CHARLOTTE, MI – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., visited mid-Michigan Tuesday, June 16 to tout healthier food options, particularly promoting locally grown produce during an event with U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte.
Speaking at Country Mill Farms in Charlotte, Kennedy said the administration of President Donald Trump is working to push healthier nutrition options to tackle obesity rates throughout the country.
“If we’re going to reclaim America’s health, food is the key to everything,” Kennedy said.
In January, federal agencies, including Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services, unveiled new dietary guidelines that placed protein and dairy at the center of recommended diets.
Speaking to a crowd of close to 100 people, Kennedy took sharp aim at processed foods, asserting previous nutrition guidelines from federal health leaders were to blame for rising obesity rates and health issues related to obesity.
“Our diet is now killing us. If you’re obese, or overweight, it’s not your fault, it’s because the government has been lying to you for 50 years. Now, you have a government that’s telling you the truth,” Kennedy said.
“If it comes in a package, you probably shouldn’t be eating it,” Kennedy later added.
Toward the end of the panel discussion, a woman in the crowd yelled out, asking Kennedy if his agency had cut billions in federal health care spending. Kennedy denied the funding cuts while the woman was escorted out of the venue by event staff.
In April, Democrats grilled Kennedy during congressional hearings on proposed cuts to health care spending by the Trump administration. Last year, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” championed by Trump and Republicans in Congress also included steep cuts to federal spending on Medicaid.
The majority of the discussion, however, focused on promoting local produce and healthier diets.
Both Kennedy and Barrett said local farms were key to any effort to improve diets in the U.S. Ben LaCross, president of the Michigan Farm Bureau, said Michigan farms produce more than 300 different commodities.
“If we’re going to reclaim America’s health, food is the key to everything,” Barrett said.
Kennedy has been criticized by some health advocates for pushing vaccine conspiracies and previously embracing nontraditional health trends, like raw milk, which health experts say poses risks due to carrying foodborne pathogens like salmonella, E. coli and others.
More recently, Kennedy and federal health officials have worked to promote whole milk.
During the event, Kennedy also said he, Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet members have occasionally gone on diets consisting solely of meats and fermented foods, something he credited for personal weight loss.
“It’s probably the best shape the cabinet’s ever been,” Kennedy joked.
Tuesday’s panel was hosted by the America First Policy Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit group that advocates for free market policies.
Although not officially a campaign event, Barrett, a first-term Republican lawmaker, faces a reelection test in what’s expected to be a closely decided district, having won election to the seat by about four percentage points in 2024. On the Democratic side of the field, three main contenders are vying in the August statewide primary: former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink; Matt Maasdam, a former military aide to President Barack Obama; and William Lawrence, a progressive community organizer from Lansing.
Kennedy, a former Democrat turned Trump ally and now health secretary, has held events with Republican candidates in competitive U.S. House districts in recent weeks, POLITICO reported. Although the GOP controls both chambers of Congress and the White House currently, historical midterm trends generally favor the party out of power in Washington. Democrats also hope to capitalize on frustration with ongoing economic inflation and relatively low approval ratings for Trump.
Kennedy was also scheduled to hold an event in Clinton Township on June 17, where he’s expected to make an announcement on federal behavioral health policy.
You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In Michigan visit, RFK Jr. hammers processed foods
Reporting by Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
