\n<\/p>\n
The statement, while true to a point, ignores the fact that food costs are set to increase this year by almost 3 percent and that a diet rich in animal protein, which is featured prominently in the administration’s new inverted food pyramid, is getting more expensive. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that beef and veal prices were more than 12 percent higher in March than in March 2025, while poultry prices were up 1.5 percent over the same time period. Fresh vegetable prices, meanwhile, were 7.5 percent higher in March compared to a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Irvine says a main barrier to eating healthy is education, joking that he didn\u2019t know about okra and avocados growing up in England. While partly right, he and Kennedy fail to mention other important factors like cost, access, and a lack of time for meal preparation. Packaged and ultra-processed foods are popular because they are more convenient, have a long shelf life, and are a cheap source of calories. And research continues to show that many adults still eat these foods despite knowing they shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The second episode of Kennedy\u2019s podcast is just 15 minutes long and features professional boxer Mike Tyson, who appeared in a MAHA-aligned Super Bowl ad for \u201creal food.\u201d Kennedy introduces Tyson, who was convicted in 1992 of raping a teenager and served three years in prison, as one of his \u201cheroes.\u201d<\/p>\n
After talking about raising pigeons for the first few minutes, Tyson says he grew up in a neighborhood where ultra-processed food was a \u201cdelicacy\u201d and that his boxing mentor, Cus D’Amato, pushed him toward a healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n
Kennedy mentions Tyson\u2019s sister, who died in her mid-twenties from a heart attack related to obesity. \u201cThat’s all we ate was processed food,\u201d says Tyson, \u201cbecause we didn’t have no money to buy food. We were the kind of family that knocked on the neighbor’s door, \u2018You have any food?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyson famously adopted a vegan diet for several years to improve his health, which he doesn\u2019t discuss with Kennedy. He does, however, describe what seems like disordered eating patterns, which are prevalent in weight-sensitive sports. \u201cIf I’m not in good shape, I won’t eat,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I’m not the weight I want to be, it\u2019s just so subconscious, I won’t eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy asks what should be done to help people in urban neighborhoods eat better\u2014acknowledging, to his credit, the existence of food deserts. Tyson replies, \u201cWe need more mentors. You know, they need mentors to show them how to have proper diets and take care of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not wrong. Nutritional knowledge and support from family and friends are key to motivating people to adopt healthier diets. But the biggest issue with Kennedy\u2019s podcast is that, to date, this is about as far as it goes in dispensing practical nutritional advice to the average Americans who are ostensibly its audience. There are no meal prep tips or suggestions of lower-cost protein swaps. Crucially, despite casting them as the villains of the piece, Kennedy never provides a definition of what \u201cprocessed\u201d or \u201cultra-processed\u201d foods are\u2014while defining these terms is infamously vexing, FitCrunch bars would surely qualify\u2014or what types of foods or ingredients to avoid.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no doubt that Americans are overwhelmingly unhealthy. Despite Kennedy\u2019s assertions, doctors and government officials have<\/em> been telling people to eat healthier\u2014for decades, in fact. And most Americans already know they should be eating healthier. It\u2019s unclear how Kennedy\u2019s podcast will help them do that\u2014and perhaps, given its host\u2019s claim that he eats only meat and fermented foods, best if it doesn\u2019t try.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n