Journal of
eISSN: 2374-6947
Submit manuscript...
Commentary Volume 13 Issue 1
How Covid changed U.S. dietary health policy
Robert Paarlberg
Received: March 23, 2026 | Published: April 8, 2026
Citation: Paarlberg R. How Covid changed U.S. dietary health policy. J Diabetes Metab Disord Control. 2026;13(1):41-42. DOI: 10.15406/jdmdc.2026.13.00311
Abstract
Since January 2025, three surprising changes have been made in U.S. dietary health policy. Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, 1) the Food and Drug Administration began to emphasize the safety of industrial ingredients in foods, rather than the nutrients in food; 2) together with the Department of Agriculture, FDA ignored independent expert advice and promulgated new Dietary Guidelines for Americans that sharply increase recommended protein intake from meats, butter, and whole milk; and 3) USDA approved requests from 22 states to block the use of SNAP benefits to purchase ultra-processed foods like soda and candy. President Trump had championed none of these changes in his first term, and many nutrition scientists remained skeptical of their value. It was the social trauma of the 2020-21 COVID pandemic that led to these changes, by reducing citizen trust in scientists and inspiring the rise of a new Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) social movement led by non-scientists.
Keywords: nutrition, policy, ultra-processed foods, MAHA, COVID, DGA, FDA, USDA, SNAP
©2026 Paarlberg. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.