Secretary of the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has made his objective to “make America wholesome once more” clear — however do his actions align along with his mission? To reply this query, it’s necessary to recollect well being isn’t nearly avoiding components and counting energy.
Relating to meals hygiene and public well being, RFK Jr. is spearheading a worrisome development: shrinking the nation’s already splintered meals security community by revoking legal guidelines, slashing budgets, and enacting layoffs. All of those actions additional scale back the administration’s skill to supervise what few rules stay, placing American well being in danger.
Actually, the 2026 FDA finances proposes an general discount in full-time staffing throughout the board. In April, each member of the administration’s media communications group and the US Justice Division unit that when dealt with drug and meals security instances on behalf of the FDA was disbanded1. That is the unit that when introduced a legal case towards former executives at Peanut Company for crimes that led to a 2009 outbreak involving greater than 700 instances of Salmonella poisoning.
Phyllis Entis, a meals security microbiologist with greater than 50 years of expertise, tells Meals Security Information that these are “determined instances2.” She cites a variety of predictions round issues that might have an effect on the meals system going ahead — listed below are the 4 we’re most involved about.
1. Decreased Consideration to Foodborne Illness Outbreaks
One of many main roles of the FDA is tracing foodborne illness outbreaks to assist scale back their unfold. In 2024 alone, the company investigated 26 outbreaks and recognized the supply of 20. In distinction, up to now in 2025, the FDA has closed its investigation of 11 outbreaks after figuring out the supply of solely 4; 11 further outbreaks stay below investigation, with an extra 4 sources recognized. In brief, we’re taking a look at a 36 % success fee as in comparison with final yr’s 77 %.
The Decreased Workforce Has a Direct Impression
That is no fluke; it’s instantly linked to the widespread layoffs. This summer time, the CDC decreased its energetic surveillance of foodborne pathogens from six to simply two (Salmonella and E coli), instantly citing lack of funding because the motivation for abandoning surveillance of Campylobacter, Cyclospora, Shigella, Yersinia, and Listeria3. FSIS has additionally proposed withdrawing a baseline threshold of Salmonella contamination in hen4.
These surveillance pullbacks aren’t coming at a good time — a present listeria outbreak has been ongoing since June, affecting merchandise in 15 states5. Listeria was additionally the supply of a Boar’s Head deli meat contamination final summer time that in the end led to the deaths of ten folks6. To date, 20 confirmed instances of listeria have been linked to the outbreak, and no less than 4 folks have died; a pregnant girl has additionally skilled fetal loss because of a associated an infection.
Different rollbacks have led to the firing or departure of 20,000 staff from the Division of Well being and Human Providers. This discount of the workforce has led to the suspension of each a high quality management program for the testing of recent milk and produce, in addition to one other program designed to make sure consistency and accuracy throughout its 170-lab community that assessments meals for pathogens and contaminants.
Former USDA inspector Paula Soldner, who took a voluntary early retirement in Might, informed NPR that she was involved that the remaining inspectors could be incapable of visiting the variety of amenities their job now required — eight per day relatively than the standard 47. “Do I foresee one other Boar’s Head scenario? Completely,” she informed the outlet. “I fear in regards to the public.”
2. A Palms-Off Method to Livestock Illnesses Might Trigger a New Pandemic
Within the midst of decreased meals security surveillance, livestock illnesses are additionally rising increasingly more worrisome. As superbacteria run rampant, outbreaks like avian flu change into tougher to include8. This explicit outbreak of the H5N1 virus (fowl flu) has been ongoing since 2020 and has led to hundreds of thousands of hen slaughters, outbreaks in dairy cattle, and no less than one confirmed human demise9.
As a result of the virus results in mortality in practically 100% of the instances in home chickens, some have instructed the most effective resolution to the outbreak is calculated culling10. Nonetheless, Kennedy and the Secretary of Agriculture have proposed a extra hands-off method, calling for fowl flu to “rip via” contaminated flocks. Most specialists are vehemently against this method, as exemplified by an argument printed by a gaggle of virologists, veterinarians, and well being safety specialists this summer time in Science11. Within the report, they wrote that this plan would doubtless pave the way in which for a real pandemic — and pose much more dangers for human well being.
“Basically, the longer you permit a virus that has proven to be efficient in infecting a number of hosts survive in an atmosphere, the better the prospect you give it to unfold, to mutate, and to strive its luck at adaptation,” the report’s writer Erin Sorrell, a virologist on the Johns Hopkins Middle for Well being Safety, informed Stay Science12. “Worse case situation, the virus adapts and expands its host vary to change into transmissible in people … Now we’ve got a pandemic.”
Kennedy’s proposed hands-off method is probably going linked, as soon as extra, to workers cuts. Although specialists say that the easiest way to fight fowl flu could be to enhance information sharing, improve surveillance of viral unfold, and work with interdisciplinary groups, cuts on the USDA’s Animal and Plant Well being Inspection Service have fairly merely decreased the company’s skill to fight this and different livestock illnesses.
3. Layoffs Endanger Planning for the Way forward for Important Well being and Vitamin Developments
Based on a information launch from the American Society for Vitamin, layoffs on the CDC’s Nationwide Middle for Well being Statistics have jeopardized the way forward for the Nationwide Well being and Vitamin Examination Survey (NHANES), which hinders our skill to observe and perceive crucial well being and vitamin traits.
The personnel that misplaced their jobs in a large spate of layoffs this month had been answerable for a survey relationship to the early ‘60s assessing the well being and dietary standing of hundreds of thousands of People13. This information is used to information federal policymaking, together with meals labeling, dietary guidances, and vitamin analysis priorities, influencing billions of {dollars} in federal investments. This survey has beforehand knowledgeable public well being points like the consequences of lead in petrol, and now it’s prone to disappearing.
Former CDC workers member Asher Rosinger, an epidemiologist at Pennsylvania State College in College Park, informed Nature that because of the layoffs, “this gold normal survey might not have the ability to function sooner or later.”
4. Anti-Migrant Insurance policies Lead to a Decreased Skill to Produce Protected, Wholesome Crops
Not the entire points plaguing our meals system are linked to finances cuts. The Trump administration’s deportation raids have severely decreased the nation’s skill to supply sufficient meals domestically, based on a submitting to the Federal Register submitted on Oct. 2 by the Division of Labor. Trump’s anti-migrant insurance policies pose a menace to the “stability of home meals manufacturing and costs for U.S shoppers,” says the submitting. The Division says this can be a reflection of a “structural, not cyclical, workforce disaster.”
Trade insiders agree. In a press launch, the Nationwide Milk Producers Federation wrote that “aggressive immigration enforcement, together with on dairies, can’t assist however elevate considerations.” And based on the Guardian, the widespread deportation plans are positive to result in “main disruptions throughout the meals system,” in addition to rising costs for a lot of staples nationwide.
Compounded with Trump’s new tariffs on imports, this might make produce prohibitively costly for a lot of People. Particularly as we come into colder months after we sometimes rely extra on south-of-the-border imports, entry to wholesome meals is prone to change into tougher — a far cry from making America wholesome once more.
Sources:
- https://www.reuters.com/enterprise/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-justice-department-unit-drug-food-safety-cases-being-disbanded-2025-04-25/
- https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/09/trump-aided-by-rfk-jr-is-dismantling-the-u-s-food-safety-network/
- https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/foodborne-disease/cdc-cuts-back-foodborne-illness-surveillance-program
- https://www.fsis.usda.gov/coverage/federal-register-rulemaking/federal-register-rules/salmonella-framework-raw-poultry-products
- https://eu.usatoday.com/story/cash/meals/2025/10/13/pasta-recall-listeria-outbreak/86664343007/
- https://epi.ufl.edu/2024/12/10/why-listeria-a-less-common-foodborne-pathogen-is-so-deadly/
- https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/29/nx-s1-5413449/food-safety-inspection-fda-usda
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38927217/
- https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4897471/
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx8639
- https://www.livescience.com/well being/flu/rfks-proposal-to-let-bird-flu-spread-through-poultry-could-set-us-up-for-a-pandemic-experts-warn
- https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03365-1
