The new Trump administration might be coming to steal your snacks.

For years, the federal government has shied away from regulating junk, fast and ultra-processed foods.

Now attitudes are changing. Some members of President-elect Donald Trump's inner circle are gearing up for a fight against "Big Food," or the companies that produce much of America's food and drink. Nominees for top health agencies are taking aim at ultra-processed foods, which make up an estimated 70% of the nation's food supply. Based on recent statements, a variety of potentially politically charged policy options for regulating ultra-processed foods could be on the Trump team's menu, including warning labels, changes to agribusiness subsidies and what products consumers can purchase through government food aid restrictions.

The push to reform America's diet is driven largely by those on the right, who have long been darlings of the left. Trump supporters such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose controversial nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services still faces a Senate challenge, are embracing ideas that promote natural foods and alternative medicine. confirm. They called the movement "MAHA," or "Make America Healthy Again." Their interest creates momentum because their goals have fairly broad bipartisan support, even as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle focused on the issue last year, even in a deeply divided Congress.

This is likely to be a fierce battle because the food industry wields enormous political clout and has successfully thwarted previous efforts to regulate its products or marketing. According to OpenSecrets, the "food processing and marketing companies" category, which includes Tyson Foods and Nestle SA, had annual lobbying expenditures of $26.7 million in 2024. That's up from nearly $10 million in 1998.

"They absolutely played a big role in delaying the effectiveness of regulation in the United States and were very, very successful," said Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco. "It does feel like there needs to be a moment of reflection, and people Start asking questions like: 'Why do we have to live like this?'"

"Ultra-processed food" is a widely used term that means different things to different people, used to describe everything from soda to many frozen meals. These products often contain added fats, starches, sugars, etc. Researchers say eating ultra-processed foods is linked to varying degrees with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, mental health problems and premature death.

Nutrition and health leaders are optimistic that a reckoning has begun. Kennedy pledged to remove processed foods from school lunches, limit certain food additives such as dyes in grains, and shift federal farm subsidies away from commodity crops widely used in ultra-processed foods.

The growing concern in Washington has sparked new interest in the law, with lawyers exploring cases that would sue major food manufacturers for selling products they say cause chronic disease.

Bryce Martinez, now 18, targeted nearly a dozen companies including Kraft Heinz, The Coca-Cola Co. and Nestle USA in December. Food manufacturers sued. He developed diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at age 16 and tried to hold them responsible for his illness. According to the lawsuit filed in Philadelphia General Court, the companies knew or should have known that ultra-processed foods were harmful and addictive.

The ongoing lawsuit alleges that Martinez grew up eating heavily advertised name-brand foods that are staples of the American diet — listing sugary soft drinks, cereal and Lucky Charms, Skittles and Snickers, frozen and packaged dinners wait.

Nestle, Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz did not respond to emails seeking comment for this article. The Consumer Brands Association, a trade association for consumer product manufacturers, disputed the accusations.

“Trying to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or to demonize foods by ignoring their full nutritional content, can result in Misleading consumers and exacerbating health disparities.”

Other law firms are seeking out children or adults who believe they were harmed by eating ultra-processed foods, increasing the likelihood of lawsuits.

An Indiana personal injury firm says on its website that "we are actively investigating ultra-processed food (UPF) cases." Trial lawyers in Texas are also looking at possible legal action against federal regulators, they say Federal regulators fail to regulate ultra-processed foods.

“If you or your child suffers from a health problem that your doctor believes is directly related to eating ultra-processed foods, we want to hear your story,” they say on their website.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey are sounding the alarm about ultra-processed foods. Sanders introduced legislation in 2024 that could lead to a federal ban on junk food advertising to children, a national education campaign and labels on ultra-processed foods not recommended for children. Booker co-signed the legislation with Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing in December examining the link between ultra-processed foods and chronic disease, during which FDA Commissioner Robert Califf called for more funding for research.

Kaliff told the hearing that food companies have exploited "the same neural circuits involved in opioid addiction."

Sanders, who chaired the hearing, said there was "increasing evidence" that "these foods are intentionally designed to be addictive," asserting that ultra-processed foods contribute to the epidemic of diabetes and obesity and contribute to millions of deaths. Hundreds of billions of dollars in medical costs. expenditure.

Research on food and addiction "has accumulated to a tipping point," said Kelly Brownell, professor emeritus at Stanford University and one of the editors of an academic handbook on the subject.

Attacks from three fronts — lawyers, Congress and the incoming Trump administration, who all appear interested in joining the fight — could bring enough pressure to challenge Big Food and potentially spur better health in the United States As a result, the United States has the lowest life expectancy in the world. high-income countries.

“Maybe in some ways moving away from highly processed foods could actually change the rates of obesity among the American public very quickly,” said Robert Redfield, the virologist who led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during Trump’s administration at a conservative think tank. Speaking at a December event hosted by the Heritage Foundation.

Allegations that Big Food companies knowingly manufactured and sold addictive and harmful products are similar to those leveled against Big Tobacco before the landmark $206 billion settlement in 1998.

"The companies allegedly exploited the tobacco industry's playbook to target children, particularly black and Hispanic children, through integrated marketing with cartoons, toys and games, and social media advertising," said Rene Rocha, one of Morgan's attorneys. (Rene Rocha) said. Morgan, who represents Martinez, told KFF Health News.

Martinez's 148-page lawsuit against the food manufacturer is drawn from documents made public in a lawsuit against tobacco companies that own some of the food industry's biggest brands.

Similar charges were leveled against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers, who subsequently agreed to pay tens of billions of dollars in 2021 settlements with states.

The FDA eventually placed restrictions on the labeling and marketing of tobacco, and the opioid epidemic led to legislation that increased access to life-saving drugs to treat addiction.

But the Trump administration’s enthusiasm to fight Big Food may face unique challenges.

The FDA's ability to enforce regulations is hampered in part by funding. While the agency's drug division collects industry user fees, its food division relies on a more limited budget set by Congress.

Change may take time, as some critics say the agency is moving at what critics call a "slow pace." Last year, the FDA withdrew a regulation that would have allowed the use of brominated vegetable oils in food. The agency determined in 1970 that the additive was not generally considered safe.

Efforts to limit the marketing of ultra-processed foods could spark lawsuits alleging that any restrictions violate commercial speech protected by the First Amendment. And Kennedy — if he is confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary — may struggle to gain support from a Republican-led Congress that advocates for fewer federal regulations and a president-elect who served fast food in the White House during his last term.

“The question is, can RFK make a difference?” said David L. Katz, a physician who founded the True Health Initiative, a public health advocacy group Misinformation nonprofits.

“Previous governments didn’t do much in this area, and RFK was associated with a particularly anti-regulatory government.”

At the same time, the U.S. population is considered one of the most obese in the world and has the highest rates of multiple chronic diseases among high-income countries.

“Because we’re so sick, there’s been a huge grassroots effort,” said Jerold Mande, the Agriculture Department’s undersecretary for food safety from 2009 to 2011. “A lot of it is because people don’t You should get a disease like this at such a young age. If you don’t have a chronic disease by the time you reach 18, you’re lucky.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues as one of the agency's core operating programs Cave —An independent source of health policy research, polling, and news.

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