RFK Jr. announces new dietary guidelines
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new dietary guidelines, saying his message is clear: eat real food.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has declared an end to the “war on protein.”
The announcement was posted to the White House’s X account on Jan. 11 alongside a dimly lit portrait of Kennedy and a link to the federal government’s new Dietary Guidelines, which prioritize protein, dairy and healthy fats.
“Today the lies stop,” Kennedy said on Jan. 7. “Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines.”
But food experts say there isn’t a war on protein. Protein consumption in the United States is reaching record highs, and Americans already eat more protein than they need.
In fact, protein has “never been a negative” in prior guidelines, according to Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and former Health and Human Services senior nutrition policy adviser.
“The previous dietary guidelines recommended lean meat and low-fat dairy products, and these recommend full-fat, which means more saturated fat,” she says. Eating more red meat and saturated fats can bring myriad health complications, including an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.
But “MAHA taps into something real,” says Dr. Mark Chatarpal, a food anthropologist and executive director of Hunter College’s NYC Food Policy Center. “Americans are genuinely less healthy than people in other wealthy countries and chronic disease rates are rising.”
Kennedy’s messaging resonates with a large portion of Americans who have long worried about what’s going into their food. When Kennedy began campaigning on these same concerns, they finally felt seen, overlooking his history of disproven conspiracy theories and lack of public health experience.
“People feel failed by a system that has told them what to eat, but they keep getting sicker,” Chatarpal explains. “But the war on protein, and the framing of that, doesn’t match reality.”
Protein is the latest trend in macronutrients, but ‘more is not always better’
Protein additives are everywhere – in our coffee, lunches and even Dunkin’ refreshers. “It’s our latest obsession with a macronutrient,” says Amy Bentley, a historian and professor of food studies at New York University. “Sometimes it’s fiber, sometimes it’s a vitamin, and now it’s protein.”
Starbucks launched a protein cold foam with Khloe Kardashian in September; Chipotle introduced an entire “high-protein menu” in December, boasting a cup of chicken with 32 grams of protein; and in January, Megan Thee Stallion announced her alter ego, “Pro-Tina,” to promote Dunkin’s “protein milk.”
But “more is not always better,” according to Dr. Priya Jaisinghani, an endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist at NYU Langone. Excess protein may accelerate kidney function decline in individuals with conditions like chronic kidney disease, Jaisinghani cautions.
This isn’t the first ‘war’ RFK Jr. says he’s ending
Alongside his promise to end the “war on protein,” Kennedy vowed to end the “war on saturated fats” and declared a “war on added sugar.”
In a March 2025 statement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the new guidelines would be “based on sound science, not political science.” “Gone are the days where leftist ideologies guide public policy,” she said.
But Nestle calls the new dietary guidelines a “left-right” issue, and “an explicit rejection of a previous scientific committee report and the Biden administration.”
“It’s a political battle cry,” Bentley says.
On Jan. 14, President Donald Trump also signed a “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act,” which aligns with the dietary guidelines’ reintroduction of full-fat dairy as part of a healthy dietary pattern.
This comes after the famous 1990s “Got Milk” campaign was relaunched last year with the tagline, “Real is back. Happiness is back.”
Milk sales had been declining in California for 15 years before the California Milk Processor Board hired an ad agency to create the original campaign. Likewise, since 2017, the United States has lost over 17% of family farms, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Four of the nine researchers behind the new dietary guidelines have ties to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and dairy organizations, such as the National Dairy Council.
Masculinity and ‘American values’ get tied up in meat-eating
Kennedy’s “war” rhetoric taps into constructs of masculinity, toughness and MAGA’s push for traditional American values. MAGA promises a return to the “good ol’ days,” with strong nuclear families at the crux and a crackdown on “leftist ideology.”
“Part of the American promise, or the American dream, is an overflowing cornucopia of food and resources,” Bentley explains. Throughout American history, immigrants have flocked to the United States not only for the promise of freedom but also for opportunity. Meat represents “the idea of the good life, grilling steaks and hamburgers on the backyard grill,” Bentley says. Questioning or restricting that can feel like an assault on American culture. In a January 2025 interview with USA TODAY, Kennedy said he follows the carnivore diet and only eats meat and fermented foods.
“It feels to some people to be un-American, the idea of curbing your consumption, switching from meat to other proteins,” she says. Bentley also says that historically, meat is tied to masculinity, while vegetables and sweets are thought to be feminine. Think back to humans’ early origins: men were hunters, women were gatherers.
Part of the MAHA movement also champions muscle mass and external aesthetics, with Kennedy’s muscular build often touted. “Gym bros” eat high-protein diets for bulking, and news outlets have reported that online fitness culture seems to be increasingly right-wing, opening discussion on platforms like Reddit. When New York City mayor and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamadani’s bench press fail went viral, the video drew criticism from political opponents.
“Unfortunately, this is a stereotype that people like to throw around, saying that progressive men are weak,” therapist Erik Anderson previously told USA TODAY. “So it’s this combination of the question of, are you really virtuous in other areas if you’re not virtuous in this area?”
The way we eat is changing
With nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults reporting current or previous GLP-1 drug use, the landscape of food and eating is already changing. Low protein consumption due to decreased appetite can negatively impact muscle health among GLP-1 users.
“Food corporations are just really scrambling to try to keep up,” Bentley says, “so they are creating products with more protein.”
But a push for more protein requires an increased supply, and Chatarpal says the potential strain on global supply chains is cause for “legitimate concern,” especially in countries like Brazil facing issues of deforestation and climate change. In January 2025, U.S. monthly beef imports from Brazil hit a record high of 197 million pounds.
However, when it comes to the average American, registered dietitian Michelle Pillepich says most don’t follow the dietary guidelines or viral talking points. As a dietitian, Pillepich says not much will change in her recommendations for clients.
“We will keep practicing what we know to be true as well as keeping an eye on new research, and always listening to the individual in front of us when advising people,” Pillepich says.
Contributing: Charles Trepany
Dining and Cooking