NEW YORK -Robert F. Kennedy Jr.hastransformed the way Americans talk and thinkaboutfood policy and nutritionsince joiningPresident Donald Trump's Cabinet.And that's a good thing in a country where129 million peopleface at least one major chronic illness and heightened risk of premature death, much of it from bad eating habits, said a senior policy adviser in the Obama White House and a private chef for the former first family.
"Democrats dropped the ball on this," Sam Kass told USA TODAY in an exclusive sit-down interview where he acknowledged that for all the work the Obamas did on the issue during their two-term administration, Kennedy has nonetheless "very effectively" made the connection for the general public with his MAHA movement.
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Robert Kennedy Jr. (R) speaks to the students at Pace University in New York Sept. 18, 2003, after endorsing Democratic Presidential hopeful John Kerry at a press conference. Kennedy endorsed Kerry citing his lifelong commitment and leadership to improve the environment." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
See Senators grill HHS Secretary RFK Jr. over vaccine rulings, CDC turmoil
"These are issues that everybody's grappling with," added Kass, a 45-year-old New Yorker. "These are issues that relate to how we raise our kids. They are actually, by definition, kitchen table issues."
Kass would know. He was the former executive director of former first ladyMichelle Obama's signature health and nutrition initiative "Let's Move"when her husband was in the White House more than a decade ago.
Michelle Obama unveiled her initiative in 2010 with the aim of eliminating childhood obesity within a generation by promoting healthier school meals, better food labeling and increased physical activity. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,signed into law by her husband, changed nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program by requiring schools to serve more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and limit sugary drinks.
At the time, conservative pushback surged - and fast.
"Your America is turning into a nanny state thanks to the Obama administration's efforts to rein in the junk food industry," Fox News hostSean Hannity declared in 2010.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, suggested then-U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack "impose his'Nutrition Nanny' standardson the USDA buildings' cafeteria menus before the USDA seizes control of lunchroom menus in 100,000 school districts."
Still, the 2010 law and subsequent USDA rules in 2013 phased out sodas, high-calorie sports drinks, and sugary snacks, replacing them with water, low-fat milk, and 100% fruit or vegetable juice.
"I think first lady Michelle Obama showed the nation and should have shown the Democratic Party how much energy and support there was for these issues," said Kass. "The fact that the party did not take these issues up and have a robust policy platform on them was a huge miss."
RFK Jr.'s 'real leadership'?
USA TODAY's wide-ranging interview with Kass included topics such as the failure of Democrats to own the issue of health and nutrition; theMAHA movement;his criticism of Kennedy and the Trump administration's newly unveilednutritional guidelines.
Kass, now a partner at Acre Venture Partners, a New York City based food-focused venture capital fund, says Kennedy's focus on food policy has filled a void.
"People in the food world who care about these issues and felt like they hadn't had a voice leading on this in a long time," he said. "And I'm empathetic to that. I share that frustration and I know the thirst that people have for real leadership."
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Even his own friends in the food industry are not just supportive of the MAGA movement but also "quietly supportive" of the Trump administration because of the way it has brought the conversation around food and health to the forefront.
Del Bigtree, CEO of the MAHA Alliance Super PAC and of MAHA Action, a nonprofit which tracks legislation throughout the country, told USA TODAY last year that the reason politicians are paying attention, is they see MAHA Moms as a "powerful voting block."
"Moms are the most vocal voting block," he said.
That's a notion that even Trump talks about. During a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 29, the term-limited president said he'd read an article saying Kennedy could help Republicans duringthe 2026 midterms.
"So I have to be very careful that Bobby likes us," Trump said.
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A loyal Democrat, Kass said that he does fret that what's happening "behind the scenes" is that MAHA is providing legitimacy to an administration "trampling on the Constitution."
Make America Healthy Again starts TOMORROW. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/LLzr5S9ugf
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr)November 17, 2024
"It's really laundering the administration," Kass said."And it is the issue that asuburban mom or somebodywho's not paying that much attention but really is worried about what they feed their kids would be like, 'I love what these guys are doing.'"
"MAHA allows people to be fine with something and sort of turn a blind eye to these other things," he added.
MAHA Republicans
Unlike their reaction to Michelle Obama's efforts, Republicans now seem fully on board with Kennedy's priorities. Just look at theMAHA-aligned legislationproliferating around the country.
Within months of RFK Jr. becoming the top health official in the country,West Virginia took soda out of food stamp programsand outlawed chemical dyes,Utah removed fluoridefrom water and Arizona banned ultra-processed food in public school cafeterias.
By the end of the year, 18 states approved SNAP waivers that will prevent benefits from being used on certain processed foods and drinks — pretty much all of them are red states, crediting RFK Jr.
"It is kind of wild for me to watch the support from Republicans on this issue, given the staunch pushback that we saw at every turn," Kass said. "From cable news to the Hill to everywhere we went, there was just fierce resistance."
So is this progress?
Kass says he remains skeptical that support from Republicans on the issue will continue once the Trump administration is no longer in office.
Still, the "mere acknowledgement that our food is driving a lot of it (health problems) and that something should be done is a great opportunity,"he says.
To watch food dyes being banned by a Republican administration has been a surreal experience for several food activists, such as Vani Hari, who has advocated for transparency in food labeling and the removal ofharmful chemicalsfromprocessed foods.
Hari protested against the Obama administration's Agriculture Department policies on GMO labeling during the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, where she had been serving as an elected delegate when President Barack Obama was running for reelection.
It took 10 years after that for USDA to require mandatory disclosure of bioengineered foods in the U.S.
Within months of RFK Jr. taking office, nearly 40% of the consumer packaged goods industry made public commitments to removing dyesto start removing artificial food dyes.
"At first I thought I was living in the Twilight zone, the advocacy for these issues has completely flipped on its head," said Hari, who left the Democratic party last year and registered herself as unaffiliated. "We still have a lot of work to do with regulating pesticides, but as far as culture change — we are light years ahead of where I ever thought we could go."
But it's not just the activists. MAHA policiesaround food regulationand limitinganimal testinghave found broad bipartisan support from the American public, according topolls.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'built a real movement'
In April 2023, Kennedylaunched a long-shot Democratic primary challengeagainst then-PresidentJoe Biden. Six months later, he was running for the White House as an independent before ultimately abandoning his campaign toendorse Trump, the Republican nominee.
"I think to RFK's credit, he saw that opportunity and he built a real movement," said Kass of MAHA.
Kass also marveled at Kennedy's relationship with the president.
"He gets a lot of airtime and he gets the president showing up at stuff and that's impressive," he said. "So in that regard, you can point and say, things are happening."
However, many of the policies that are being put forward by the Republican Party or enacted in this administration fly directly in the face of what it means to have a healthier population, Kass said.
Kennedy's policies around vaccines and severe funding cuts to HHS have been roundly criticized by scientists and lawmakers of both parties. In March, the health secretary announced the consolidation of divisions and elimination of20,000 full-time employees in a major restructuring and slashed funding for research.
Kennedy also removed all17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention'sexpert vaccine panel and filled many of the positions with people who have been vaccine skeptics or questioned COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
"Even if they got done everything that I thought was important on my life's work, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the damage that's being done to our country," Kass said.
Last month HHS revised itschildhood immunization schedule, slashing the number of diseases children are vaccinated against from 17 to 11.
On this topic, Kass splits hard from Kennedy and described it as "one of the greatest threats to public health" the country's ever faced.
"He is fundamentally unfit for this position," Kass said of Kennedy, adding that it was evidenced by the process by which the secretary makes these decisions "stacking the advisory committees with people who share his ideology" as opposed to qualified experts and then making "decisions that affect the life and death choices that American citizens."
'We don't have a protein problem' in the U.S.: dietary guidelines
Last month, Secretary Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins released new dietary guidelines prioritizing protein, full-fat dairy and whole foods, while significantly reducing highly processed foods.
"My message is clear: Eat real food," Kennedy said during a White House briefing on Jan. 7.
Some described it as an inverted food pyramid of the early 90s, which encouraged the consumption of grains while limiting oils and fats.
Under the Obama administration, the pyramid was swapped in 2011 in favor of 'MyPlate', which prioritized vegetables, fruits and grain over protein.
In Kennedy's food pyramid,protein takes center stage.Meat, including red meat, and dairy are encouraged.
"Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines," Kennedy said. "We are ending the war on saturated fats."
Kass said he agrees with the idea of eating "real food". But the clamor for more protein and saturated fat? That's a different matter.
"We don't have a protein problem in the United States of America. We overconsume protein," said Kass. "It's just not even close."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. adults are eating more protein on average than is recommended.
While protein is an essential part of the diet, experts say people with high protein diets have a higher risk of kidney stones. A report from theHarvard Medical Schoolfound a diet high in protein that includes high amounts of red meat and saturated fat could also lead to an elevated risk of heart disease and colon cancer.
The reasons for the recommendations, Kass said, were not surprising given that most of the advisers on the new dietary guidelines panel had financial connections to the meat and dairy industries. At least seven of the nine scientific review authors maintained strong ties to the food industry, according to the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
The authorsdeclared they had received research funding or other compensationfrom groups such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the Texas Beef Council, General Mills, the National Dairy Council and the National Pork Board.
Looking beyond the Trump era, Kass said he can still see a silver lining coming out of Kennedy's renewed focus on food policy. The former Obama chef said he's "skeptical but hopeful" that bipartisanship will remain surrounding Americans and their healthy eating habits.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Did Democrats miss the MAHA boat? What the Obamas' former chef says