In his big inauguration day speech at Capitol One Arena, President Trump declared that we will “Make America Healthy Again.” The next day his administration named a career junk food lobbyist as chief of staff to the federal agency that oversees the nation’s food and nutrition guidelines.
Kailee Tkacz Buller has been chosen for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) chief of staff, where she will be the right-hand woman for the agency’s secretary—expected to be Brooke Rollins—and help implement policies, manage staff, and assist in messaging. Tkacz Buller, a USDA alumni from the first Trump administration, has most recently worked for the seed oil industry lobby as President and CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) and the Edible Oil Producers Association (EOPA). Prior to joining the first Trump administration, she was a lobbyist for top junk food industry lobbying groups the Corn Refiners Association and SNAC International.
Many health advocates and online influencers aligned with the MAHA mission have blamed high omega 6 seed oils such as canola and soybean oil that are made by NOPA and EOPA member companies for contributing to many of the poor health conditions that Americans deal with, like obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy has said that Americans are being "unknowingly poisoned" by them, and at the recent “MAHA Inaugural Ball,” attendees were served a seed oil-free menu.
The Corn Refiners Association lobbies for the interests of companies that make critical ingredients for our nation’s junk food supply, including high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, modified corn starch, and dextrose monohydrate. Its member companies include Archers Daniel Midland, Cargill, and Ingredion Incorporated. Processed corn products are heavily utilized in highly-processed foods, increasing their calorie density and sugar content. Tkacz Buller worked as a lobbyist for the organization from October 2015 until July 2017, where she pushed federal policymakers on federal food policy, nutritional labeling, free trade agreements, and more, according to federal disclosures.
Prior to her work for the corn refiners, Tkacz Buller was a lobbyist for SNAC International, which prides itself on being “the only snack-centric trade association.” Its members include The Hershey Company, PepsiCo, Wise Foods, and many more companies whose names you may see on the packaged food products at the grocery store.
Tkacz Buller was hired by the USDA in July 2017 as a policy adviser in the agency’s Office of Congressional Relations to work on the nation’s Dietary Guidelines. She quickly began taking meetings with representatives of the companies for which she had recently been lobbying the government.
According to emails obtained by Sludge through the Freedom of Information Act, Tkacz Buller set up a meeting with the director of federal government relations with Corn Refiners Association Cargill in September 2017. “Looking forward to it,“ she wrote in an email confirming the meeting, which was scheduled as a lunch in early October.
In Dec. 2017, SNAC International Director of Government Affairs Jessica Hixson sent Tkacz Buller a letter expressing her organization’s interest regarding flexibilities for milk, whole grains, and sodium requirements in the Child Nutrition Program. Tkacz Buller replied warmly: “Thanks so much Jessica. We are incredibly appreciative of this letter and look forward to working with you. Let us know what else you may need, our door is always open.”
