The Trump Administration has released its “Make America Healthy Again” report on childhood chronic disease, and it does not paint a pretty picture. No comment on the report’s environmental chemicals, screen time, or “overmedicalization” sections, but the chapter on food comes out swinging: Ultra-processed foods have made our children world leaders in obesity. Government programs like crop insurance are “compounding the issue.” “Corporate capture and the revolving door” have distorted nutrition research, and obscured the truth about chemicals in food.

HHS Secretary Kennedy had already made clear his view that sugar is “poison” but the MAHA Commission report clarifies that high levels of “ultra-processed sugars” and “particularly of high fructose corn syrup” in kids’ diets should sound an alarm. Corn growers are “deeply troubled.”

Corn syrup aside, the MAHA Commission report echoes many of the concerns about ultra-processed foods that CFA raised in its report last year “Ultra-processed Foods: Why They Matter and What to Do About It” (check out the quiz!). And the overlap goes beyond just diagnosing the problem posed by ultra-processed foods. For example, CFA’s report calls for a recommendation to limit ultra-processed foods in the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans; the MAHA report agrees. CFA’s report also urges FDA to close the “Generally Recognized as Safe” or GRAS loophole that allows food companies to self-certify the safety of novel food ingredients, and to tighten up oversight of food chemicals more generally. Following on its pledge to reform the GRAS system, the MAHA report lists “GRAS Oversight Reform” as one of ten recommended “research initiatives.”

But some skepticism is in order. Who is going to undertake this research? Who is going to write the rules banning the various chemical additives in food? Who is going to defend them in court when the industry inevitably sues? Roughly 1 in 4 HHS workers have now been laid off, forced out, or pushed to take early retirement by the Administration.

Similarly, the MAHA Commission’s report correctly points out that America’s school meals program pales in comparison to those in countries like Japan and Norway. But those countries also invest a lot more in school meals, and they do not have to contend with the Republican congressional caucus’ stalwart defense of chocolate milk.

Maybe we have turned a page. Maybe Republicans are now ready to fund the types of school meals that will optimize “gene expression and cellular biology”—foods recommended by the MAHA commission like leafy greens, legumes, and (dare to dream!) salmon. Does the House Republicans’ “big beautiful bill” contain a line item for salmon in school meals?

Alas, it does not. Rather, new work requirements on parents of kids seven and older, among others, will result in 3.2 million people losing food assistance benefits, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Overall, the bill reduces Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 30%, and because eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals often turns on eligibility for SNAP, the bill will result in less federal money for school meals programs.

The House bill also fails to protect kids in a lot of other ways, like by failing to restore the federal government’s capacity to detect outbreaks of lead poisoning linked to contaminated food, and of course, by kicking millions off Medicaid, a policy experts say will have a devastating impact on kids.

In this sense, the MAHA report fits into a larger pattern. The Administration identifies a problem (Corruption! Pollution! Childhood Nutrition!), while simultaneously setting new precedents for making the problem worse than ever ($Trump coin! Coal! Cutting SNAP!) Only time will tell how long The Administration gets away with this bait and switch. In the meantime, the House reconciliation bill moves to the Senate, where advocates will try once again to put consumers’ and children’s interests above those of corporations and people with estates worth more than $28 million. Maybe the MAHA report will help to persuade some senators to fund programs that protect the food supply and actually improve children’s health. But more likely, it’s just a distraction.

Enjoy your salmon (if you can still afford any).