President-elect Donald J. Trump won the election on Nov. 5, beating Vice President Kamala Harris. Alongside Trump’s victory, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was promised control over public health policies, and on Nov. 14 Trump picked Kennedy to be his Department of Health and Human Services secretary.
Kennedy is looking to gut the entire nutrition department at the FDA, clean school lunches, and possibly move around funding, according to Forbes. He is also calling for restrictions on food additives, dyes, and ultra-processed foods, something he could have direct influence over through the FDA, possibly changing the “safe thresholds” the FDA deems safe for additives and preservatives, which can positively affect performances in classrooms and in students’ extracurricular activities. “As a student-athlete, getting good meals on the road is hard because of the lack of healthy options,” junior Aadi Chaudhari said.
Kennedy’s central goal is to reverse the chronic disease epidemic, according to NPR. The relationship between obesity and chronic diseases is direct, according to the National Institutes of Health. The percentage of American adults classified as overweight or obese has more than doubled, rising among women from 22.5% to 45.6% and among men from 18.6% to 41.5%, according to Forbes. Kennedy also has been outspoken in his criticism of the Food and Drug Administration, accusing the agency of suppressing access to products that “advance[s] human health but can’t be patented by,” pharmaceutical companies, according to Forbes. He has also voiced opposition to the widespread use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, describing them as a shortsighted approach to combating obesity, and not a life change. “I’ve seen a lot of people and heard a lot of people take weight loss drugs and have seen them gain the weight back. It’s mostly a short term fix and not a long one,” junior Bryson Filbert said.
Kennedy has also said that seed oils and highly refined oils have caused detriment to public health, according to REP Provisions. Unlike natural oils like olive or coconut oil, seed oils undergo a highly industrialized process that often involves the use of chemicals, high heat, and solvents like hexane, according to REP Provisions. This process not only strips the oil of any beneficial nutrients but also creates harmful byproducts like trans fats. Kennedy said he believes that these refined oils are far removed from anything resembling real, natural food.
The production of seed oils, particularly those derived from crops like soybeans, corn, and canola, often involves the use of large amounts of pesticides and herbicides. These chemicals can wreak havoc on ecosystems, pollute waterways, and contribute to the decline of bee populations. The constant spread of incorrect information surrounding seed oils is also surging. “I hear a lot of things on social media about seed oils but never knew how bad they actually are for me,” junior Bryan Ngouzo said.
