“Let Them Eat Cake, Ultra-Processed Foods, Excessive Sugar, Fats, and Carbs, Harmful Chemicals, Dyes, and Additives”—How the Industry and Government Can Fix Food to Make Americans Healthy Again
By Devry Boughner Vorwerk
The debate over ultra-processed foods, harmful additives, chemicals, dyes, and the excessive amounts of sugar, fat, and salt in our diets has reached a tipping point. It’s one of the rare issues that Democrats and Republicans have converged upon, and momentum is building. With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s potential appointment to lead Health and Human Services (HHS) and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order targeting ultra-processed foods, we are presented with an imperative to fix our food.
While there is likely significant irritation within some food companies regarding the current conversation on ultra-processed foods, this moment demands accountability. The broader food industry must acknowledge its responsibility for its products in the marketplace and own its role in shaping the nation's health. It’s no longer enough to point to “consumer choice” as a defense. The industry curates the choices available to consumers, and too many of those options are filled with junk, genuinely living up to the term “junk food.”
Accountability doesn’t mean combat—it means collaboration. Fixing our food requires policymakers, industry leaders, and the public to work together to create meaningful, actionable solutions. As someone with extensive experience across the public and private sectors of the food system, I see both the challenges and the opportunities for driving this change.
The Current State of Our Food.
The U.S. food system is one of safety, abundance, and innovation, but so many of its products are also failing us critically. Chronic diseases linked to poor nutrition, such as obesity and diabetes, are at epidemic levels. Ultra-processed foods filled with unnecessary additives and excessive sugar, fat, and salt dominate the market.
Governor Newsom’s executive order calling for recommendations and research into the harms associated with ultra-processed foods and food ingredients is a significant step forward and a gift for the industry, even if it is being viewed as a “sucker punch.” The executive order pulls from stricter European standards that, for example, allow only 300 food additives compared to the U.S.’s 10,000. RFK Jr.’s critique of the food industry may be polarizing, but his core assertion is valid: the system needs a reboot.
Fixing food requires the food industry to own its role in shaping the marketplace. Companies that prioritize health-focused innovation and transparency will not only benefit public health but also gain trust and loyalty from an increasingly aware and demanding consumer base. Leaders have a responsibility to serve as good stewards of consumers’ health. They should relentlessly pursue the truth about the substances they use in food production and not brush off the long-term effects on the human body. It leads executives to face tough questions like: is the product I am placing on the shelves helping or harming people? In my experience, some food executives don’t want to walk that path, while others accept the challenge to do better.
A Deep Understanding of the Food System.
My perspective on this issue comes from decades of experience at the intersection of agriculture, trade, and food policy. I’ve been in more food production and processing plants worldwide than most. I’ve worked in the U.S. government as an analyst for sugar, sweeteners, cocoa, confectionery, and ethanol, contributing to studies on America’s competitiveness in these categories. I’ve supported trade investigations on processed foods and our U.S. trade negotiators in Geneva on processed food negotiations with WTO members in the early 2000s.
In the private sector, I served as a senior executive at one of the largest global food companies. I’ve witnessed firsthand the immense influence of the food industry, and I take ownership of my role in making things both better and worse by being part of the system. While I pushed hard to change outcomes internally, I learned how complicated it is to alter the course of the industry when so much capital has been deployed into processing assets.
As a mom, I block and tackle on food all day long against sugary drinks and junk food that’s cheap and readily available for our kids everywhere – sugary, crunchy, salty, fatty, weirdly-colored foods offering empty calories with delicious and undeniable appeal…I have a PhD in saying “NO”. It’s exhausting!
This dual lens of professional expertise and personal investment drives my commitment to meaningful reform.
The Food Industry Is Not Monolithic.
The food industry is far from homogenous. While Big Food corporations dominate the market and wield immense lobbying power, small and midsized producers often lack the resources to compete on an even playing field. Policymakers must ensure they do not take a one-size-fits-all approach to regulation. SMEs need support navigating the potential changes, especially if the companies have solutions to bring to the table. Some smaller players are frequently the first to innovate, leading the way with cleaner labels and healthier formulations, but SMEs voices often get drowned out by the larger, more resourced companies.
A successful outcome must include all voices, ensuring that smaller and mid-sized producers have the support, financing, and incentives needed to make the changes required to produce, market, and distribute healthier foods.
The Industry’s Responsibility.
The long-standing defense of “consumer choice” no longer holds up. Consumers may choose from what’s available, but the industry decides what’s on the shelves. “Consumer choice” has been used repeatedly by the industry to fight against actions such as requiring added sugar labeling on the backs of packages, publishing calorie counts on restaurant menus, and identifying a recommended daily allowance (RDA) for sugar. Companies must stop hiding behind this “consumer choice” argument and take ownership of the products they create and market, especially when their products are addictive. Sugar is addictive. Full stop.
Executives and boards must ask themselves:
Are we investing in innovation that aligns with consumer demand for healthier options?
How can we ensure our products contribute to better health outcomes for families?
What role can we play in setting the standard for a healthier, more sustainable food system?
What Policymakers Must Do.
Policymakers, too, have a critical role to play. Fixing our food requires a regulatory framework that supports transparency, accountability, and innovation. This includes:
Banning Harmful Additives: Using the science to determine the outcomes of whether and which additives should be allowed in our food system.
Incentivizing Reformulation: Providing grants or tax credits to help small and midsized producers develop healthier alternatives.
Promoting Consumer Engagement: Requiring clearer, more accessible labeling that empowers families to make informed choices.
Policymakers must also recognize the diversity of the industry and craft policies that support equitable outcomes across all stakeholders.
How RFK Jr. Can Make an Impact.
If RFK Jr. takes the helm at HHS, his focus must be strategic. The food system is vast, and his primary leverage will come through the FDA and CDC. To create lasting change, he should:
Target Proven Risks: Use his platform to eliminate harmful chemicals, dyes, excessive sugar, fats, and salt with clear scientific evidence of harm.
Engage Industry Leaders: Convene dialogues that include new industry voices at the table, especially small and midsized producers and public health advocates.
Empower Families: Speak directly to the American people about how to make healthier choices without judgment or complexity. Couch it as Americans not handing their health over to industry.
A Collaborative Path Forward.
Accountability is at the heart of this food fix. The food industry, policymakers, and the public must work together to build a system that prioritizes health, innovation, and sustainable food businesses.
For decades, I’ve been a part of the inner workings of the food system—its successes and its flaws. I know change is hard, but it’s possible when all stakeholders come to the table with honesty, truth, and a shared purpose. This moment is about fixing what’s broken and building something better.
If we want to make Americans healthier, we need to act boldly and work together. Let’s transform the shelves of our stores, the policies that guide what’s in our food, and the choices available to families. It’s time to create a food that fuels not just our bodies, but our potential, joy, economic success, and longevity. Together, we can do more than make Americans healthy again—we can make them feel good again.
About the Author.
Devry Boughner Vorwerk, the CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, has spent her career at the intersection of food policy, global trade, and corporate strategy. Now a consultant, Devry and her team help food industry leaders and policymakers address challenges and opportunities in the food system. She is also a mother, passionate about helping her children and other families make healthier choices in an increasingly ultra-processed world.
