RFK Jr. is trying to police ‘junk food’ bought with EBT dollars
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services after being appointed to his position by President Donald J.Trump last November. Since beginning this role, I have been horrified by his obvious lack of knowledge surrounding any topic involving medicine or health. His most recent push to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ was a proposition to disinclude “junk food” from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“There, the federal government in many cases is paying for it [SNAP]. And we shouldn’t be subsidizing people to eat poison,” Kennedy said in an interview with FOX news in February 2025.
I would like to remind everyone that someone who hit a bear with his car and put it in Central Park believes he knows what is best for America’s health. Kennedy has also claimed that vaccines cause autism, despite nearly every medical professional in the world strongly discrediting this conspiracy theory.
Not to mention one his most dangerous initiatives—loosening federal regulations on the distribution and sale of raw milk. Consuming raw milk has recently become popular due to the strange belief that it is “unprocessed” and therefore “better for you.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, raw milk is actually considered extremely susceptible to food borne illnesses such as salmonella, listeria, E.Coli and more.
Kennedy has clearly demonstrated that his level of medical knowledge is non-existent. Now he has suggestions on how to restrict low-income people even more? Individuals and families alike struggle to survive on SNAP benefits in this declining economy already. Why take away their choice of what to purchase and eat? Besides buying groceries for purely nutritional or survival purposes, food has more value beyond that. People deserve a nice cake on their birthday or a bag of chips to satisfy their salty cravings, just like people who can afford groceries without assistance.
On top of that, how exactly would a SNAP “junk food ban” even work? What is considered junk differs from person to person, and not everyone has the same dietary requirements. When it comes to kids, we have all known a child that will not eat unless it is something simple, beige and recognizable. To some, this is an unhealthy meal. However, just getting someone who has food aversions to eat something is winning. When it comes to vague, subjective terms like “unhealthy” or “processed” there is too much variability and nuance. It feels as though Kennedy is targeting the poor by directly restricting the very personal freedom of choosing what we eat.
* This only reflects the opinion of the author, not of the newspaper as a whole.
