America has never been more fed, more medicated, or more surrounded by health care — and yet Americans are sicker than ever. This was the problem Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was tasked with addressing when he was chosen as Secretary of Health and Human Services. As a longtime environmental attorney, he understood the political pressure and entrenched interests he would face.
Our chronic disease crisis in the face of abundance is not a mystery. It is the predictable result of decades of public policy shaped less by public health than by the quiet, persistent influence of “Big Food” lobbying — much like the influence long exerted by Big Pharma.
For more than 40 years, federal nutrition policy — from the food pyramid to school lunches to SNAP eligibility — prioritized cheap calories o
