Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently thinks the best use of his time is to co-host a celebrity cooking show.Kennedy told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview that he’s launching a new cooking series called The Real Food Show Thursday in order to spread the Trump administration’s new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which go all in on meat and dairy.The show will include celebrity chefs and highlight Kennedy’s favorite fermented foods, including kimchi, yogurt, and sauerkraut. The first episode, available on the Department of Health and Human Services website, features chef Andrew Gruel making “Crispy Salmon Cakes with Apple, White Bean & Green Salad.”The show comes after Kennedy inverted the food pyramid to prioritize full-fat dairy and protein at every meal, as well as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. He’s pushed beef tallow and butter over seed oils, which he demonizes despite the fact that they are associated with lowering the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease.Meanwhile, the government is dealing with several food-related crises, from a parasite outbreak on produce that causes explosive diarrhea to a salmonella scare affecting eggs in Texas. The New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, has infested cattle in Texas and spread to other states, causing an estimated $1 billion in damages. Many of the issues with tainted food can be traced back to last year’s decision to slash a federal-state partnership responsible for overseeing food contaminants.Why is Kennedy directing his attention to making cooking videos instead of managing these real problems? One reason could be that Kennedy has reportedly “checked out” of his job and barely attends meetings, showing up to work at 10 a.m. only to leave around 4 p.m. He seems to care only about overhauling dietary guidelines and pushing an anti-vaccine agenda. The latter has led to a 35-year record high for measles cases in the U.S.Kennedy should not have his job, but the only heat he’s getting from President Trump is that he’s not going after childhood vaccines hard enough. As long as he remains a Cabinet secretary, Kennedy will be spending his time doing influencer-type stuff instead of safeguarding the health of Americans.
The Kurdish project to build a new kind of democracy amid the Syrian civil war is ending. A journalist who has followed the revolution for years asks: What did it all mean?
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Former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers went on strike for over three years and won. Then, the owners sold the paper and most strikers lost their jobs. Now, they’ve launched “a cooperative news organization, owned and democratically run by its workers and members.”