Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s food fight is coming to Brussels
Ultra-processed foods are the new target in the global fight against obesity, thanks in part to the MAHA movement.
Brussels is witnessing the cross-Atlantic expansion of the Make America Healthy Again campaign against processed food. Donald Trump's health secretary has made packaged, mass-produced snacks a key target of his health agenda, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite his controversial stance on vaccines, has gained support from the European Commission in this area.
Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, a former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's man in Brussels, has expressed solidarity with Kennedy's push, acknowledging the shared goal of addressing unhealthy diets between Europe and the U.S. However, determining what ultra-processed foods are and how to regulate them proves to be a complex issue.
While research links such foods to obesity and diabetes, translating that evidence into policy without infringing on personal choice remains a challenge. The World Health Organization is in the process of unveiling new tools to assist policymakers, but the debate over defining and regulating ultra-processed foods continues.
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