Disclaimer: This post isn't about politics. However, because this is a health-focused blog, I couldn’t ignore recent remarks made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He proposed reforms aimed at dismantling deep-rooted corruption in the American medical, agricultural, and food systems if given a position in a future Trump administration.
These changes are bold, comprehensive, and unprecedented in the realm of politics, but if enacted, they have the potential to completely transform a current health landscape taken hostage by corporate interests.
Will he succeed? While his ambitions are commendable, achieving complete reform is a daunting task. The deep-rooted tendrils of misconduct within these agencies, characterized by influence peddling, regulatory capture, and quid pro quo deals, pose a significant challenge. Replacing key players at the top might temporarily disrupt the flow, but the underlying currents of graft will continue to surge.
That doesn’t mean Kennedy won’t achieve some consequential victories, with potential implications even for Canada. At the very least, the effort should succeed in eliminating the most egregious public health concerns.
Make America Healthy Again
Kennedy’s announcement came out on Friday and was directed at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He told America that the FDA's "war on public health" is coming to an end.
I couldn't find any record of a prominent US government figure explicitly making such a statement. It was an unprecedented, direct admission of systemic failure, one he intends to address by targeting multiple agencies, including the FDA, USDA, and CDC. He stated, “We’re going to replace corrupt, industry-captured officials with honest public servants.”
I believe Kennedy may break from typical empty political talk and genuinely commit to his promises for two reasons:
He correctly asserts that the current system is entirely being “controlled by giant for-profit corporations.”
He called out FDA employees directly: “If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
The latter point—a dire warning—doesn’t sound like he’s just making noise. It’s a direct challenge to an entrenched system that has long relied on financial contributions from powerful industries to keep politicians in office. Expect massive blowback if this is implemented.
How far will he go? On a recent Fox News Sunday broadcast, he was asked if he would dismantle the FDA, NIH, and CDC. His response was telling:
"I wouldn't dismantle them. I would change the focus, and I would end the corruption. Right now, 75 percent of the FDA’s budget is coming from pharmaceutical companies. That is a perverse incentive.
"In NIH, the - scientists and officials who work on drug development, incubate drugs for the pharmaceutical company, get to collect lifetime royalties from those products. These are regulators. They’re supposed to be looking for problems in those products.
"We have these agencies that have become sock puppets for the industries they’re supposed to regulate, so they're not really interested in public health. We need to end those perverse incentives, we need to get the corruption out of the FDA, out of NIH, out of the CDC, and make them function as they're supposed to function, which is to protect public health and to protect children’s health.”
On this topic, he’s absolutely correct. The "public health" apparatus in this country seeks to keep people sick by putting them on endless pharmaceuticals and censoring any information that would lead them to improved health. For example, from 2020-2022, the pharmaceutical industry paid over $1 Billion to Influence Medical Research in BMJ, JAMA, The Lancet, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Through greed, they prioritize profit over health, peddle subpar products, conceal side effects, and bypass essential safety tests.
Drug development and medical research is also hopelessly corrupted. About 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023 alone (Journal 'Nature’). It’s a number that may just be the tip of the iceberg, which is why Kennedy wants to hold medical journals accountable for suppressing studies that challenge the pharmaceutical industry's narrative. He's even hinted at potential legal action under the RICO Act.
This is why I don’t think Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" is just a catchy slogan. He'll aim dead center at the heart of America's health crisis by reallocating the NIH’s $42 billion budget to root out the underlying causes of chronic diseases.
A New Era for American Health?
Again, this post is not about an endorsement of a political party. It's about acknowledging a rare, bold statement that challenges the status quo and lays the groundwork for a new vision of healthcare in the United States. Whether you agree or disagree with the man in other areas, his commitment to reforming the American health landscape stands poised as a pivotal moment—one that could change the way we approach everything from food production to disease treatment.
Your presence here is greatly valued, and that’s why all our articles are free on this site. But if you've found that the content benefits your life, please consider supporting it through a cost-effective paid subscription. This plays a vital role in covering operational costs and supports the continuation of this independent, unbiased research and journalism work. Thank you!!
If shy about commitments, feel free to leave a one-time tip!