| | 23/May/25
| | US: Health advocates applaud MAHA report for calling out chemical harms, but say it falls short Exposures to pesticides and other chemicals, ultra-processed foods and over-prescription of medications are among the factors contributing to an epidemic of chronic disease in America’s children, according to a government report issued Thursday by the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission. Summarising the report, Carey Gillam writes that it calls for a “transformation” of US food, health and “scientific systems” to address the “sickest generation in American history in terms of chronic disease”. The report blames complacency in scientific and medical institutions, corrupted federal and state policies guided “more by corporate profit than the public interest,” and US food and agricultural systems that have “embraced ultra-processed ingredients and synthetic chemicals”. The report calls out corporate influence over research, regulators and lawmakers as factors contributing to the problems. The commission’s work, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been under close scrutiny and generated controversy even before it was released amid expectations that it might highlight health concerns linked to powerful industry interests, including the use of toxic pesticides in agriculture. Public health advocates had mixed reactions to the report, applauding many of the key points and cheering the fact that the report targets topics that past administrations have avoided. Some, though, wished the report had gone farther, and said industry pressure likely helped suppress any meaningful policy change recommendations. The New Lede The myth of technological inevitability Years ago, we were often told that human cloning is inevitable and we can't "stop science". But internet politics professor Dave Karpf writes: "The human cloning future proved to be neither inevitable or immutable. The path of scientific progress veered in different directions. And, honestly… good! Does anyone regret that we haven’t empowered rich egomaniacs to create clones whose organs they can then harvest? When you tally up the state of the world today, with all its problems and opportunities, do you find yourself thinking 'aw damn. It sure would help if we had clones'?... The broader lesson is that inevitability was never more than a framing device. The arguments for developing human cloning on the merits — not stem cell research, but full-replica human beings — were never particularly compelling. Inevitability serves as a rhetorical dodge, an attempt to change the temporal register of the argument from 'if' to 'when'." The Future, Now and Then We hope you’ve found this newsletter interesting. It was made possible by GMWatch supporters. To become one, please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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