Ken Cook

Trump allies rage over new executive order dubbed 'Middle finger' to MAHA alternet.org/maha-trump/?sh…

“I can’t envision a bigger middle finger to every MAHA mom than this,” Ken Cook, the president and co-founder of Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization that has also supported parts of Mr. Kennedy’s agenda, said. nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/…

Trump’s #glyphosate executive order a ‘big middle finger to every MAHA mom’. “First President Trump sided with @Bayer-#Monsanto on #glyphosate at the Supreme Court, and now he’s elevating it through the Defense Department.” ewg.org/news-insights/…

“I can’t envision a bigger middle finger to every MAHA mom”- Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group: Trump’s Order Aims to Boost Ingredient Used in Roundup - The New York Times nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/…

"A middle finger to every MAHA mom." Trump has ordered the government to ramp up production of the weedkiller glyphosate, citing national defense. MAHA is furious. Kennedy, in an awkward spot, issued a statement backing POTUS w/ @HirokoTabuchi nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/…

🎉 Big win! California's trailblazing bill #AB1264 to define ultra-processed food and begin phasing it out of public school meals just passed the Legislature! Now it’s on to Gov. Newsom’s desk. Thanks @JesseGabrielCA - a true champion for kids' health - for leading the charge!

Let’s get #PFAS out of our food @rachaelray. Let’s work together to protect our families.

My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.   I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested. This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough. While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people.  This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles. I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.   The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership.  This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors.  Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people. It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC.  The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense.  Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function.  Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC. The recent term of reference for the COVID vaccine work group created by this ACIP puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.   Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.  Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc. I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again.  I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season.  Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.”  We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary.  I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us.  Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources.  At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.  To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information. The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer.  I believe in nutrition and exercise.  I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability.  Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun. The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed. For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics.  I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision. Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically. Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution.  If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States. Sincerely, Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)

@SenBillCassidy In all due respect, Senator Cassidy, your committee's oversight is meaningless at this stage. You left a scalpel in the patient--the American people.

These high profile departures will require oversight by the HELP Committee. washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthc…

@bitterwaterblue You look taller, dude! Nothing like a little break to bring on a growth spurt!

Oh we are so back! I took a break from the public eye for a while. But social media is our public square, and I was born to be the town crier. So I'm back in the saddle, charging into battle, not going gentle into that good night, etc. Someone's got to speak for the desert.

I don't normally post on here, but I wanted to highlight this waypoint in the Trump administration's relentless destruction of all manner of PFAS regulations that took some of us decades to put into place, and that finally took hold under Biden. Not much of it left--and that was the plan. If you voted for Trump, you own this. An Industry Insider’s Changes at the E.P.A. Could Cost Taxpayers Billions nytimes.com/2025/08/28/cli…

By exposing the corruption of California’s investor-owned utilities, we will hold them and our government accountable. @ewg has a long and proud history of taking on big oil, big pesticide companies, big polluters, and more. Through Re-Volt, we will continue that work by taking on BIG UTILITIES. We’re eager to fight for a more affordable, accessible, and clean energy future in America’s most populous state. Hear from @EWGPrez Ken Cook, as he calls on elected officials to stop letting utility companies take advantage of people in California. It’s time for a new path forward. It’s time to Re-Volt. Join the movement. You can find us on: Instagram- instagram.com/utilityaccount… Bluesky- bsky.app/profile/expose…

440 acres of farmland in Missouri is being taken over for a data center, residents are outraged and had no idea because the government keep the whole thing a secret with non disclosure agreements Residents will not be allowed to vote on it “In St. Charles, Missouri, where a massive data center project is being proposed on a 440 acre piece of farmland. Residents here are outraged about what this could mean for their water, their electricity rates. And the biggest thing is it's been kept a secret because of a non disclosure agreement.” Residents won’t be able to vote, only their councilmen. “The city council is who the vote's going to be on the 19th. The 10 people are going to make the decision on something this huge, something this absurd going in to our community, which potentially could ruin the water source for St. Charles. This isn't something for 10 people to decide. We need to get them to vote on just shutting this down.” “What are you hearing from them? Well, there's an NDA in place. Okay, so it's hush hush” The corruption in America is out of control

I had a lot of fun with @EWGPrez on Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode, not just because he said such lovely things about the book. Enviros can fight the downsides of industrial agriculture without handwaving away the benefits of productivity. Link in next tweet.

@calleymeans @SecKennedy As for your criticism of me, you're on to something. A strong case could be made that I'm way overrated, and hauled to wins for decades by my EWG colleagues. You seem to have the opposite rep--everyone thinks you're out of your depth! Why not come on my podcast and sort it out?

@calleymeans @SecKennedy Oh, a simple misunderstanding here, @calleymeans @SecKennedy. The Post called Scott for a response because he's the former power player for big food that you pretend to be. His quote is in praise of a bill we in fact had nothing to do with and @SecKennedy helpfully boosted.

Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group has raised millions of dollars over decades to reform the food system - and utterly failed. Every day, he smears the person responsible for actually accomplishing his life’s work: @SecKennedy This year, 30 state bills passed he had nothing to do with. EWG didn’t know about the Texas food labeling bill when it passed. The group had nothing to do with it. Yet this doesn’t stop Ken from rushing to the media to take credit for accomplishments he has been actively subverting. Ken implying to his donors he did anything other than actively subvert the movement that led to the bill’s passage is fraudulent.

Dr. Cassidy, this is exactly what you feared--and that EVERYONE knew would happen, Kennedy allies and opponents alike. I think you can continue to talk to him indefinitely and it won't matter. You need to do more than talk to him. It was your vote, in all due respect, that gave him this job and put all of us in this situation.

Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. I’ve just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I’ll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case. wsj.com/opinion/rfk-jr…

@Heather27207971 The best girl, so far as I can tell. Another best doggo is out there needing you.

My sweet girl Caroline passed on this afternoon, after a weeks long battle with a bleeding lung mass. She was an excellent ball catcher. And speed racer. She never killed anything in her life, although she did take a swipe at a couple bumblebees. She was 11. She hated her Christmas sweater. And she was a good girl.

Great day lobbying in Sacramento with Hilary Swank for safer prenatal vitamins. And a great outcome—the bill (S 646), authored by Senator (and OBGYN) Akila Weber Pierson and sponsored by EWG and the Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)—passed through the first committee to consider it with unanimous, bipartisan support following her testimony. We have a ways to go with the process, but Hilary galvanized everyone she met to get this bill to Gavin Newsom’s desk. And we will!

From EPA cuts to victories in food safety, I’m diving into the latest environmental and public health news that you need to know. In this episode, I cover critical policy shifts that could affect families, farmers and food safety across the country. - EPA budget cuts to its science arm threaten critical research on harmful chemicals. - Funding for the Farm-to-School program is slashed, putting kids' access to fresh, local food—and small farmers’ livelihoods—at risk. - West Virginia wins a major victory by banning harmful food dyes, following California’s lead after years of advocacy. What will these changes mean for the future of food safety and public health? Tell me what you think in the comments. Full video: youtube.com/watch?v=ESn4pP… #FoodSafety #PublicHealth #EPA #FarmToSchool