Trump did the impossible: he normalized RFK Jr.  Mostly.  In so doing, he gave us permission to question the government’s recommendations for community health.  Specifically, he’s given us permission, like RFK Jr., to question the high-handed medical oligarchy that uses absolutism to “guide us and help us.”

For decades, the government been wrong about so many things regarding the food we eat.  Our nation has been following the government’s flawed models for health and getting fatter and sicker, despite spending more than anywhere else on Earth.

Many of us have long rolled our eyes and shaken our heads when people resisted buying their groceries at supermarkets.  Those like RFK Jr. who were concerned about foods treated with pesticides and the effects of genetic engineering of crops were “Chicken Little,” also warning us of the consequences of the weedkillers, overuse of fertilizers, the perils of microplastics and heavy metals in our bodies.  They saw these as a looming catastrophe.  We couldn’t see it, so we didn’t believe it. 

That was because we had trust.  Big Agriculture had been given the mandate to alleviate food insecurity.  They accomplished that task remarkably.  Big Food replaced those evil fats that made food so delicious and substituted sugar and addictive chemical additives to make processed foods palatable.  These were their directives.  Boom.  Task achieved.

As examples, most of us took the government’s “food pyramid” recommendations as gospel for decades.  We also took the demonization of animal fats by the American Heart Association “to heart.”  Our whole lives, we’ve witnessed people avoiding fat in their foods, almost a religion for many women.  Now that these axiomatic recommendations have been proven wrong, they won’t officially admit their errors.  Instead of implementing better recommendations and beginning the process of eating healthier, they’re still wedded to supporting the old disinformation.

How often have you heard friends say they were fortunate enough to have gone to Europe and came back healthier?  It seemed they could eat and drink whatever they wanted and still lose weight.  They felt better, seemed to have less of a problem walking, slept, and had less heartburn. 

Meanwhile, in the U.S., half of children qualify as obese.  Many are pre-diabetic or diabetic.  Two thirds of adults are, too.  Although the changes we’ve made in society have indeed made us live longer with less frailty, the trade-off appears to be a host of chronic diseases.  One in five women suffers from autoimmune disease.  Sperm counts in men have diminished 50%.  Autism has increased in children.

RFK Jr. brought in only a small percentage of voters, but without him, a Republican victory may not have happened.  He must have given Trump something to think about when he talked about American citizens and their health.  If serendipity led the union of such disparate politicians, so be it.  If we quit using NIH and CDC funds for things like weaponizing viruses in China and turn it toward school lunch programs and “teaching kitchens” for the obese, it would be a better investment in our country.

Image via Pixabay.