(The Center Square) – Dozens braved freezing temperatures in Harrisburg to support, and oppose, a visit from Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Wednesday.
Alongside state Republican leadership, Kennedy launched his ‘Take Back Your Health’ tour which spotlights the administration’s new policies including updated dietary guidelines that come with a catchphrase: “Eat real food.”
The new guidelines essentially invert the Food Guide Pyramid familiar to many, though the government’s dietary guidelines have used the MyPlate diagram since 2011. “Eat Real Food” places emphasis on whole foods including meat, dairy, produce, and high-fiber grains.
Republican legislatures touted this emphasis as a win for the state’s agricultural industry. The state’s biggest crops are hay, which is used to feed livestock, corn and soybeans, which are two common ingredients in processed foods. Their prevalence, in part, is the result of federal government subsidies for the crops.
Kennedy points to processed foods and chemical additives like food dyes exacerbating America’s obesity epidemic and the prevalence of diet-related diseases like diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver, and heart disease.
Some nutrition experts have pointed out that these diseases also grow alongside food deserts, particularly in urban and rural communities, where access to whole, nutrient-dense food is both limited and expensive. Kennedy said that the new recommendations would change the way state-funded programs like WIC, SNAP, and even school lunches, feed people.
On the surface, the recommendation to limit processed foods in favor of whole ones seems common sense, but for opponents to Kennedy’s new approach, the devil is in the details. For instance, the new guidelines put meat and dairy at the top among sources of “healthy fats,” though the American Heart Association recommends getting less than 6% of daily calories from saturated fats.
When asked to address the discrepancy, Kennedy clarified that saturated fats should still be less than 10% of a person’s diet, adding, “They’re not perfect, but I think that they give guidelines that are going to be very useful to people and be much much better for public health.”
The old guidelines, Kennedy asserted, were the result of “mercantile” interests. He derided the impact of capitalism on public health as “bad science” and said corporate interests steered everyday Americans toward poor health choices and overconsumption of sugar and processed foods. He also bemoaned the impact of those same corporate interests on the nation’s health care system through insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
However, the secretary still prided American innovation and the major scientific advancements made by the nation’s researchers and pharmaceutical industry, saying he wanted drug companies to “prosper.” He celebrated deals made to lower drug costs at home as well as tariffs pressuring European consumers to pay higher rates for American-made drugs.
When pressed about vaccines, another issue Kennedy has famously held pharmaceutical companies to account for, he emphasized that the new guidelines do not prevent anyone from getting vaccines or having them covered by insurance. Rather, he said, the government is looking “for the first time” at risks posed by vaccines and aligning schedules to “peers in Europe.”
That certain states, including Pennsylvania, would push back on the new schedules, Kennedy said was to be expected.
“Some states may choose to take a different pathway, and we envisioned that,” he said.
It is on this point that Kennedy’s strongest critics in the commonwealth have focused, with some protesters shouting and being escorted out of his speech. Others, including medical professionals, stood on the steps of the Capitol, delivering speeches and holding signs like one that read, “Science matters.”
One of Kennedy’s most outspoken critics in the Pennsylvania legislature is Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Pittsburgh, an emergency room physician.
“From anti-vaccine activists being appointed to vaccine policy boards, to the firing of scientists from leadership positions, to cuts to scientific research funding, to the childhood vaccine schedule being gutted without any scientific evidence or even deliberation, Kennedy’s actions are endangering the health of Pennsylvanians and costing lives,” said Venkat. “We are seeing the consequences of Kennedy’s dangerous actions in real time, with outbreaks of measles and whooping cough across the nation. More outbreaks are sure to follow.”
So far this flu season, there have been 32 reported pediatric flu deaths. Last season, a total of 289 pediatric flu deaths occurred. Advocates say the deaths are often preventable with vaccination.
