Hello, Thursday. Today's newsletter is 964 words or a 3.5-minute read.

Coca-Cola, Steak 'n Shake, Mars and other food companies earned valuable exposure for pledging to remove certain ingredients and align themselves with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to clean up what America eats.

• But some of Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" base question if the companies deserve a celebration.

Why it matters: The commitments aren't enforceable. And nutritionists and influencers say they largely don't address the primary drivers of chronic diseases that Kennedy has made his cause.

State of play: Companies including General Mills, PepsiCo, Conagra, Nestle, Hershey and Kraft Heinz have said they'll remove artificial dyes from their products within the next two years.

• Coca-Cola pledged to roll out a product that uses cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Starbucks is looking to remove canola oil from products on its menu.
• Steak 'n Shake was among the earliest to get on board, agreeing to cook its fries in beef tallow instead of seed oils.

Some MAHA faithful question whether the resulting fanfare amounts to a free pass, akin to a dubious healthy food claim.

• "They are not big MAHA wins," said Rob Houton, founder of the MAHA Coalition, an advocacy group that builds support for the MAHA agenda.
• "It's like you have a dilapidated house, the foundation is crumbling and you think that you can correct everything by just putting a new coat of paint on it all," said Arden Anderson, a physician, agriculture consultant and MAHA supporter.

Between the lines: Some activists say the most substantive changes would be in regulating agriculture — a touchy proposition for an administration eager not to alienate farm interests.

• MAHA discontent is building around the House Interior spending bill, which includes language that would offer liability protections for the makers of pesticides.
• There's also frustration with agencies like the EPA, which removed regulations against pesticides and "forever chemicals."

Read more

American adults and kids over age 1 got more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods like hamburgers, pizza and sweetened drinks between 2021 and 2023, according to new data from the CDC.

The big picture: CDC said that ultra-processed food consumption actually declined from 2017 to 2023 for all age groups.

• But it still made up an average of 62% of kids' calories and 53% of adults'.
• The share of calories from ultra-processed foods didn't vary significantly by income level.

Sandwiches including burgers were the top contributor of ultra-processed calories for kids and adults, making up 7.6% and 8.6% of intake in the category, respectively.

• 6.3% of kids' and 5.2% of adults' ultra-processed calories came from sweet bakery products.
• Sweetened drinks, savory snacks, pizza and breads were also drivers of ultra-processed caloric intake.

Share this

The Trump administration's decision late Tuesday to wind down funding for new mRNA vaccines drew swift criticism from medical researchers and public health authorities.

Driving the news: Kennedy said the government would pull $500 million in mRNA development funding from its emergency preparedness agency in order to focus on "safer, broader vaccine platforms."

• No new mRNA based projects will be initiated, HHS said. Some final-stage contracts for targets like pandemic bird flu will run their course.

What they're saying: "I've tried to be objective & non-alarmist in response to current HHS actions — but quite frankly this move is going to cost lives," Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general during President Trump's first administration, wrote on X.

Zoom out: Researchers at Penn Medicine are developing mRNA vaccines for infections including avian bird flu, coronaviruses, C. difficile, genital herpes, hepatitis C, HIV, influenza, leptospirosis, malaria, norovirus and tuberculosis.

• Moderna has mRNA vaccines in various levels of development to defend against RSV, HIV, Lyme disease, Mpox, several cancers and cystic fibrosis.

What we're watching: As of January, more than 120 clinical trials were testing the potential for mRNA vaccines in cancer treatment across various malignancies, according to research published in the National Library of Medicine.

• Researchers believe mRNA systems can be used to train the body's immune system to attack malignancies, creating a personalized medicine approach that could make certain cancers more treatable.

That's not a typo. That's a trainwreck waiting to happen if leaders don't address what's happening in their workforce.

• The world is changing faster than ever.
• Teams say internal comms aren't keeping up.

We surveyed 400+ leaders and 800+ employees to get a handle on how to fix it.

Download the report.

Three people died and at least 70 are sick in New York City from an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease — a serious form of pneumonia caused by a bacteria — in Harlem.

The big picture: People living and working in the area who are experiencing flu-like symptoms or having difficulty breathing should immediately contact a health care provider, the city's health department urged.

State of play: City officials believe the source of the bacteria is rooftop cooling towers in central Harlem that spray mist.

• Officials said "remediation required by the Department has been completed for the 11 cooling towers with initial positive screening results" for a form of bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease.

Zoom out: Around 6,000 cases of the disease are reported each year, but scientists believe reported totals are far lower than the actual number due to difficulty distinguishing from other types of pneumonia.

Go deeper