Lisa Elaine Held

2 days ago | civileats.com | Lisa Elaine Held

May 13, 2025 – Last night, House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) revealed a plan to dramatically cut federal spending on food aid while increasing aid to commodity farmers. The provisions—which lawmakers are currently working on as part of the budget reconciliation process—would cut $290 billion in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and increase subsidies for commodity farms by about $60 billion.

3 days ago | civileats.com | Lisa Elaine Held

May 12, 2025 – On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced they’ll collaborate on a new agenda for nutrition research that will prioritize understanding how ultra-processed foods and food additives harm Americans’ health. FDA and NIH are sub-agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Their joint Nutrition Regulatory Science Program will play a key role in Secretary Robert F.

1 week ago | civileats.com | Lisa Elaine Held

May 8, 2025 – Yesterday, President Trump nominated Casey Means as the country’s top doctor. Means, a health entrepreneur who advocates for changing food choices and farm practices,  and her brother Calley Means have been fixtures of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement since last fall. As surgeon general, she’d join her brother at HHS, where he is a special advisor to Kennedy.

1 week ago | civileats.com | Lisa Elaine Held

May 7, 2025 – At a press conference on Capitol Hill today, Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee railed against Republican plans to cut spending on food aid, emphasizing that funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) supports hungry families as well as farmers, grocery workers, truckers, and food manufacturers.

1 week ago | civileats.com | Lisa Elaine Held

May 6, 2025 – During her first appearance in front of Congress as Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins defended both USDA’s funding freeze and cuts to local food programs, research, and staff. She also said she’ll unveil a plan to move more USDA staff out of Washington, D.C. within the next few weeks. The hearing today in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s agriculture subcommittee was scheduled to question Rollins about the President’s budget, released Friday.