Three More States Go MAHA

By Adam Garrie, Breaking News Reporter, The MAHA Report

On June 20, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy joined Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge as Landry signed a bill to ban foods containing artificial dyes.

Louisiana is just one of many states to adopt new MAHA legislation and executive orders in the past two weeks. On June 19, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt appeared with Kennedy to announce new executive actions aimed at implementing MAHA policies in the Sooner State.

And a few days before, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 25 into law. The law is known as the Texas MAHA Bill.

During the Louisiana event, Landry signed SB 14, legislation that bans foods containing artificial dyes from public school lunches and nonpublic schools that received state funds.

The legislation also requires physicians and their assistants to “complete a minimum of one hour of 18 continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health every four years.”

The new Louisiana law also requires all restaurants serving foods cooked with seed oils to visibly disclose this to customers, while foods sold at grocery stores will have to disclose all artificial dyes, either via a clear label or QR code.

Speaking beside Landry, Kennedy remarked that many major food processing companies and restaurant chains are voluntarily coming to the table to improve their nutrition standards because they fear receiving a negative label under the new Louisiana law.

Commenting on Kennedy’s nationwide push to end chronic disease, Landry said, “There was a time when our population was much healthier, when children played outside, when recess was a time for physical activity instead of Snapchat and TikTok. Today, Louisiana faces high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.”

SB 14 author Senator Patrick McMath (R-Covington) commented, “Senate Bill 14 is all about protecting our children and the ingredients in the foods that we serve them in schools. It’s about transparency, both for restaurants and for food manufacturers to disclose the types of ingredients that they’re serving us and the potential impact those ingredients can have on our bodies.”

The Sooner State dives into the fray

In Oklahoma, Governor Stitt said that in accordance with a new executive order, all food served at schools and prisons throughout the state will no longer contain artificial food dyes. The Governor also announced he will formally apply for a SNAP waiver from the USDA. This will allow Oklahoma to prohibit SNAP recipients from using junk food unless paid for with their own funds.

Finally, Stitt said that he is removing the state’s recommendation for fluoridated water. This will enable municipalities throughout the state to provide fluoride free water to residents.

Don’t Mess With Texas

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott’s SB 14 encompasses many elements of MAHA policies including:

--Food label warnings on all products not recommended for human consumption in Canada, the EU, and other developed regions.

--Prohibits a specific list of ingredients, including several dyes, propylparaben, BHT, and titanium dioxide in foods sold in Texas.

--The establishment of a commission to develop MAHA-friendly nutritional guidelines for Texas.

--A mandate to teach nutrition education courses in public schools.

--A mandate for enhanced physical education in K-12 schools.

--A mandate for advanced nutrition courses at institutions of higher learning.

Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana join many other states in adopting elements of Kennedy’s MAHA agenda that aim to end the nationwide chronic disease epidemic.

MAHA has always been a fundamentally grassroots movement built on families, communities, cities and states. Having the movement’s de-facto leader in a position to change health outcomes and outlooks nationally has helped to emphasize a unity of values that transcend states and individual political ideologies.

Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas are the latest states that have implemented multiple elements of Kennedy’s MAHA agenda.

Among other states to pass MAHA-related legislation or implement MAHA executive orders are Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Utah, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and West Virginia.

Together, these moves demonstrate the breadth and potency of the MAHA movement as it continues to spread, and grow roots, across America.