(Washington) The administration of Donald Trump unveiled its strategy on Tuesday to fight chronic diseases affecting young Americans, such as obesity and diabetes, presenting a multitude of tracks to fight in particular junk food … while greatly sparing the food industry.
“We are today the most sick country in the world,” insisted the American Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy Jr., disputed for his anti-vaccine positions, by presenting his recommendations to combat obesity, diabetes or even mental health disorders.
128, these recommendations appear very vague and are mainly based on calls to study more the effects of certain pollutants, microplastics or drugs, and to better promote balanced diet.
This roadmap has disappointed both experts in these areas and supports of the initiative by the notable absence of strong actions against pesticides or ultra-transformed food.
If the document “contains many action ideas”, it “lacks details and is unconvincing in terms of regulatory measures”, underlines Marion Nestle, professor emeritus in nutrition and public health.
“It is manipulation at an never-seen level,” denounces Scott Faber, expert in environmental regulations with the American organization EWG.
Trump administration “has the power to ban pesticides and food chemical components that are banished in other countries. But instead of doing so, it facilitates the procedures for authorizing new toxic substances, ”he regrets.
Quasi-orders of pesticides
This roadmap constitutes a “small victory” for manufacturers, says Zen HoneyCutt, an activist close to the movement “Rendering America his health” (Maha, according to the acronym in English), of which Robert Kennedy Jr. is a figurehead, on the model of the Slogan Maga of Donald Trump (rendering its greatness to America).
“This is a blatant example of corruption led by chemical companies,” she judges with AFP, not hiding her bitterness in the face of the almost imagination of pesticides.
The report insists more on the use of “precision technologies” to reduce their employment in agriculture than on possible prohibitions, a breach which does not endure, however, its confidence in Robert Kennedy Jr., former lawyer recognized in environmental law and fervent criticism of pesticides and junk food.
The secretary had also promised to fight against the “overmedicalization” of American children, by strengthening the supervision of vaccines and by banning pharmaceutical ads, which he accuses of playing a role in what he describes as “epidemic” of chronic diseases.
A controversial relationship
The United States is indeed the only country in the world, with New Zealand, to authorize pharmaceutical laboratories to advertise their treatments.
Instead of a ban, a strengthening of the legislation on this advertisement was announced on Tuesday.
This action plan against chronic diseases had been preceded a few months ago from the publication of a first report on the causes.
The latter had pointed out the possible responsibility for ultra-transformed food, pesticides or screens in the development of chronic diseases in children, while sowing doubt about vaccines.
Robert Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly made the relay of a false theory establishing a link between the Ror (measles, mumps and rubella vaccine) and autism, has attacked American vaccine recommendations in recent times.
Deemed in part simplistic or not based on some on scientific consensus, the conclusions of the first report had all the more aroused the controversy that they were based in part on scientific studies … created from scratch.
