MAHA has a mission. Tracy Beanz, Editor-in-Chief of UncoverDC, spoke about this mission on the Joe Pags podcast. You can listen to this podcast here. We, the American people, have received a call to action. The time to become involved is right now and become empowered to have a voice not only in the air we breathe and the water we drink but also to ensure the safety of the foods we put into our bodies. We can hold pharmaceutical manufacturers accountable for the safety of medications and vaccines and establish proper and effective medical care.
Reversing chronic disease, which has become an epidemic in America, is possible. The food industry must become responsible for the safety and health of our food supply. Our doctors must begin treating the whole patient and finding the root cause of the symptoms of our illnesses instead of simply prescribing drugs for those symptoms. These powerful goals will be attainable through the work of MAHA and every American who becomes involved in this movement.
Those who live with chronic illness know how it feels to want to become healthy; the frustration of receiving no answers from our doctors and of spending endless days and months being unhealthy leads many to believe that nothing will ever change. If we can take those individuals and show them how to take their health into their own hands, potentially, we can reduce the number of chronically ill Americans.
We need to research the foods we eat and the medications we are prescribed. Find substitutes for those foods that contain dangerous additives, including incorporating whole, natural foods into our diets as much as possible. Find doctors who will work with us to find treatments for our illnesses that don't include drugs, when possible. Reducing the use of medications with harmful additives will make us healthier and prevent us from becoming lifelong medication users. Of course, that does not include those medications that are extremely necessary for diseases and conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.
We must educate our loved ones about healthy eating, medications, and side effects, find a provider who meets our health goal values, and understand the importance and value of holistic treatment where possible. That includes adopting a healthier lifestyle to prevent disease or illness. Speaking out at a gathering or online can change the lives of those who hear you. The written and spoken word can be very powerful in transforming lives and conveying a message of better health that can be heard by many.
But MAHA goes beyond those standards of action to make Americans healthy. To embrace a healthy lifestyle, we must incorporate exercise, getting enough rest, and working to ensure our minds are healthy. As humans, social interaction is a necessity. Becoming involved in our communities, whether working at a shelter or food bank or volunteering at our children's schools, when we put a foot forward to become involved, our sense of self and realization that we have much to contribute is empowering and aids in keeping us mentally healthy.
Americans can take many avenues of action to Make America Healthy Again. At MAHA.io, you can sign up to receive updates and information on opportunities to join this movement. Mahaaction.com provides resources and ways to engage, act, and become involved. Both websites are the first step in becoming involved, empowered, and working toward making all Americans the healthiest they can be.
There are many ways to become involved. For example, support and elect candidates for political office that embrace legislation to make food, medication, water, and air safer and healthier. Examine candidates' views of vaccine safety and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable. Sign petitions for banning food dyes and additives in our foods, and stay alert to new petitions as they become available. Tracking legislation on active bills drafted and introduced into the House or Senate for legislative action.
One notable bill is the Toxic Free Foods Act of 2024, H.R.9817. The Act was first introduced on June 4th, 2021, and the purpose of this legislation was to change the FDA's process of determining the safety of chemicals used in our food supply. It failed, mainly because it focused on GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) and aimed to close the GRAS loophole, thus facing much pushback from the food industry. It has since been reintroduced and needs passage in both chambers of Congress and then sent to the president to become law.
The importance of this bill and the impact it will have on the safety of our food supply is monumental. Under this bill, the Secretary of HHS, RFK Jr., will oversee how the GRAS policy, which is a part of the FDA, is run. Under GRAS, the FDA allows food manufacturers to use additives in their products without prior FDA approval if they are widely recognized as safe by qualified experts, with almost no safety checks in place. Instead, through this bill, stricter regulations and requirements would be established to prohibit food manufacturers from manufacturing or selling their products that contain substances determined to be GRAS. This bill would also safeguard our food supply by banning newly synthesized or novel chemical substances and carcinogenic substances from being categorized as GRAS—this would be a huge step in overhauling the FDA's GRAS policy.
Now that this bill has been reintroduced, Americans must take action in any way possible to get this bill passed into law. As Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching around 300 BC, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Nothing will change with the safety of our food supply without taking that first step, becoming active, and making it known to our members of Congress that we demand change. To become healthy again, whether in our own lives, our children's and loved one's lives, or our communities, work must be done to fix the broken system that is our food supply.
Contacting your representatives by writing, calling, or visiting their local offices can help move this bill through. Only through persistence will anything ever change. The Toxic Free Food Act of 2024 is only one bill, but it must be the first of many. It must be passed to bring about any change and send a message to Congress and the food industry that we demand the change our good health requires and deserves.
