Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used a simple message, “eat real food,” and a direct appeal to cattle producers to “get the production up” during a wide-ranging conversation with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Buck Wehrbein at CattleCon in Nashville, TN.
The discussion placed beef and animal-based protein squarely at the center of nutrition policy, chronic disease prevention and the administration’s broader Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Kennedy framed his remarks around what he described as a national health emergency driven by chronic disease, arguing that diet is the primary driver of poor outcomes.
“We have the highest chronic disease burden of any country in the world,” Kennedy said, noting that Americans spend trillions of dollars annually treating conditions like diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, yet rank poorly in overall health outcomes.
For Kennedy, nutrition reform is inseparable from health reform. He repeatedly emphasized that the solution lies less in pharmaceuticals and more in what Americans eat every day.
Against that backdrop, Kennedy repeatedly emphasized the role of animal-based protein, particularly beef, in addressing nutrient deficiencies, highlighting that beef provides essential micronutrients like iron, zinc and B vitamins that many Americans lack, which are crucial for good health.
“Food is medicine,” Kennedy told producers, adding that meat, poultry and eggs now sit “at the top of the priority list” in federal nutrition guidance.
Rethinking the Dietary Guidelines
A central focus of the conversation was the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which Kennedy described as a sharp departure from past versions. He criticized earlier guidelines as overly long, confusing and influenced by commercial interests, saying they failed to resonate with everyday families.
“We promised guidelines that were simple, that everybody could understand,” Kennedy said, explaining that the new framework is under 10 pages and reorganizes the food pyramid to prioritize protein.
Kennedy also said the administration moved away from decades of messaging that discouraged saturated fats, acknowledging that earlier recommendations were often based on weak or inconclusive science.
“We put an end to the 50-year war against saturated fats,” Kennedy said, emphasizing that protein-rich foods are critical to immune function, brain development and muscle growth across all life stages.
Kennedy highlighted the importance of animal-based protein for children, pregnant women and older Americans, arguing that prior dietary advice had deprived generations of key nutrients during critical developmental periods.
“We deprived two generations of American kids of whole milk and of beef,” Kennedy said, tying those restrictions to rising rates of obesity paired with malnutrition, which he attributed to diets dominated by ultra-processed foods.
According to Kennedy, ultra-processed foods account for roughly 70% of what American children eat, delivering calories without adequate nutrition. Beef, he said, offers a natural solution by providing dense nutrition without the need for supplementation.
The core recommendation, he summarized, is straightforward: “Eat real food. Eat fruit, eat vegetables, eat protein—fish, chicken, beef.”
Wehrbein noted that NCBA-funded research has long documented beef’s nutritional contributions, a point Kennedy welcomed as validation that science and production are aligned.
Kennedy tied nutrition policy to the broader Make America Healthy Again movement, which prioritizes prevention over treatment. He criticized what he described as a healthcare system built around managing disease rather than restoring health, arguing that improved diets could significantly reduce long-term healthcare costs.
Kennedy also addressed other policy areas, including prescription drug pricing and healthcare transparency, outlining efforts to reduce drug costs and require hospitals to disclose prices. Those reforms, he said, are important but insufficient without addressing nutrition at its source.
Message to producers
Kennedy reserved some of his strongest remarks for cattle producers themselves, urging them to view beef production as essential to national health and food security.
“I’m begging you to increase the size of your herds,” Kennedy said, noting that U.S. cattle numbers have declined sharply over the past several decades even as demand for beef remains strong.
The administration, Kennedy said, wants beef produced domestically rather than imported, balancing concerns about grocery prices with long-term supply needs. While acknowledging herd expansion takes time, Kennedy said producers play a critical role in aligning agriculture with public health goals.
Kennedy’s message came shortly before the Trump administration’s announcement that it would be increasing the tariff rate quota for beef imports from Argentina by 80,000 metric tons.
As the discussion concluded, Wehrbein noted that cattle producers have long understood the nutritional value of beef. Kennedy’s closing message echoed the theme that defined the session.
“Eat real food,” he said, “and get the production up.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
