Robert F Kennedy Jr became secretary of health and human services, boosting his Make America Healthy Again (Maha) platform aimed at ending chronic illness in the US. Now the food industry is fighting back, and it is using social media influencers to do it.
The Maha summit takes place in Washington this week, featuring JD Vance and several members of Trump’s cabinet. A KFF poll from May 2026 found about four in 10 US adults support the Maha movement; 64% say there is not enough regulation of pesticides, 75% say there is not enough regulation of chemical food additives.
The Industry’s Answer Is Gaha
The Center for Food Integrity (CFI), an industry-funded nonprofit, runs the Gaha: Growing a Healthier America campaign to counter Maha narratives. The Gaha influencer campaign officially launched late last year; in February CFI compiled a report listing dozens of sponsored posts across online blogs, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
At least six influencers have signed on to Gaha, reaching a total audience of more than 2.6 million viewers. Influencers said they saw the campaign as a way to counter misinformation from Maha proponents, many of whom are paid to promote wellness products.
Key Gaha subjects tracked by CFI include seed oils, pesticides, high-fructose corn syrup, regenerative agriculture, organic farming, raw milk/dairy and “big ag.”
“Without this coordinated response, that misinformation [from Maha] risks undermining consumer trust, fueling new regulations and eroding confidence in agriculture as a whole”
A July 2025 training video uncovered by the Guardian and Documented explained the goal was to create an “echo chamber” among food and agriculture industry groups. Kelly Leighton, CFI’s executive director, said in the video: “Without this coordinated response, that misinformation [from Maha] risks undermining consumer trust, fueling new regulations and eroding confidence in agriculture as a whole.”
CFI was formed in 2007 and conducts research and public relations campaigns for food and agricultural sectors; its board includes executives from Chick-fil-A, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America and the National Pork Board.
The American Farm Bureau Federation was a key driver of Gaha; its president Zippy Duvall credited himself for bringing industry groups together during a January 2026 speech.
What Tom Philpott Says About the Campaign
Tom Philpott, senior research associate at the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University, said: “That surely freaks the industry out… For the industry, they are very concerned about, for want of a better word, a vibe shift.”
CFI declined an interview request, saying it recognizes the link between diet and health and supports “an informed dialogue about how the food system can work together to assure a healthy affordable food supply and strong rural communities.” The farm bureau also declined to comment, directing questions to CFI as the project lead.
| Group | Role in Gaha |
|---|---|
| CFI | Runs the campaign |
| American Farm Bureau Federation | Key driver |
| Influencers | Signed on, reach 2.6 million viewers |
The Industry’s Stated Concern
The industry’s stated concern is straightforward: Maha is changing how Americans think about food, and the industry wants to coordinate its response to that change. The July 2025 video’s goal of an “echo chamber” is what CFI described.
Leighton’s quote frames the problem as misinformation, but the campaign is funded by the industry it seeks to defend. Philpott’s description of a “vibe shift” captures the stakes. The industry is worried about losing its cultural position.
The influencers are doing the dirty work, getting paid to push back on a movement that polls show resonates with a broad segment of US adults.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the small food producers and consumers against the big food companies and their paid influencers, and it is against any rulebook that lets the biggest food firms hide their failures or raise the cost of entry for anyone else. The Gaha campaign is a classic case of big business spending money to shape public opinion rather than answer the question honestly, and the paper has no patience for that.
The campaign’s stated goal is to build an “echo chamber,” which is another way of saying the industry wants to drown out criticism by repeating its own talking points. That is a strategy aimed at protecting the status quo, not at serving the public.
What the paper would want instead is a fair hearing for every side, with the burden of proof resting on the industry rather than on the public to prove anything. The paper wants the small producers to have a chance, not to be locked out by a campaign funded by the largest firms. The reader should watch for any sign that the big food companies are trying to use their influence to set the terms of the debate, because that is exactly what the Gaha campaign appears to be doing.
Source material: “A ‘freaked out’ US food industry is hitting back at Maga – with social media influencers,” The Guardian.
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