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A report from the commission led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is soft on pesticides, pledges to define ultraprocessed foods and promised an “infertility training center.”
Sept. 9, 2025, 3:34 p.m. ET
A White House report released Tuesday rehashes Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s frequent complaints about the state of American health and outlines strategies to improve children’s health.
The New York Times published details about a draft in August. The final report is largely unchanged from the draft and does not always clearly explain how the government will implement its recommendations.
“It’s been buffed up a little bit to look more professional,” said Peter G. Lurie, the president of the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest. “But it doesn’t hide the essential vacuousness of the report.”
The report calls for more research into a range of health topics, proposes new public awareness campaign and outlines steps to boost the nation’s health — many of which the administration has previously announced.
Here are six takeaways from the report:
It’s soft on pesticides.
Mr. Kennedy has long condemned pesticides. Just before the presidential election, he pledged to “ban the worst agricultural chemicals that are already prohibited in other countries.”
The actions outlined in the report are far softer. The new report says the government will make sure the public is aware of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “robust review procedures” for pesticides. It calls for more research into technologies that could benefit soil and help decrease the amounts of pesticides farmers use. And it pushes for more research on the cumulative toll of chemicals that Americans are exposed to.
