At Washington’s Hubert Humphrey Building on Tuesday afternoon, Vani Hari, self-anointed “Food Babe,” highly influential food activist, best-selling author, and unabashed “MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) Mom,” approached the podium, beaming in a white dress and a seemingly natural healthy glow. 

She was joined by a group of “MAHA Moms” and their young children, some of whom audibly cooed and fussed to their parents throughout a press conference that featured spirited statements from West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. 

“For over a decade, I have said the FDA is asleep at the wheel, and now I can stop saying that,” Ms. Hari told the cheering crowd. 

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday unveiled its plans to eliminate several “toxic” petroleum-based dyes from the nation’s food supply by the end of 2026.

It was a victory for Ms. Hari, who came to national prominence following her 2024 Senate testimony where she highlighted the “blatant hypocrisy” of massive food brands like Kellogg’s that “poison” Americans by using ingredients that are banned from use in other countries (the video registered 8.6 million views, according to her spokeswoman). Her petition demanding Kellogg’s remove artificial colors and BHT from cereals got 461,000-plus signatures from her ever-expanding “Food Babe” army. Kellogg’s, in turn, received their petition with a “cold shoulder.”

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who has long compared artificial food dyes to “mass poison” harming the nation’s youth, had heeded the repeated calls of her and other MAHA moms who want artificial dyes phased out of popular ultra-processed snacks, drinks, candy, and other food.

“For the last 50 years, we have been running one of the largest uncontrolled scientific experiments in the world on our nation’s children without their consent, and today, we are removing these petroleum-based chemicals from their food supply,” said Dr. Makary, who like many of the speakers, cited various scientific studies that claim the prevalence of artificial food dyes is to blame for the dramatic increase in ADHD, juvenile diabetes, genomic disruption, and cancer cases.

The FDA will work to “eliminate” the remaining six synthetic dyes from the US food supply by the end of 2026. These dyes include FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2. 

As substitutes to artificial dyes, Dr. Makary recommended that food companies use watermelon or beet juice, holding up jars of the viscous liquids for emphasis. The FDA will authorize four additional natural color additives made from natural ingredients in the coming weeks.

“(President Donald Trump) knows that he cannot make our country great again if our country is weak, if we’re not healthy, if we don’t have vigor, if we’re not a robust people,” said Mr. Kennedy in his distinctive wobbled tone, the result of spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that causes involuntary spasms of the larynx.

“I just want to urge all of you, it’s not the time to stop, it’s the time to redouble your efforts, because we have them on the run now, and we are going to win this battle. And four years from now, we’re going to have most of these products off the market,” said Mr. Kennedy to applause.

It was quite the turn of events for Ms. Hari and Mr. Kennedy, who just last year were mockingly dubbed, by Atlantic magazine, as the “Woo-Woo Caucus” for their participation in a roundtable hosted by Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin. “The alliance was the natural culmination of a broader trend in American politics that has seen the Trumpian right meld with the vax-skeptical, anti-establishment left,” The Atlantic wrote at the time. 

Brigham Buhler, CEO of Way2Well, a preventative wellness company, who was part of the Woo-Woo Caucus last year, was in attendance at yesterday’s press conference by invitation of Mr. Kennedy.

“They ridiculed us and made fun of us and tried to say we’re the Woo-Woo Caucus. Now the Woo-Woo Cacus is in power, driving meaningful change and doing things that the FDA hasn’t been able to get done in 30 years,” Mr. Buhler told The Sun.  

On Monday, Mr. Buhler met with Dr. Makary and other FDA officials to discuss issues like reinstating GLP-1s to the FDA drug shortage list, expanding access to regenerative therapies, and reforming stem cell policy. The meeting was arranged by Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Buhler will continue to meet with the FDA in the near future.

Mr. Buhler, a frequent guest on the Joe Rogan Podcast, has worked in healthcare since his early 20s and has seen firsthand what he describes as an industry that “monetizes chronic disease.” Like Ms. Hari, Mr. Buhler has an influence and reach on both social media and podcasts that would make politicians green with envy. He says both he and Ms. Hari are frequently written off as “influencers with no knowledge,” which he takes exception to.

“So you’re telling me a mother doesn’t understand her child? You’re telling me that somebody who’s been a drug rep, been a medical device rep, owned retail pharmacies, billed PBMs, negotiated with insurance companies, walked the halls of the major healthcare institutions in America for over a decade” doesn’t understand healthcare reform?” asked Mr. Buhler.

Asked why she thinks her platform has been so effective, Ms. Hari texted to The Sun: “Because we are telling the truth.”