Xavier Becerra said at last week’s CNN California gubernatorial debate that he should be judged on his record. I agree.
When I look at Becerra’s record as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), I don’t see leadership. I see failed opportunities to protect my son — and hundreds of thousands of children like him with chronic diet-related diseases.
In the spirit of May being celiac disease awareness month, I want to share my family’s story.
My 13-year-old son, Jax, has celiac, a serious autoimmune disease and food allergy triggered by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and most oats. Gluten ingestion for celiacs can cause more than 200 debilitating symptoms — including anemia, cancer, diarrhea, intestinal damage, malnutrition and vomiting.
The only treatment is strict, lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. But in the United States, only wheat is required to be labeled as an allergen, but not barley, rye and oats. This has created a massive safety gap.
Jax’s goal is to eat without fear. So he filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023 and presented a simple common-sense solution: require clear labeling of gluten on all packaged foods as a major food allergens.
Jax met with policymakers across Washington. In January 2024, Jax was personally invited by Secretary Becerra to the HHS Food is Medicine Summit, where Jax met directly with Becerra, and made his case.
At the summit, Becerra publicly spoke passionately about prevention.
But that’s exactly why Becerra’s record is so disappointing.
Because when my son asked for help preventing harm, the system Becerra led failed to deliver.
What was missing was urgency — the very urgency you would expect if prevention truly was the priority.
But at a summit focused on “Food is Medicine,” there was no food allergen labeling on the buffet lunch served. There were no safe gluten-free meals for my son — just apples and chips.
A child invited to the table wasn’t actually given a seat.
If prevention was the goal, how did Becerra’s HHS host a nutrition summit where a child with a medically necessary diet could not eat safely?
That disconnect spoke volumes, as did Becerra’s failure to apologize to Jax.
Because while my son was asking leaders to help identify ingredients — what’s actually in the food — Becerra’s HHS seemed far more focused on identifying people.
We heard a lot about categories, demographics, and classifications. But when it came to clearly identifying what’s in the food Americans eat every day — something fundamental to health and well-being — there was no action.
That’s not prevention. That’s postponement.
Months passed. Nothing changed under Becerra.
No rulemaking.
No request for information.
No urgency.
No action.
That is Becerra’s record.
Now compare that with what has happened since.
Under the Trump Administration, there’s been a markedly different response to the exact same plea for help.
In January 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a statement tied to FDA action responding to Jax’s citizen petition that made prevention — not just rhetoric, but policy — the priority.
“Americans deserve clear, reliable information about what’s in their food,” he said. “Public input calling for honest labeling will protect consumers, prevent harm, and Make America Healthy Again.”
Kennedy’s statements were informed by his personal experience as a food allergy dad like me.
Jax’s solution was included as one of 128 initiatives in the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report, which Secretary Kennedy chaired, and which included a whole-of-government approach to end childhood chronic disease.
At the FDA, there’s been tangible follow-through. Jax’s citizen petition helped catalyze a Request for Information — an important step toward formal rulemaking.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about outcomes.
There are 3.3 million Americans in the United States living with celiac disease, including about 729,000 kids like Jax. This is not a niche issue. It is a solvable public health problem long overdue for robust action.
And when a child finds the courage to stand up and ask the people in power to fix it, the response should be more than words.
It should be action.
So when Becerra asks to be judged on his record, I take him at his word.
I’m judging a record as HHS Secretary where prevention was promised — but denied.
I’m judging a record where the focus was on identifying people, rather than identifying ingredients that could harm them.
And I’m judging a record where a clear, achievable solution was presented — and ignored.
My son showed courage. He spoke clearly. He asked for help.
If it was truly “all about the kids,” then the measure of leadership is simple: did you protect them?
On this issue, when it mattered most, Becerra failed.
Jon Bari teaches at Wharton School of Business and is the co-founder of Celiac Journey, a patient advocacy organization. He and his son Jax have worked with both the Trump and Biden administrations.
The post Judge Xavier Becerra by his record — We did, and he failed my son appeared first on New York Post.
