Not long ago, U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. defended Trump’s nomination of Casey Means as surgeon general. In his nomination remarks, Trump wrote that Means would “work closely” with Kennedy “to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans.”
Trained as a head and neck surgeon, Casey Means abandoned her career in surgery to become a prominent “wellness” influencer. Like RFK Jr., Means promotes preventive and alternative medicine that might result in fewer surgeries and other invasive treatments. She practices “functional medicine” and is not board certified in a medical specialty. No wonder her nomination has been attacked by professional groups associated with surgeons and other members of the medical establishment.
Means has promoted what some see as “controversial” ideas, such as removing ultra-processed foods in school lunches and replacing them with unprocessed foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. This might seem like common sense, but it threatens a food industry that is focused on processed meat, dairy, and other foods and that employs powerful lobbies to maintain sales.
There is also her view that glucose “as a molecule has caused more destruction of the human mind and body than any other substance in human history.” Like RFK Jr., Means supports food warnings and possibly outright bans on high-sugar foods.
During the Sep. 27, 2024, Roundtable Discussion of Children’s Health: A Second Opinion, Means joined Sen. Ron Johnson, RFK Jr., and a dozen experts in a discussion of preventive options for children’s health. At the roundtable, Dr. Means stated that “if the current trends continue … at best, we’re going to face profound societal instability and decreased American competitiveness, and at worst, we’re going to be looking at a genocidal level health collapse.”
A full four-hour video of the roundtable is available online and is well worth watching for what it says about America’s health care crisis and about the views of RFK Jr. and Casey Means. Several panelists referred to the “corruption” and economic self-interest of food and health care systems that, in their opinion, are making Americans chronically ill. As Means stated, every segment of the current “health care” system “makes more money when we are sick.” It is not a matter of degree, one panelist stated, but of “black and white … good and evil.” According RFK Jr., if a foreign country did these things to us — the poisoning of our food supply and corruption of our health care system — “it would be considered an act of war.”
A crucial point is that President Trump himself stands behind, and in fact set in motion via his appointment of RFK Jr., Means and others in this effort to transform America’s health. More than anyone, it is Trump who is spearheading the effort to transform health care and diet, as well as to lower the cost of prescription drugs and other medical costs. One recalls that in his first term, Trump passed the “Right to Try” legislation that has opened ongoing clinical trials to those willing to pay for them.
Many persons associated with the medical establishment might label Means and RFK Jr. as radicals because of their intention to fundamentally transform American health. This transformation involves many elements, but at its heart, it is a change of approach among physicians away from treating symptoms to promoting wellness. Along with this, there would be major changes in diet and exercise.
Whether Kennedy and Means are radicals is, of course, a matter of opinion. But no one can deny that, despite spending more per capita than any other country in the world, the U.S. has one of the highest levels of chronic and acute disease. This is a problem that must be addressed either by government or by individual choice.
The rate of adult obesity in the U.S. stands at 40% and it is rising. Three fourths of U.S. adults have at least one serious marker of disease — high blood sugar, high blood pressure, obesity or overweight, heart disease, arthritis, and others. We are not a well nation. Just recently I sat outside a local grocery for 30 minutes (waiting on my wife) and observed that a majority of shoppers coming out, their carts piled with Mothers’ Day foods and presents, were either overweight or obese. This is not natural, and it is not the way most of us want it to be. But as many commentators have written, we live in an unhealthy environment that deliberately promotes unhealthy choices.
This is not to say that individual choice plays no role in our predicament. Pizza is the most popular food in America, and this choice is not forced on us. Hamburgers, often loaded with cheese and extra meat patties, are second — again, not because of a conspiracy on the part of the medical establishment, but because they are quick, filling, and tasty. To really change American health, it would be necessary to shift eating patterns from pizza and burgers. Only three percent of Americans consistently eat whole plant-based foods at present.
Many critics believe that these changes are too extreme and that the chances of bringing them about are slim. But health advocates have pointed out that as late as the 1980s, a majority of Americans still smoked on a regular basis, and now that figure stands at 14%. Change in health habits is possible if driven by public education and social and economic pressure. The price of a pack of cigarettes has risen from about 30 cents in 1960 to six dollars today, a result mostly of higher taxation and litigation designed to restrict consumption. A similar program of education and taxation could be applied to sugary foods and drinks.
“Transformation” is difficult to achieve, as I fear Kennedy and Means will find out. But incremental changes are possible, and I believe they should be implemented. As a conservative, I believe that healthy choices are a matter of individual choice, but it is a fact that government policy toward reducing smoking has saved an estimated 8 million lives, 3.5 million of them from lung cancer. Even minor changes to food and medical systems will, I believe, save an equal number of lives. It is right to ban artificial food dyes. It is right to educate the public about the harm of excessive sugar. It is right to promote consumption of more natural foods.
As with the appointment of RFK Jr., Trump’s nomination of Casey Means as U.S. surgeon general is a shot across the bow of America’s health care system and the food and drink industry. Trump campaigned on making America “healthy again.” There is a crisis, and every American is affected in some way — if not directly by disease, then by the burden of health care spending. Trump’s appointment of RFK Jr. and his nomination of Casey Means are steps in the right direction.
Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).
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