A leading advocate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign got into a yelling match with top White House officials over the definition of processed food, according to a report.
Calley Means, a healthcare entrepreneur who was named a senior adviser to the health secretary last November, met with administration officials to discuss Kennedy’s plans to overhaul the U.S. food system in July.
Means argued in favor of Kennedy’s plans to give processed foods a new label of “ultra-processed” if they contain artificial colors, nonnutritive sweeteners or chemical preservatives, sources told The Wall Street Journal. The White House feared the new definition would cover most foods sold in grocery stores and bolster lawsuits filed against major food manufacturers such as Coca-Cola, WK Kellogg, and Mars, alleging they knowingly made harmful food products.
Means then “raised his voice” during the meeting and expressed his outrage that the White House was pushing back on the plans, insisting the definition change was not up for debate. He claimed that Kennedy’s health department had been working on the ultra-processed foods review for months and had discussed it with scientists.
The fiery meeting was featured in a Journal report detailing how the White House and MAHA supporters have frequently clashed as Kennedy tries to overhaul the U.S. food system.
Means, whom White House officials view as an “overly aggressive” figure who stubbornly tries to implement policies deemed infeasible, is often front and center in these clashes.
He is also the sister of MAHA influencer Casey Means, Donald Trump’s original pick for Surgeon General despite having not having an active medical license.
Earlier this year, the USDA drafted a policy to overhaul the meals schools serve to children that would cost school districts about $2 billion over five years.
Means felt the plans did not go far enough and demanded additional limits on sugar, more protein and 100 percent whole-grain products. Means’ ideas would nearly quadruple the costs of the school meal plans outlined by the government.
During another meeting with government officials about the USDA rules, Means reportedly grew “visibly frustrated” and said that not making the additional, stricter changes would make the Trump administration look like it was “OK with poisoning kids,” the Journal reported.
Following the July meeting on the ultra-processed food definition, the White House decided it needed further review.
However, Kennedy’s team thought they had been given the go-ahead to officially announce the new expanded definition. HHS planned an event to launch the ultra-processed food announcement in August at its headquarters and even decorated the offices with posters depicting “artificial food dye as a monster,” the Journal reported.
However, the ultra-processed food event was pulled, with some White House officials not even aware that the health department planned to unveil it, sources said.
Means and Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, tried again to get the new definition officially released at the end of August, but the White House blocked them, the Journal reported.
“The White House has repeatedly taken on special interests and broken processes to deliver effective and legally durable MAHA policies,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. “The entire Trump administration continues to work closely with stakeholders and industry leaders to continue overhauling our country’s food and updating nutritional guidance.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
