From Legal Insurrection

States are also enacting MAHA agenda items, including Nebraska (which just secured a waiver to prohibit the purchase of soda and energy drinks with SNAP benefits).

Back in November, when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, I argued that he could be the most effective change agent President Donald Trump had appointed.

In an attempt to derail that nomination, The New York Times asserted Kennedy was wrong about the composition of Froot Loops, claiming that the Canadian and American versions were nearly identical. Subsequently, the Times was widely mocked, as the article also noted that the U.S. version contained artificial food colorings and preservatives that were, in fact, the substances actually being targeted by Kennedy.

He was wrong on the ingredient count, they are roughly the same. But the Canadian version does have natural colorings made from blueberries and carrots while the U.S. product contains red dye 40, yellow 5 and blue 1 as well as Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a lab-made chemical that is used “for freshness,” according to the ingredient label.

Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Agenda” scored another win, as now “American Froot Loops” will soon have natural food colorings like the Canadian version.

WK Kellogg Co. will remove synthetic dyes from its cereals, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, by the end of 2027, joining a growing cohort of other US companies that have committed to eliminate colorants such as Red 40 and Yellow 5 from their foods.

The Battle Creek, Michigan-based company said it would remove the additives on its website on Friday. It had previously announced that it wouldn’t introduce new products with the dyes beginning in 2026 while also committing to eliminate the ingredients from its cereals served in schools by the 2026-2027 school year.

The cereal maker said 85% of its sales are in foods that don’t contain the dyes. Products with dyes include Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, and some variations of Rice Krispies.

Candy company Ferrero International SA announced earlier this month that it agreed to buy WK Kellogg for an enterprise value of $3.1 billion.

This victory comes hard on the heels of Coca-Cola agreeing to create a product line using American cane sugar. MAHA is moving companies rapidly toward making options available that are less processed and reliant on artificial ingredients.

Additionally, a couple of weeks ago, I reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently voted to recommend removing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, from all flu vaccines. Kennedy has now-signed off on this recommendation.

“After more than two decades of delay, this action fulfills a long-overdue promise to protect our most vulnerable populations from unnecessary mercury exposure,” Kennedy said in the HHS announcement Wednesday. “Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility. Today, we put safety first.”

Other recommendations from ACIP’s June meeting are currently under review, according to HHS.

However, MAHA isn’t limited to the Washington, D.C., area. States are enacting their own versions of the agenda.

In Oklahoma, RFK Jr. joined the signing of a pair of orders that will begin the process of pulling fluoride from the state’s water supply and blocking the purchase of soda using food stamps. In Louisiana, the health secretary was there when the state enacted a bill that forces food companies to put warnings on their products if they contain certain artificial food dyes, preservatives, or dozens of other additives.

These were just two stops on a nationwide tour that has also taken RFK Jr. to several other states—including Arizona, Utah, and West Virginia—that are pushing forward with his ideas, especially on food. In some cases, Kennedy has cheered from afar: “Texas is leading the way,” he posted on X last month, after the Lone Star State passed its own MAHA-style bill similar to Louisiana’s.

And Nebraska just became the first state to secure a federal waiver prohibiting the purchase of soda and energy drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The change, set to take effect on January 1, 2026, impacts approximately 152,000 Nebraskans receiving SNAP, previously known as food stamps.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signed the first-ever waiver amending the definition of “food” for SNAP purchases in Nebraska, officially barring soda and energy drinks from being bought with program benefits.

SNAP benefits, also known as “food stamps,” are paid to low- and no-income households across the U.S. that would otherwise struggle to afford groceries. In 2024, the program reached some 155,000 people in Nebraska—8 percent of its population.

The decision marks a historic departure in SNAP administration. Several other states, all Republican-led, have submitted similar waivers.

At this point, it is clear that Kennedy’s MAHA movement has used a mix of regulatory action, public pressure, and grassroots campaigning to initiate some significant changes in food policy. It will be interesting to see if there are noticeable impacts on chronic disease or obesity rates over the course of Trump’s term.