It’s ironic.
Sunday I wrote about Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I urged people age 45 and older to get screened.
Colorectal cancer is the deadliest cancer in people under 50 and the second deadliest overall, but it’s highly preventable.
Then, I get up Monday, and begin my day as usual by reading The New York Times.
I found a huge article on meat called “The Dogma of Meat: From Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Food Pyramid to Online Influencers, Beef Has Become More Than Just a Source of Protein.”
Americans ate $45 billion of beef in 2025, up more than 10 percent from the previous year, according to Beef Research, an industry group.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of health and human services, said his favorite beef cut is strip steak and he eats beef every day — usually twice a day, the article reports.
Kennedy’s food pyramid, now upside down, shows a fatty steak near the top.
Eating more meat, as the new food pyramid recommends, isn’t good for your health.
If you increase the amount of protein, meat, and full-fat dairy in your diet, you won’t be able to keep your saturated fat intake below 10 percent of calories, and will have a harder time maintaining calorie balance – fat has twice the calories of protein or carbohydrate, Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, said on her blog Food Politics.
Then, there’s what the American Cancer Society has to say about meat. It recommends choosing proteins such as poultry, fish, or plant-based proteins instead of red meat most of the time. Studies show red meat is linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer. On processed meat, the society recommends avoiding it. Processed meat contains nitrates and nitrites, which can damage DNA in cells and lead to increased cancer risk. If you do choose to eat processed meat, the society recommends, you’re encouraged to do so sparingly.
In addition, eating meat has long been associated with cardiovascular disease. Research by Dean Ornish, M.D., shows a vegan diet, along with exercise, meditation, and group support, can prevent and even reverse heart disease.
That’s the health plan I’ve been on for three years. It’s been very beneficial for my health, including weight loss.
Under Kennedy, MAHA, and MAGA, food is dogma – a set of beliefs that are accepted by a group without question, related to political ideologies, The Times article says.
Don’t fall for Kennedy’s misinformation. Like his many of his other ideas, eating more meat – red and processed meat – is going to lead to more illness, and even death, across the nation.
What to eat now? Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants, as Michael Pollan, author, journalist, and professor, says.
