Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Surface has altered the Food Pyramid, the basis by which Americans structure their meals. This may have noticeable impacts on American health, as well as undeniable environmental implications. Processed foods have been shown to have detrimental effects on human health and should be gradually cut down in the daily diet. However, many Americans are shocked by the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ decisions, as it emphasizes meat and dairy products, which similarly to ultra-processed foods, can be detrimental to health.

The Food Pyramid was originally published in 1992 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in an effort to educate the public and to showcase visually what proper proportion and moderation looked like, including what food groups should be consumed more regularly.

My Pyramid was born in 2005, with “new graphics and slogans, clear and concise nutrition messages, and a variety of materials and tools to help motivate and educate consumers to follow a healthful diet.”

Catalyst for Change

Every depiction through the ages of the food pyramid was simplified for the average American. They emphasized consumption of grain at the base of the pyramid. 

The My Plate Website, home to information about the food pyramid and its benefits,  says that, “Eating grains, especially whole grains, can provide health benefits…Grains provide many nutrients that are vital for the health and maintenance of our bodies.” 

Although whole grains are especially recognized, many Americans took this to mean that all grains are beneficial health-wise. 

According to health teacher Elizabeth Hoffman, “Not all grains are created equal.  We need to look at whole grains versus refined grains… Refined grains have little to no vitamins and minerals and have little to no fiber.”

Here is where the issue of processed food consumption arose. According to the American Medical Association, ultra-processed foods generally contain many additives like sugars and fats, which are associated with increased obesity in the United States. 

A study by the British Medical Center said,  “direct associations between greater exposure to ultra-processed foods and higher risks of incident all-cause mortality.” With more consumption, it becomes more common to obtain type 1 and 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and even depression because of the poor nutrient quality. Our whole bodies and minds are implicated. 

The pyramid has now been inverted, so the top, which consists of dairy and red meat generally, is now considered the most important part of our diet, rather than the grain that can be processed and is damaging. Fruits and vegetables are also emphasized in the new food pyramid. The overall idea is to eat more real food, unprocessed, and not pre-packaged.

According to the White House Website, “these guidelines restore commonsense and science to health policy, putting real food back at the center of preventing chronic disease and promoting lifelong wellness.”

The hope is that Americans will consume more whole foods. It will have beneficial effects on our bodies, cutting down on obesity and diabetes, which the United States has the 10th highest rate of in the world.

However, the emphasis on red meat and dairy has important downsides. 

No Real Change at All…

Hoffman says, “Protein is healthy and important and is needed for muscle development and bone health.  Unfortunately, most Americans get their protein sources from low-quality and high-fat sources (cheap fast food), which can lead to cardiovascular issues and other health risks.”

Red meat is known to have significant effects on human health. According to The National Library of Public Medicine, “high consumption of red and processed meats significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.”  

And, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, “milk and other dairy products are the top sources of artery-clogging saturated fat in the American diet.”

But, the pyramid needed a change, because it was emphasizing processed food. But is processed food always bad? According to Ms. Hoover Rios, psychology teacher at de Toledo High School, “The word processed has become this kind of boggy man.” 

To cut a piece of bread, or freeze fruit is to process it. We consume processed foods all the time, the difference is whether or not it is ultra-processed, or not at all occurring in nature. That is what we need to stray away from. 

The food pyramid objectively needed to be altered. It was an ineffective way of simplifying dietary health and caused overconsumption of ultra-processed food. However, its inversion doesn’t solve the problem of health concerns. It shifts it somewhere else. 

…Or Change for the Worse?

There will be environmental impacts if American consumption and production of meat and dairy products go up. 

According to Environmental Science teacher and environmental advocate Debbie Vane, “At the current levels of meat and dairy production, we will likely see an 80% increase in greenhouse gases by 2050.”

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, heat our Earth, create extreme weather changes, and worsen air quality. They are emitted in this country, primarily, by cattle farming.

Vane also explained, “Livestock waste is the major producer of methane, a greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere. Methane is actually more harmful than Carbon dioxide as it has the potential to increase global warming roughly 85 times more than Carbon dioxide.”

Methane not only contributes to climate change but is also detrimental to human health. According to the Climate & Clean Air Coalition, Methane is essential to the chemical creation of  Tropospheric ozone, “estimated to cause millions of deaths and lost years of healthy life annually.”

Although the food pyramid needed to be altered, Americans find themselves asking, if there are so many drawbacks to the way the pyramid was altered, could the Department of Health and Human Services not find another alternative? 

Many have drawn the conclusion that the new spotlight on animal agriculture is due to the economic importance of this industry to the United States. According to the Meat Institute, a collection of representatives for the large meat companies in the United States, the total economic contribution of the U.S. meat and poultry processing industry is 347.7 billion dollars in value. The meat industry provides lots of jobs and lots of affordable food to Americans. If meat production and consumption are stimulated by this change in the Food Pyramid, so is the economy, at the detriment of American health and the environment. 

Speaking of economics, Ms. Hoover Rios said that the shift is, “a direct reflection of influencer wellness culture.” A multitrillion dollar industry. 

Dislike Change, or Dislike the Politician?

In a podcast by Freakonomics, head of the FDA Marty Makary talks about the “Trump Degradation System,” saying,  “If literally we had discovered and announced the cure for cancer, you would have some people say, ‘Well, the Trump administration interfered, they did this too quick, they did it too slow.’”

The idea is that people are only upset about this shift because it’s the Trump administration. They pick apart any decision to support their preconceived notion that anything RFK Jr. or anyone associated with Trump does is immediately wrong. That may be true. People who are disturbed by the shift are not interested in the fact that Americans consume too much processed food, and any step away from that is a step forward. But the objective of the changes was to “Make America Healthy Again.” Is creating more carbon emissions and replacing old health problems with new ones, really doing that?

The real issue is the lack of research, the rash decisions that the government is making pertaining to our health, regardless if the changes are consistent with the ideas of the left or the right.  

According to Hoffman, the food pyramid is not usually followed closely, regardless of its status. “Most Americans way overeat, generally over consuming added sugars and empty carbohydrates and under-eating fruits, vegetables, and plant-based food.”

The obesity rate for adults in the United States is approximately 40%, and fifteen million children are considered obese in this country. 

According to Hoffman, “For one of the richest and most educated countries in the world, this is a tragedy!”

Do you have thoughts of the food pyramid inversion? Comment below and share!