FOOD AND NUTRITION
POLICY REFORM
HHRA works to advance science-based food and nutrition policies that make it easier for people to identify and choose foods that support good health.
Through public comments submitted to federal agencies, HHRA and its partners have called for clearer, mandatory and actionable food labeling; a more meaningful definition of “healthy” based on the overall nutritional quality of a food relative to its caloric content; and a public-health-centered system for defining and classifying processed and ultra-processed foods. This work considers how processing affects nutrients, ingredients and food-safety risks—not simply how many processing steps a product undergoes.
Together, these comments outline a broader reform agenda designed to provide consumers with useful information, encourage manufacturers to improve their products, strengthen nutrition research and consumer education, and better align food labeling, dietary guidance and federal policy. The goal is to shift the food system toward safer, more nutritious foods and help reduce diet-related chronic disease while improving health and health equity.
Ensuring the health of families is the force driving HHRA’s work.
Our flagship medical research project, The Heartland Study is exploring whether herbicide exposure is a factor contributing to the adverse birth outcomes and problem pregnancies. Until we have results, we encourage you to take common sense steps to elevate the odds of a trouble-free pregnancy and delivery of a healthy newborn.
HHRA’s Public Comments
October 2025. “Heartland Health Research Alliance and Swette Center Comments Submitted to the FDA Docket FDA-2025-N-1793,” Submitted by: The Heartland Health Research Alliance (HHRA) and the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University.
Access Comments Online: https://hh-ra.org/2025/10/21/heartland-health-research-alliance-and-swette-center-comments-submitted-to-the-fda-docket-fda-2025-n-1793/
Printable PDF: https://hh-ra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/FINAL_Proc_Food_-Com_10-22-25.pdf
July 2025. “Comments on a Proposed Rule Issued by the FDA: “Food Labeling: Front-of-Package Nutrition Information” dated July 15th, 2025,” Submitted By: Heartland Health Research Alliance and the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University.
February 2023. “Comments on a Proposed Rule Issued by the Food and Drug Administration: Food Labeling: Nutrient Content Claims; Definition of Term ‘Healthy’”, submitted on behalf of the Heartland Health Research Alliance and the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University. Comments submitted to Docket # FDA-2016-D-23335.