his promise to appoint Kennedy as Health and Human Services Secretary. The president’s MAHA Commission and its comprehensive Report created another volley of publicity around the issue. A sickened public, including precious independent swing voters and many dyed-in-the-wool Democrats who have long advocated for healthier food supplies, is supporting what is proving to be an enduring MAHA movement. (RELATED: RFK Jr. Shows Why America Needs the MAHA Agenda)
The power of MAHA is squeezing the food and agriculture industries in a pincers-type politics: bipartisan organizations are coalescing to oppose industry intransigence, while grassroots unity against sickening foods continues to gain steam – including among Gen Z. As Kennedy & co persistently announce new health initiatives, the MAHA drumbeat against Big Food grows ever louder. (RELATED: Food Companies Cleaning Up in Response to Trump’s MAHA Push)
Most recently, Secretary Kennedy and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins championed SNAP food waivers for six more states that elected to improve the diets of program recipients. Such policy initiatives fuel a powerful zeitgeist that promises to propel Republicans into greater dominance in 2026 and beyond.
Legacy media is losing ground in its persistent effort to discredit MAHA. A recent NBC News poll showed that a majority of the country (51 percent) approves of RFK’s initiatives, and a plurality blames the food industry for the nation’s chronic health problems.
This is delicious news to MAHA supporters as momentum continues to accelerate for sensible dietary improvements.
A 2024 survey conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) determined that food and nutrition content on social media increased a whopping 12 percent between 2023 and 2024 (from 42 percent to 54 percent) and familiarity with the food guidelines of MyPlate bumped up 11 percent — from 43 percent to 54 percent overall: 78 percent for Gen Z and 61 percent of Millenials. IFIC’s analysis also showed steep increases in consumer preferences for protein (from 59 percent in 2022 to 71 percent in 2024) and noted that “Half of consumers are also looking to increase their consumption of fresh foods, which most consider to be the healthiest type of food.”
This is delicious news to MAHA supporters as momentum continues to accelerate for sensible dietary improvements. A nonpartisan coalition of food, farming, and health groups energized by the MAHA cause continues to grow in size and scope.
The Heritage Foundation has taken note of the importance of food as part of a conservative environmental platform. On August 12, Heritage is hosting an event titled “The Future of Farming: Exploring a Pro-Health, Pro-Farmer Agenda,” featuring a panel of experienced farmers to discuss the practical realities and potential challenges of employing regenerative agriculture and how emerging technology may assist in these practices.
Jennifer Galardi, senior policy analyst for Restoring American Wellness at The Heritage Foundation, explains to The American Spectator:
The Heritage Foundation understands the mission to encourage conservatives to reclaim the environment/agriculture conversation — we’ve ceded too much to the left and this is one of the areas where we should be outspoken the most. Conservatives should be concerned about CONSERVING, and fostering proper stewardship of the land as God commands us.
Ryland Engelhart, lead producer of the documentary Kiss the Ground, co-founder of the regenerative farming advocacy nonprofit of the same name, and co-executive director of American Regeneration, is on board with the MAHA movement. Ryland tells The American Spectator:
There is a unique and timely convergence of ideas, cultures, and political leanings coming together on the MAHA dance floor.
As Bobby Kennedy Jr. inspires a renewed national conversation on health and wellness, there’s a growing wave of Americans — beyond the traditional “whole food moms” — who care deeply about the food they eat and the lifestyle they raise their children in.
But the Moms are in too — Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America warns: “This is a critical time in history …. The only way we will have a chance to Make America Healthy Again is if we decrease our exposure to pesticides. This must happen.”
The Weston A. Price Foundation, which advocates for nurturing traditional whole foods, is on board with MAHA, as are vaccine safety organizations Children’s Health Defense and Stand for Health Freedom. American homesteaders and homeschoolers are joining with suburban soccer moms to improve food supplies and children’s health.
A recent launch of the new MAHA Action initiative highlights these powerful alliances. The biweekly MAHA Action Hub features high-profile public figures discussing food safety and nutrition topics. A highly polished MAHA film titled Toxic Nation (produced by Jeff Hays) powerfully challenges the industrial food system and examines the causes of America’s epidemic of chronic diseases.
Originally created to support Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary, the nonprofit MAHA Action is amplifying that mission by building a platform to distribute accurate information about the secretary’s policy initiatives through a health-motivated phalanx of social media influencers and food rights activists. As stated by Tony Lyons in The Hill:
President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have shown incredible courage in taking on powerful interests and putting the health of American families first…
MAHA Action will amplify the voices demanding an end to the corruption that has led to the chronic disease epidemic, to an existential health crisis.
Across demographics and political ideologies, the MAHA message has found eager ears in an older generation displaying the poor health of a lifetime of dependency on cheap processed foods, and a young generation seeking to avoid that fate. As the food revolution grows, so too will the cultural and political impacts of the MAHA movement.
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