Be sure to catch Caitlin Sinclair’s MAHA Minute every Friday across all of MAHA Action’s social media channels.

Microplastics

With the HHS and the EPA behind it, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has launched a bold new initiative called STOMP (Systematic Targeting of MicroPlastics) to investigate and, where possible, eliminate microplastics from the environment and our bodies.

Backed by $144 million, the program aims to develop reliable tools for measuring microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in tissues and fluids; understand how they contribute to disease; and ultimately create affordable methods to remove them. This effort addresses a pervasive modern exposure: plastics entering our systems through food, water, and air, with researchers detecting them in the lungs, arterial plaques, and even the brain.

Farm Food Coming to Hospitals

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a special alert and an accompanying memorandum urging hospitals to serve food that complies with the new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). These guidelines emphasize whole, nutrient-dense foods and adequate protein while limiting ultra-processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined carbohydrates, and added sugars.

At the initiative’s launch in Miami, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for being the first in Florida to sign up. The hospital has committed to buying directly from local Florida farms, making it able to feed patients fresher and more nutritious food while reducing ultra-processed food options. Florida Agriculture Commissioner, Wilton Simpson, also supported expanding the state’s “Farmers Feeding Florida” program to hospitals, to improve patient nutrition, support local agriculture, cut waste, and strengthen domestic food supply chains.

“Hospitals are meant to heal—but too often, the food they serve holds patients back,” Dr. Oz said at the launch event. “It’s time for hospitals to prioritize real, nutrient-dense food, cut ultra-processed options, and align meals with evidence-based medical needs. The proper diet is one of the simplest, most cost-effective ways to improve outcomes, speed recovery, and build a healthier future.”

Relief for Ranchers

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to streamline grazing management on federal lands. The agreement formalizes a partnership between the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to cut regulatory red tape, accelerate the permitting process, and ensure no net loss of grazing capacity for ranchers. By reducing delays for infrastructure and emergency actions, the agencies aim to provide producers with the predictability needed to invest in their operations.

The initiative also focuses on strengthening the relationship between the government and the ranching community through enhanced communication and “ranch immersion” programs for federal staff. Key features include the use of targeted grazing to mitigate the risk of wildfires, the appointment of wildfire liaisons for permittees, and the adoption of new technologies like virtual fencing. Collectively, these measures are designed to make federal land management more transparent, responsive, and grounded in the practical realities of modern ranching.

Alabama Medical Schools Embrace Nutritional Education

Three Alabama medical schools – the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of South Alabama and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – announced they will adopt HHS guidelines and teach nutrition to medical students.

Eggs Are Back for Easter

Secretaries Kennedy and Rollins announced that 150 farmers from across the country will provide fresh eggs for this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll.

Secretary Rollins took the opportunity with the announcement to extol the nutritional benefits of eggs. “Packed with high-quality protein, healthy fats, vitamin D, choline, and essential nutrients growing kids need, eggs are exactly the kind of real food we should be putting back at the center of our tables, our schools, and our national conversation around health,” she said.

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