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Dissecting RFK’s Meat-Heavy Food Pyramid
Friday, 16 January, 2026
Old vs New: Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s new red meat- and dairy-heavy food pyramid (right) versus an earlier iteration of the US Department of Agriculture’s food pyramid. Images courtesy of USDA. On January 7, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced new dietary guidelines for Americans, which upend the food pyramid as we know it. The new pyramid emphasizes red meat and whole-fat dairy — both of which past guidelines have long recommended we limit because of their saturated fat content. Kennedy called the new guidelines the “most significant reset of nutrition policy in history.” But what kind of reset? Good? Bad? Confusing? In this episode of Terra Verde, Earth Island Journal editor-in-chief and cohost Maureen Nandini Mitra talks with three experts in the field of nutrition, food policy, and advocacy — Anupama Joshi, vice president of programs at Center for Science in the Public Interest; Miguel Villarreal, interim co-executive director of the National Farm to School Network; and Anna Lappé, executive director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and an internationally recognized expert on food systems — who break down the public health and environmental implications of the new guidelines. Here are some other sound dietary resources for listeners: Is Saturated Fat Good or Bad? The Uncompromised DGAs The Planetary Health Diet The post Dissecting RFK’s Meat-Heavy Food Pyramid appeared first on KPFA.
