Kennedy Advisers Pitch MAHA Movement as Wellness Industry Profit Opportunity

Advisers to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are promoting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement as a primary financial opportunity for the supplement, holistic health, and raw milk industries. During a trade show in California, aides emphasized that shifting the national health agenda away from pharmaceuticals would directly benefit the bottom lines of wellness businesses.

This effort involves pushing for legislation to remove consumer protections for raw milk and expand vaccine exemptions. In Delaware, a bill legalizing raw milk sales was passed into law following testimony from industry advocates, while similar legislation has been proposed in Missouri. Mark McAfee, founder of the Raw Milk Institute and owner of Raw Farm LLC, has lobbied multiple states to increase access to raw milk. His business has grown to an expected $32 million in annual sales despite multiple product recalls and a salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 165 people.

Investigations highlight significant financial ties within the movement. Del Bigtree, leader of MAHA Action and the Informed Consent Action Network, has received hundreds of thousands of dollars through companies tied to Kennedy's campaigns. Kennedy also transferred the MAHA trademark to a company managed by Bigtree. Other key figures include Calley Means, an aide to Kennedy, and Surgeon General nominee Casey Means, both of whom advocate for wellness alternatives over pharmaceutical products.