The food industry is done taking RFK Jr.'s abuse [View all]

Source: Politico

03/08/2026 07:00 AM EDT


America’s food-makers have a message for President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers: You must choose between Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda and ours.

Since Trump teamed up with Kennedy to win the 2024 election and made him Health secretary, the GOP’s traditional allies in the food industry have mostly stood down as Kennedy called their products poison and blamed them for chronic disease. They aren’t standing down anymore.

“Anytime that you’re increasing the regulatory burden or changing a system…you end up driving up the cost of the product,” said Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. In a new video and report titled “Manufacturers Feed America” shared first with POLITICO, NAM warns the food industry is “under increasing strain” and federal and state rules targeting ingredients “risk undermining the system.”

NAM is demanding national uniform standards and a seat at the table on policies stemming from Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. Last year, Timmons warned the White House strategy on MAHA would “take America in the wrong direction.” Food and beverage companies make up the largest segment of NAM’s membership, which includes jam-maker Smucker’s, spice- and condiment-maker McCormick & Co., and the maker of processed meats Smithfield Foods, among other iconic American names.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/08/processed-food-manufacturers-rfk-maha-affordability-00799828