Save six minutes with COS FACTS Summary: Experts question RFK Jr.'s unorthodox views about health. Yet, the mainstream approaches have contributed to escalating obesity rates in the U.S. While Kennedy's rhetoric on the topic merits serious consideration, the solution lies in promoting personal responsibility rather than relying on government mandates.
Is Kennedy qualified?
Shortly after November’s election, The New York Times published a featured story gawking at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “vaccine skepticism and unorthodox views about medicine,” which “make public health officials deeply uneasy.”
Directly beneath that story, with a glaring lack of self-awareness, the left-wing publication pronounced in another headline: “Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults Are Now Overweight or Obese.”
In other words, RFK is unorthodox — which we’re supposed to believe is a terrible thing — but also, the orthodox, "expert-approved" views have made us all fat.
Let me be clear: I am not an expert or scientist. However, I understand the impetus for the kind of change Kennedy is promising. It’s a very simple equation. If the conventional American medical complex has engendered, in the words of the Times, “the dramatic rise of obesity rates nationwide since 1990,” then isn’t it time for a radical rethinking of the way we eat? Whether or not Kennedy is qualified to spearhead that change is not for me to decide. Nevertheless, it’s foolish for the media and establishment to pretend we must defend the conventional ways when they have resulted in endemic obesity.
The discourse around obesity in America is fraught with cultural sensitivities. Terms like “body positivity” and “health at all sizes” dominate public conversation, often overshadowing the harsh realities of health outcomes linked to obesity. Kennedy, however, isn't shying away from the blunt truth: Americans are among the fattest people in the world, and our dietary habits are, to borrow a phrase, a YUGE part of the problem.
To combat this, Kennedy has set his sights on regulating or banning processed, addictive foods. Proponents point to the U.K. and other European nations, which have already blocked many unnatural foods and ingredients. Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Wheat Thins, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, Coffee Mate Creamer, Ritz Crackers, Frosted Flakes, and Skittles — staples of a typical American pantry — have all been banned in other countries. His supporters suggest that Kennedy will do the same here.
But not so fast. In America, we have this thing called the Constitution, which prevents the federal government from intervening in private businesses and industries. In other words, Kennedy’s hands may be tied. The federal government can (and should) cut back on excessive subsidies for corn crops, which are used for many of the cheap, processed foods on Kennedy’s naughty list. But can he outright ban unfavored foods? I’m not sure.
Are food bans effective?
I often remind my fellow conservatives of the infamous brouhaha that broke out on the Right when New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg attempted to ban sodas over 16 ounces, particularly the 7-Eleven “Big Gulp,” citing concerns about the sugary drinks contributing to Americans’ obesity problem. At the time, it galvanized a popular conservative backlash, including an on-stage protest at CPAC 2013, with opponents arguing that, while large sodas are unhealthy, self-governing Americans should, nevertheless, be permitted to regulate their own consumption.
Do we still believe that today?
If I may restate the Apostle Paul: “Thou that sayest a man should ban Pop-Tarts, dost thou eat Cheez-It? thou that abhorrest Mountain Dew, dost thou drink Gatorade?”
I get it. We all crave indulgent junk foods, and enjoying an occasional cheat day is perfectly fine. However, I simply don’t understand the emerging assumption that we cannot make America healthy again until some distant government bureaucrat forces us away from the table. That’s the very antithesis of self-governance.
There’s only so much Kennedy can do. The “MAHA” movement, if it's going to be effective, must begin with you. I’m all for making Americans healthy again and kicking processed foods to the curb. But that’s on you. That’s on me.
So, how do we make America healthy again?
I’ll admit I overindulged in sugar over the holidays. But now that the new year is here, I’m dieting more strictly than ever. Why? Because I know that, at the end of the day, whether RFK is successful at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or not, my health is ultimately my responsibility. No one else can make me healthy. And if I’m not… I have no one else to blame but myself.
That’s why I implore you: don’t munch on Oreos until the government is forced to pry them from your hand. From the earliest days of our Constitutional Republic, the American experiment in liberty has been predicated on the idea that limited government could only last as long the people responsibly governed themselves. The less we look out for ourselves, the more the government justifies “taking care” of us. That doesn’t mean that the government doesn’t ever have a role to play; it simply means that no one — not even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — can better protect you from a poisonous diet than yourself.
Through an Article V convention and the principles of self-government, we can bid farewell to federal overreach and endemic obesity. And we don’t have to wait for the HHS to bail us out. You and I can Make America Healthy Again… today.
Sign the Convention of States petition below and claim ownership of your pantry to get started!
