With the pending confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as secretary of Health and Human Services this week, some mothers may be concerned about what his leadership means for the future of their children’s health. Despite some concerns from the mainstream media, his success will mean better health for all of us.
A top concern of many, including some doctors and medical experts, has been Kennedy’s stance on vaccinations. While most antagonistic reports have labeled the well-known environmentalist as “anti-vax,” Kennedy insists he is pro-safety and pro-good science. During his two confirmation hearings, he reiterated he would not reverse the childhood vaccine schedule, particularly the MMR vaccine.
Most traditional doctors insist that vaccines are safe and effective and that, as Senator Margaret Hassan (D-NH) said during her line of questioning to Kennedy, “the science is settled.”
However, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) along with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) questioned their Democrat colleague, asking if they want every possible cause of autism in the past decades investigated. According to Kennedy, one in 36 children has autism. “If that’s not a pandemic, I don’t know what is,” Senator Mullin stated. “That scares the living daylights out of me.”
Kennedy, with the strong support of many mothers across the country, simply wants to get to the bottom of the massive increase in childhood disease, including autism and cancer. We should let him.
While vaccinations remain a hotly contested topic within the health community, food additives and flavorings are a different story. According to most doctors, vaccines offer a substantial benefit—that of disease prevention—against which any risk must be weighed. However, ingredients such as the recently banned red dye 03 and many “natural flavors” offer no nutritional value to food. Rather they are used for the sole purpose of making food more attractive and enticing, particularly to younger children.
This leaves parents wondering whether food companies are putting profits over safety, and whether the FDA doing enough to prevent that. Parents clearly aren’t satisfied with the current regulatory framework and the amount and level of testing currently required for food additives.
Kennedy shares these concerns and will likely require the FDA to more regularly test ingredients that are used by food manufacturers to ensure their continued safety as well as requiring the agency to do a better job of sharing that information with parents so that they can make the best decision for themselves, and in the case of parents, for their families.
Mothers, who hold 85% of household purchasing power, make a myriad of these decisions, both small and large. From what kind of toys to which cars are the safest, from the television shows they watch to the school they attend. Why should this be any different for what goes into their child’s body whether consumed through food or pharmaceuticals?
Food companies shouldn’t actively be employing deceptive marketing tactics and using unnecessary food additives—like dyes—at the expense of children’s health. We can’t turn back the clock to the days when cooking from scratch was the norm. Yet, we can restore peace of mind when preparing food for our families by restoring the faith and trust we have in our public health institutions—the very institutions charged with keeping us and our families safe.
Kennedy’s commitment to this goal may require some tools from the federal government, but our children are worth it.