This statement, while true to a point, ignores the fact that food costs are expected to rise nearly 3 percent this year and that foods rich in animal protein, prominently featured in the administration’s new modified food tower, are more expensive. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that beef and veal prices were up 12 percent in March from March 2025, while poultry prices were up 1.5 percent over the same period. Fresh vegetable prices, on the other hand, were 7.5 percent higher in March compared to a year ago.
Irvine says the biggest barrier to healthy eating is education, joking that she didn’t know about okra and avocados growing up in England. Although the proportion is correct, he and Kennedy fail to mention other important factors such as cost, access, and lack of time to prepare food. Packaged and highly processed foods are popular because they are more convenient, have a longer shelf life, and are a cheaper source of calories. And research continues to show that many adults still eat these foods even though they know they shouldn’t.
The second episode of Kennedy’s podcast is just 15 minutes long and features professional boxer Mike Tyson, who appeared in a Super Bowl ad aligned with MAHA’s “real food.” Kennedy introduced Tyson, who was convicted in 1992 of raping a teenager and served three years in prison, as one of his “heroes”.
After talking about raising pigeons in the first few minutes, Tyson says he grew up in an environment where highly processed food was “the ultimate thing” and that his boxing mentor, Cus D’Amato, pushed him to live a healthier lifestyle.
Kennedy talks about Tyson’s sister, who died in her mid-twenties from an obesity-related heart attack. “That’s all we ate processed food,” said Tyson, “because we didn’t have money to buy food.”
Tyson adopted a vegan diet for several years to improve his health, which he did not discuss with Kennedy. However, he describes what appears to be uncontrollable eating habits, which are very common in weight-sensitive sports. He says: “If I’m not in good shape, I won’t eat. “If I’m not the weight I want to be, then it’s not paying attention, I won’t eat.”
Kennedy asks what needs to be done to help people living in urban areas eat better—acknowledging, to his credit, the existence of food deserts. Tyson replies, “We need more mentors. You know, they need people to show them how to eat right and take care of themselves.”
He is not wrong. Knowledge of healthy eating and support from family and friends are key to motivating people to eat healthy. But the biggest problem with Kennedy’s podcast is that, so far, this is about how we get practical nutrition advice to the average American listener. There are no meal prep tips or suggestions for low-cost protein substitutes. Sadly, despite pretending to be the villains of the episode, Kennedy never gives a definition of what constitutes “processed” or “ultra-processed” food—while defining these terms is outrageously offensive, FitCrunch bars would certainly qualify—or what types of foods or ingredients to avoid.
There is no doubt that Americans are extremely unhealthy. Despite Kennedy’s assertions, doctors and government officials be I’ve been telling people to eat healthy—for decades, actually. And most Americans already know that they should eat healthy. It’s not clear how Kennedy’s podcast will help them do that—and maybe, given its host’s claim that he only eats meat and fermented foods, it’s best if he doesn’t try.
