Seed oil industry fends off White House attack

Seed oil groups continue to fend off attacks from governments and industry.

In May, the White House released its initial Make America Health Again (MAHA) report.

The 72-page report attacked ultra processed foods, pesticides and food additives. It was met with much consternation from a wide spectrum of agriculture groups.

The report was largely written by Calley Means, an American lobbyist and entrepreneur.

“He’s against seed oils and he’s against pesticides,” Zoe Wallace, policy manager with the U.S. Canola Association, told delegates attending Canola Week 2025.

So, it was no surprise that the report pointed a finger at seed oils as one of the culprits for America’s health crisis. However, it was still a public relations nightmare.

“This was seen as very bad for our industry and what it would mean if consumers latched onto these words and started moving away from seed oils as we’ve already seen this last year from trends on Instagram and TikTok,” she said.

WHY IT MATTERS: The MAHA movement influences a lot of consumer choices.

Farm groups immediately reached out to the White House and expressed their disappointment that they were not consulted prior to the report’s release.

They were upset that they were not given the opportunity to present reams of scientific research refuting the claim that seed oils are unhealthy.

The White House relented and met with groups such as the American Farm Bureau, while U.S. agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins publicly acknowledged that they “could do better” on the next report.

The U.S. Canola Association met with the Seed Oil Coalition, and they sent letters to Rollins, U.S. health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the White House, providing research debunking claims that seed oils are bad for human health.

“Following widespread engagement from all areas, I am happy to report that all mention of seed oils was removed from the MAHA policy recommendations that were released just a few months later,” said Wallace.

Means has since departed the White House after serving the maximum 130 days as a political appointee.

However, he has now become a political adviser at the health and human services department, which is responsible for developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Wallace said seed oils are also under attack at the state level, with anti-seed oil provisions contained in proposed legislation in six states.

The bills include measures such as banning seed oils in school lunch programs and labelling and disclosure requirements for grocery store products containing seed oils.

Louisianna is the only state that has passed legislation so far.

Some restaurants and fast-food chains are also moving away from seed oils, such as Steak n Shake and Shake Shack.

Starbucks said this summer that it is considering eliminating canola oil from its U.S. food menu, but nothing has come from those deliberations.

“This is something that is really hard for us to combat because restaurants do have that prerogative to make a choice how they’re cooking and what they’re providing in their foods,” said Wallace.

Tags: canola oil, White House, seed oils, U.S. Canola Association, MAHA