U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared new details about the development of updated federal dietary guidelines earlier this month at National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CattleCon in Nashville, Tennessee.
Addressing cattle producers and industry stakeholders, Kennedy described how the new U.S. dietary guidelines were developed after he took office.
“When I came into office the first week in January of last year, we were supposed to publish dietary guidelines that had been developed by the Biden administration that week. They had them teed up to go. They were 453 pages long and they were crafted by lobbyists and driven by the same mercantile impulses that had put fruit loops at the top of the food pyramid, which is not food, by the way. A food-like substance is nutrient-free. And so we got the best nutritionists in the country from the best universities in the country and we basically locked them in a room.
We thought it was going to take them a month. It took them about almost 11 months. And we now have dietary guidelines that are simple.
We promised, Brooke Rollins and I, promised that we’d produce guidelines that were simple, that were under 10 pages, that everybody could understand. And it was bloodshed on every recommendation because we had to look at tens of thousands of scientific studies to justify every recommendation. We now have a food pyramid which we flipped upside down because it made more sense. That puts protein at the top of the food pyramid.”
Kennedy said the revised guidelines are designed to be concise, science-based, and accessible to the public. He emphasized that each recommendation required extensive review of scientific literature before being finalized.
The announcement signals a significant shift in federal nutrition recommendations, particularly with the restructuring of the traditional food pyramid to elevate protein as a foundational component of a healthy diet. The new guidelines, developed in coordination with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, are intended to simplify federal dietary policy while reflecting updated scientific analysis.
The updated dietary guidelines are expected to influence school nutrition programs, federal food assistance policy, and broader public health messaging nationwide.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.