Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, recently expressed his mixed feelings about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the nation's health agencies.
While Sanders praised Kennedy's stance on food issues, he also expressed concern about some of his health views, which he described as "extremely dangerous."
According to CBS News, Sanders criticized Kennedy's call to remove fluoride from U.S. water supply systems and his controversial views on vaccines. However, Sanders also acknowledged that he might find common ground with Kennedy, particularly regarding his criticism of the food industry's influence in Washington.
Sanders, who currently chairs the Senate's health committee, stated, "I think what he's saying about the food industry is exactly correct. I think you have a food industry concerned about their profits, could care less about the health of the American people. I think they have to be taken on."
The Vermont senator also expressed his anticipation to engage with Trump's other health agency picks who would report to Kennedy. Sanders highlighted that both Trump and Kennedy have previously discussed the high prices of prescription drugs in the U.S. as a significant health problem. "And if I'm not mistaken, Kennedy has talked about the need for Americans not to pay more than the people in other countries. I think that's exactly right," Sanders added.
Following a hearing where he criticized the Biden administration's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials for their lack of urgency in addressing America's "horrific epidemic" of obesity and diabetes, Sanders stated, "Do I think the FDA has brought forth the kind of urgency that is needed to address this crisis? No, I don't. That's the point I tried to make today."
Sanders' stance on Kennedy sharply contrasts with that of Sen. Ed Markey, a fellow committee member. Markey argued that while Kennedy's views on diet and the importance of healthy foods are reasonable, they do not qualify him to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
During the hearing, FDA officials defended their work on food issues, countering criticisms by pointing out lawmakers' failure to meet the Biden administration's budget requests on matters such as reviewing the safety of chemicals added to foods. "We are several decades behind Europeans and our Canadian counterparts, because they have legal mandates to reevaluate chemicals that have been authorized at some point in the past. We don't, but we are going to undertake it. But we are going to definitely struggle with the resources necessary to do that," said Jim Jones, the FDA's deputy commissioner for human foods.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf also warned of the agency's increasing struggle to implement new rules, such as a new "healthy" standard and nutrition labels on the front of food packages, as well as efforts to regulate cigarettes. He attributed these challenges to the current state of judicial affairs and First Amendment rights.
Despite these challenges, the FDA is hopeful about the potential ban on the food dye Red No. 3, which has been petitioned for by advocacy groups. "We are hopeful that, within the next few weeks, we will be acting on that petition and a decision should be forthcoming," Jones stated.
Sanders, in a confrontation with Califf, urged him to criticize the "food and beverage industry, whose greed is destroying the health of millions of people" for their role in slowing the progress of the agency's food policies. Califf acknowledged the "direct opposition from powerful industry forces" on issues like food chemical safety but refused to "castigate the people that work in the food and beverage industry."
Califf emphasized the need for a thoughtful plan to change the industry, stating, "We have an industry that if you tried to change it overnight, there are farmers all over the United States who would not be able to grow the crops they're currently growing. So there needs to be a plan and it needs to be implemented in a mature thoughtful way across the country."
This ongoing debate underscores the complex challenges facing the nation's health agencies, as they navigate the intersection of public health, industry interests, and political dynamics. As the nation awaits the final decision on Kennedy's appointment, it is clear that the road ahead will require careful negotiation and a commitment to prioritizing the health of the American people.
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