June 17, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corn Refiners Association joined a list of 258 organizations today in a letter to leaders of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to include the input of the nation’s farmers, ranchers, food producers, and ingredient manufacturers in future work of the Commission.
“While we appreciate recent outreach to some stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector, to genuinely provide the transparency and gold-standard science pledged in the report, we urge the administration to formally include farmers, ranchers, and food producers in a collaborative stakeholder process throughout all future work of the Commission. We also advise the administration to create the opportunity for public comment on all future reports and activities of the Commission,” the letter noted.
Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode released a statement on the letter.
“It is critical that the American food and agriculture community play a vital role in any conversation concerning the future of food policy,” said Bode. “We are enthusiastic about the focus on American health and nutrition and see it as an opportunity to share the science about the products our members produce. Federal policy leaders could benefit tremendously from the subject matter expertise of American farmers, ranchers, and food producers, and the industry would welcome the opportunity to share its knowledge.
For the MAHA Commission to truly be successful in improving public health, it will need the kind of buy-in from the American food and agriculture community that can only come from robust engagement throughout this important process. A failure to include the input of this valuable community in advancing the latest science as it relates to dietary guidance will hamper public health, risk American food manufacturing jobs, and introduce undue economic hardship on American consumers, farmers, ranchers, and food providers.”
The letter specifically notes several concerning matters related to the development of the May 22 MAHA Commission Report, including erroneous claims, mispresented scientific conclusions, and the citation of nonexistent research. The coalition of 258 groups urges the MAHA Commission to work in a transparent manner with the American food and agriculture community in the development of its upcoming policy recommendations, specifically through the opportunity to offer public comment on any pending MAHA Commission reports.
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About the Corn Refiners Association
The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) is the national trade association representing the corn refining industry of the United States. CRA and its predecessors have served this important segment of American agribusiness since 1913. Corn refiners manufacture sweeteners, starch, advanced bioproducts, corn oil and feed products from corn components such as starch, oil, protein and fiber.