The Make America Healthy Again movement just hit its first major legal obstacle.
An Obama-appointed judge paused enforcement of West Virginia’s law banning certain food dyes and preservatives — calling it “unconstitutionally vague.”
Governor Patrick Morrisey’s response? The fight is just beginning.
“West Virginia will continue to defend its authority to protect the health and well-being of our citizens, especially children. We are reviewing our legal options and will continue to press forward with our efforts to get harmful crap out of our food supply.”
Harmful crap. That’s the governor talking about what’s in your kids’ food.
The Judge Called the Law “Unconstitutionally Vague”
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger — nominated by Barack Obama in 2009 — issued the ruling on December 23rd.
Her argument: The law “fails to provide sufficient notice and invites arbitrary enforcement.”
She claimed the statute doesn’t spell out how West Virginia’s Health Department should determine whether certain color additives are “poisonous and injurious.”
Translation: The law against putting poison in food isn’t specific enough about what counts as poison.
Only in the legal system could that argument work.
The School Lunch Ban Remains in Effect
Here’s the good news.
The judge’s ruling doesn’t apply to school nutrition programs. The school-lunch portion of the law remains intact.
That means seven dyes — Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, and Green No. 3 — are still banned from West Virginia school lunches as of August 2025.
The broader ban on food products sold statewide, set for 2028, is what’s being challenged.
Kids in schools are still protected. The fight continues for everyone else.
RFK Jr. Made West Virginia His First Official Visit
This isn’t a random state law. It’s a flagship MAHA initiative.
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his first trip as HHS Secretary, he went to West Virginia. He stood alongside Governor Morrisey.
Morrisey declared that the MAHA movement “begins right here in West Virginia.”
The state set the standard. Other states followed. California, Virginia, Utah, and Arizona have pursued similar bans.
That’s why the food industry is fighting back. West Virginia is the test case.
The Industry Group Behind the Lawsuit
The case was brought by the International Association of Color Manufacturers — a Washington, D.C.-based organization representing companies that make artificial dyes.
Their argument: “The statute arbitrarily and irrationally targets color additives no U.S. agency — state or federal — nor any court has ever found to be unsafe.”
No agency has found them unsafe. Except the European Union requires warning labels on these same dyes because of “links to activity and attention effects in children.”
The EU warns parents. American industry groups sue to keep the dyes in kids’ food.
“Artificial Food Dyes Offer Zero Nutritional Value”
Nutritionist Liana Werner-Gray explained the obvious:
“Artificial food dyes offer zero nutritional value.”
They don’t make food healthier. They don’t add nutrition. They exist to make processed food look more appealing.
And they’ve been linked to behavioral issues in children. Non-human studies have linked Red Dye No. 3 to cancer, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The industry is suing to protect its right to add cancer-linked, nutritionally worthless chemicals to children’s food.
“There Is Nothing More Powerful Than Moms Protecting Their Children”
Vani Hari — known as the “Food Babe” — told Fox News Digital that the movement won’t be stopped:
“The judicial system is going to see the might of the MAHA movement. I know who is going to win — because there is nothing more powerful than moms protecting their children.”
She’s right.
Parents are asking why ingredients linked to behavioral and neurological problems are still common in children’s food.
That question isn’t going away because of one judge’s ruling.
Morrisey: “The Decision Will Be Reversed”
Governor Morrisey called the ruling “premature and incorrectly decided.”
He’s confident it won’t stand:
“West Virginia has set the standard for the nation when it comes to protecting children from harmful ingredients in food. Since we acted, other states have stepped forward and manufacturers have already begun changing formulas, because they see where this is headed.”
The momentum is already working. Companies are reformulating. States are following West Virginia’s lead.
One Obama judge isn’t stopping that.
PepsiCo Is Already Removing Artificial Ingredients
The market is responding before the lawsuits are even resolved.
PepsiCo announced it will remove artificial ingredients from popular food items by the end of 2025.
Why? Because companies see the writing on the wall. Parents are demanding cleaner food. States are banning harmful additives. The MAHA movement has political power.
Reformulating voluntarily is cheaper than fighting losing legal battles.
The Conversation Has Shifted
Werner-Gray noted the real victory:
“Injunction or not, one bright spot is that the conversation has shifted. Parents are asking why ingredients linked to behavioral and neurological concerns are still common in children’s food, and that question isn’t going away.”
She added: “They want it to go away, they want us to go away with this, but we won’t.”
The food industry wanted to operate in silence. Add whatever chemicals were profitable. Hope nobody noticed.
MAHA ended that silence. Now parents are asking questions. Now states are acting. Now companies are reformulating.
One judge can’t un-ring that bell.
“Harmful Crap” — The Governor Said It
Patrick Morrisey called artificial dyes and preservatives “harmful crap.”
That’s a sitting governor describing what the food industry puts in children’s food.
That’s the message resonating with parents. That’s why the movement is growing.
Courts can issue temporary injunctions. Industry groups can file lawsuits. Obama-appointed judges can call laws “vague.”
But parents protecting their children won’t stop.
“There is nothing more powerful than moms protecting their children.”
The MAHA movement just got its first legal setback. It won’t be the last obstacle.
But the direction is clear. The momentum is building. And the harmful crap is coming out of America’s food supply — one state, one company, one fight at a time.
