The California Republican James Gallagher, the former head of the Assembly of the Republican Party, often accused the progressive lawmakers of the government penetration, but this year he added his name to the legislative impetus to a healthier school nutrition.
His party followed an example, and all, except for one republican voting, to send a bill to a democratic governor Gavin Newsom, who will go to the law The first legal definition of the nation ultra -paced products, followed by a ban on a state school on those who are considered the most in relation. Although it was the California democrats that led the passage of the first prohibitions at the state level at the state level Certain artificial food dyes And additivesNow the conservative lawmakers throughout the country have adopted a new study of the food products of Americans, since the Trump administration makes the desire to “Make America healthy again.”
“We see with our children that they have no access to the best food in their schools,” said Gallagher, the father of five years, who, as the leader of the Republican Party, the co-author recently with a member of the Democratic Assembly Jesse Gabriel. “And we see everything around us not only in California, but throughout our country, that our children suffer from an epidemic of obesity.”
The speed with which the improvement of the health of America has become a two -party problem was a surprise to some experts on health policy, given the obvious criticism of the Republicans in such efforts in the past.
“This is amazing at the mind,” said Marion Nestl, an honorary professor of New York University, who has been studying food policy and nutrition for decades. “When Michelle Obama again tried to make American children healthy, she was convicted of the right and is accused of trying to surpass the role of the government, create a nanny state and all kinds of other things. And now the Republicans are doing this. ”
Despite the fact that there is no standardized definition, ultra -pocial products, as a rule, refers to food products that are produced in industry and contains ingredients that are usually available in home kitchen. These products often have low nutritional value and have a large amount of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. Data from The centers for the control and prevention of diseases indicate that more than half of the calories of Americans come from ultra -protected products.
Scientific research Related Ultra -punished products for poor healthIncluding an increased risk of heart attack, obesity, type 2 diabetes and mental problems. But some of the most influential groups of the country's food industry warn that the California bill, if it is signed to the law, may lead to the fact that products, such as vegetarian hamburgers, canned tomatoes and chopped cheese as ultraporocused, if they contain additives, such as egg white, citric acid or corn starch.
“People look at ultra -punished products as automatically bad,” said Dennis Albiani, lobbyist for several industry groupsThe field “Healthy and natural products can be classified as ultra -pocial foods, and it is this categorization that will give confusion to consumers that they should avoid these healthy foods.”
According to the environmental working group, which the co -author sponsored the California bill. In March, Republican Governor Patrick Morrisi from West Virginia He thanked the Trump administration for “helping us to launch this movement” when he signed the legislation in order to ban several artificial dyes and additives from food sold in the state. And in August, the Minister of Health and Social Services of the United States Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., joined the Republican governor Greg Ebbotta from Texas, when he signed the legislation to demand warning foods containing certain additives or dyes.
Meanwhile, A dozen statesIncluding Florida, Aidaho and Oklahom, they submitted an application and received refusals from the U.S. agriculture to prevent the acquisition of recipients for food coupons, and in some cases, sweets.
Kennedy, who leads the movement of Mach, asked the industry to pass Synthetic foods based on oilExplores Closing a regulatory loophole This allows chemicals to enter food without approval control of products and medicines and drug control Search for a federal definition For ultra -punished food, which, according to him, is to blame for an epidemic of chronic diseases.
The press secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Services Emily Hilliard refused to comment on the bill of California, but in an electronic letter, she said that Kennedy “encourages state leaders to promote a policy that is priority for children's health, supports informed decisions of family decisions and helps to access a more healthy choice.” Some health experts asked Seriously, is the Trump administration seriously in grinding the food industry, especially after The last report of Machreleased this month, finding himself from direct restrictions on pesticides and ultra -punished products.
In California, there is a mixed record of attempts to limit what consumers eat and drink. The legislative body controlled by the Democrats approved prohibitions additives And Synthetic food dyes in recent years. But in the face of the opposition of the drink industry, she could not ban sugar drinks in size Medical workers warn The risk of weight increase, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cavities can increase. At that time Gallagher called the proposed ban on soda “The invasion of the government that people cannot withstand,” but since then he He said that evidence He convinced him that additives should be taken from children's food.
Newsom has 30 days from September 12, to sign or apply a veto on the measure of ultra -protected products. Supporters of the bill hope that state rules will have a wave effect in the entire food industry of the country, which will prompt manufacturers to reformulate their products. California public schools serve almost billion food per yearField
Not all ultra -punished products that correspond to the definition will be prohibited. Instead, the bill instructs the California Department of Public Health to determine the subsection of ultra -protected products that cause concern. ” The factors for the department include whether other states or countries prohibit food, and scientific evidence that the food causes harm or is designed as a “hyperpalatic”, which complicates the resistance of food.
The Department of Health should have adopted the rules that determine these products no later than June 1, 2028, and the K-12 public schools will begin to display certain ultra-paced products until July 1, 2029. It is unclear how much the measure will cost the school, because it is not known which products will be eliminated, according to the analysis of the bill.
For Jack Bobo, Executive Director of the Food Food Institute at the University of California at the University of California at the California bill to make children's dishes healthy, but creates an unnecessary bureaucracy. It is inevitable that the ultra -protected products that the regulators solve are “especially harmful” will have a high content of salt, sugar and fat, which existing nutrition recommendations have already been established as unhealthy.
“People worry about preservatives, they worry about food additives when they should just focus on fat, salt and sugar in the first place,” Bobo said. “This distracts us from the main attributes that actually cause a problem, or at least cause most of the problem. We have too much fat and too much sugar in dishes of our children, as we do in adult meals. ”
Bobby Mukkamala, the president of the American Medical Association, refused to comment on the bill, but said that his organization supports more state regulation of ultra -protected products. But the first steps, he added, should be an increase in public awareness of the dangers of these food products and training people about healthier options.
Mukkamala criticized the federal reduction in financing of national healthcare institutions, which, according to him, complicate studies that ultra -pocial products represent the greatest risk. While there is a lot of ultra -punished foods, there are some processing methods, such as enrichment of grain with folic acid, which can be considered useful, he said. And new products are becoming all the time.
“There are many studies that help us find out what is good and what is bad,” he said. The federal government “says:“ Let's make us healthier, regulating these things, but let's not conduct enough research to tell us what to do. ” It's like one step forward and one step back. ”
This article was made KFF Health Newswhich publishes California healthcareEditorial independent service California Health FundField