Newly confirmed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday evening that he wants to see significant policy changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school lunches, citing concerns over unhealthy food consumption.
Kennedy, who was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote earlier that day, discussed his priorities on The Ingraham Angle with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.
BREAKING 🚨 Massive cheers in the Senate after Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed. WE DID IT
BIG PHARMA LOST
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) February 13, 2025
Trump's Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Could It Mean For Your Money?
During the interview, he addressed criticisms that his proposals could be viewed as government overreach and clarified that his goal is not to restrict consumer choice but to promote healthier food options.
This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year
“The one place that I would say that we need to really change policies is in the SNAP program and food stamps and in school lunches because there the federal government in many cases is paying for it,” Kennedy said. “We shouldn’t be subsidizing people to eat poison.”
SNAP, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides food assistance to low-income individuals and families.
A 2021 USDA report found that nearly nine out of 10 SNAP participants faced challenges in maintaining a healthy diet throughout the month.
Kennedy’s comments align with his long-standing concerns about the impact of food quality on public health.
As Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows, over 100 million adults in the United States are classified as obese, with more than 22 million suffering from severe obesity.
Kennedy also emphasized the need for “radical transparency” in food labeling and production, arguing that consumers should be better informed about what they are eating.
“If you want to eat Twinkies, you ought to be able to eat them, but you ought to know what’s in them,” he said.
“So a lot of what I’m going to do is about radical transparency, about making people understand, allowing people to understand and empower them with understanding that if you eat that, it may seem cheap, but it’s going to cost you in the long run. You’re going to get diabetes.”
Kennedy noted that the U.S. allows far more food additives than European countries, stating, “We have 10,000 additives in our food. The Europeans have 400. Many of the additives that we have are just illegal in Europe. We need to move more and more toward the European standard.”
During the interview, Kennedy also addressed concerns about seed oils, which he has criticized in the past for their potential health risks.
“Oh, we’re not going to take [Big Macs] away,” Kennedy said when asked if his policies would ban certain foods.
“If you want to eat a Big Mac, you ought to. But, you know, McDonald’s ought to be incentivized to use beef tallow when it’s cooking its Big Macs so that they’re good for people rather than using seed oils or some other cooking oils that are actually going to probably make you sicker.”
In an October 2024 interview with Fox News, Kennedy previously argued that seed oils and other unhealthy ingredients remain prevalent in American foods because they are “heavily subsidized” despite contributing to serious illnesses, including chronic inflammation.
Kennedy’s focus on public health became a key issue during his presidential run, where he frequently spoke about the long-term health effects of processed foods and government food policies.
After exiting the race and endorsing Donald Trump, the term “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) was coined as part of a broader effort to promote healthier eating habits.
As Kennedy takes the helm at HHS, his stance on food policy is likely to be a central focus, particularly regarding government-funded nutrition programs.
His call for changes to SNAP and school lunch policies signals potential shifts in how federal nutrition programs operate in the coming years.
Connect with Vetted Off-Duty Cops to Instantly Fulfill Your Security Needs
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.
Food stamps are great to help people but, in my opinion, they shouldn’t be used for all the junk foods people use them for. I knew one family with 3 kids, they bought so many sodas, the 2 older kids drank 5+ sodas a day. The 4 year old just opened a couple a day but didn’t drink all. They live on chips, sugar filled cereal and cupcakes, even for dinner. They applied and said they were separated, while they were still living together, saying he gave her $900 a month so they wouldn’t attach his wages. And they are not the only ones doing this.
48 god worshiping, globalist puppets that receive bribed from globalists and all their CRIMINAL organizations to preach globalist agendas .