RFK Jr’s food pyramid ad interrupted by his quack ringtone

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled his new dietary guidelines during a White House press briefing Wednesday. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist who doesn’t believe in the germ theory, is often called a charlatan — a slang term for a huckster simply pretending to be a medical professional. And it seems that Kennedy has either embraced the idea that he’s a charlatan or that he’s just a big fan of ducks. The Health Secretary’s bell interrupted his announcement with quacks.

Taking to the podium to answer a question about the new childhood vaccination schedule, Kennedy began speaking before his phone started chattering, as you can see in the video clip below.

“I mean, I hope we release them… sooner… just two days early,” Kennedy said, stumbling over his words. “I’m sorry,” Kennedy continued, grabbing his phone as the can-can began.

“Duck is also high in protein,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joked in the White House press briefing room.

The entire room continued to laugh as Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid, sought to help Kennedy by picking up his phone and silencing the noise.

The new nutritional guidelines are a radical departure from previous food pyramids. Kennedy noted that this might seem backwards from what people know. That’s because it prioritizes foods like whole milk, butter, red meat, and whole fruits and vegetables. He also warns against highly processed foods.

New guidelines appear on government website realfood.govand while some of the changes will be celebrated, others will raise eyebrows among nutritionists. Americans have long been advised to avoid eating too much red meat and saturated fats. The new recommendations turn all that on its head, placing greater emphasis on animal-based proteins rather than plant-based proteins.

Like the New York Times Note, the new guidelines say Americans should consume between 1.2 and 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. The old recommendation was 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.

The new guidelines recommend Americans eat three servings of high-fat dairy products per day, a departure from health experts’ long-standing advice that low-fat dairy products are better.

Another strange change in nutritional guidelines concerns alcohol. The new recommendation says only that Americans should consume “less alcohol for better overall health.” Previously, it was recommended that men drink no more than two glasses of alcohol per day and women drink no more than one per day.

Nutrition experts who help shape the government’s food pyramid failed to take a strong stance on ultra-processed foods last year, according to the Washington Postbecause there is no clear definition of what it means. And while some experts said that’s too conservative, others warn that overcorrecting in the other direction, as Kennedy did with the new guidelines, means certain foods like bread and yogurt are demonized, as the Post notes.

Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement may welcome some changes, but will likely be disappointed by what doesn’t exist. THE MAHA report on Substack wrote on Tuesday that they expected the new guidelines to include a note explicitly recognizing seed oils as an ultra-processed food. This did not happen.