Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling for sweeping changes to the American food system, arguing that ultra-processed foods are driving the nation’s chronic disease crisis and pledging to expand access to whole foods through federal policy changes.

Kennedy said the United States faces the highest chronic disease burden in the world and tied that directly to dietary habits.

"We have the worst chronic disease burden of any country in the world, and it's because of our food. It's 70% of the food that we eat is ultra-processed food, and it's not really food. It says it's poison. It's food-like substances."

Kennedy said his focus is shifting federal policy toward healthier and more affordable options.

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"We're going to change that now, and we're laser-focused on making it affordable."

He pointed to the federal government’s role in providing meals to schoolchildren, noting that millions of lunches are funded daily.

"The federal government pays for 45 million school lunches a day, and we are about to issue regulations and recommendations to make sure that our kids are getting good food."

Kennedy said cost concerns should not be a barrier to improving food quality, arguing that healthier options can be less expensive than processed alternatives.

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"And what we're finding is that it's actually cheaper. Counterintuitively, it's cheaper to eat well, and it is to eat processed food."

He also described efforts to reform meal programs within the U.S. military.

According to Kennedy, current food programs on bases are costly and provide substandard nutrition.

"We have we're changing the military right now. We already are into we're going into 20 bases with Chef Robert Irvine, and the meals that are now terrible, that are given to our military cost $18 a day per soldier. He's feeding them fresh whole foods for $10 a day."

Kennedy said improving meal quality does not require increasing spending but requires smarter implementation.

"So you don't need to spend more money. You just need to be smarter. And we're going to help educate people about how to do that."

In addition to school and military meals, Kennedy said changes will extend to retail outlets that accept food stamps.

He plans to mandate an expansion of whole food offerings in those stores.

"And we're going to make sure there is fresh food in every jurisdiction, any place, the 1000s of places that accept food stamps. The retail outlets in this country are going to be required to double the amount of whole foods that they sell, and that's going to change the market as well."

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