Eve, here. As you are probably aware, I believe that Make American Healthy Again is a scam. This is supported by the fact that RFK Jr. owns the copyright to the label and collects license fees for its use. MAHA claims to be more natural and healthy, but at the same time claims to be interested in eating meat, when the global costs of going up the food chain are high and should be stopped. Additionally, research consistently shows that vegetarian and plant-based diets are healthier than meat-based diets.
Brian Bienkowski is editor-in-chief of The New Lede and previously served as senior editor of Environmental Health News for nearly a decade, overseeing the newsroom and two local bureaus, and was the founder, producer and host of the EJ podcast Agents of Change. First appeared in The New Lede
Last month, meat lovers gathered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for Meatstock 2026 to bond over brisket, bacon, butter, and the carnivore lifestyle.
While the event was filled with kitschy apparel, a variety of raw milk, and (of course) big, juicy steaks, the meat evangelists included major political powerhouses, from Callie Means, a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to “food babe” Bani Hari, who has frequently visited with White House officials to advocate for eliminating artificial colors and pesticides from the food supply.
While the MAHA movement is broad and diverse, with several advocacy causes ranging from reducing ultra-processed foods and pesticide use to vaccine skepticism, one thing remains fairly consistent. That means Americans need to eat “real food,” including meat. This belief is more than just a social media trend; it is now incorporated into federal nutrition and health policy planning.
“It culminated in this connection between Bobby Kennedy and President Trump, and it created this unique social moment that was at the top of the national conversation, no matter where you were in the political world,” Means said during a May 2 panel discussion at Meatstock.
Means and others in the MAHA movement frequently advocate moving away from “industrial farms” and embracing regenerative agriculture, a concept that prioritizes soil health and practices such as planting cover crops, reduced tillage, and pasture-raised animals.
But Meatstock 2026 attendees, the federal MAHA committee report, and meat-loving influencers are facing a harsh reality. Current and future meat demand depends almost entirely on large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which currently raise nearly all livestock in the United States.
And while the movement has long railed against harmful pesticides such as glyphosate and paraquat, which are sprayed on crops and can lead to cancer and other health problems, there is growing evidence that CAFOs, which produce large amounts of fertilizer, are linked to some of the same health problems, including increased cancer rates.
Contamination damage has largely escaped MAHA’s criticism.
“I reject the idea that there are only two options: factory farming or eliminating animal protein,” Hari told the New Rede newspaper. “No single model can solve all challenges, but innovation must focus on improving outcomes rather than simply maximizing quantity.”
However, some experts say that an overall emphasis on dietary guidelines and fortification of meat will only trap CAFOs and their many harmful effects.
“Without an industrial model, we would not be able to maintain the amount of animal products that Americans currently consume, let alone sustain much more,” said Brent Kim, a scientific assistant at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
supply and demand
Almost all chicken and turkey meat, 75% of beef meat, and more than 98% of pork meat come from CAFOs, according to a USDA data analysis.
And researchers have discovered that switching to pasture-fed or regenerative methods will not be able to meet the current demand for meat (let alone the growing demand).
An estimated 75% of U.S. beef comes from CAFOs. (Credit: Brian Bienkowski/The New Lede)
For example, a study of U.S. beef production found that “all the pasture currently used by U.S. beef could sustainably supply 45% of current production.” Previous studies were more pessimistic, estimating that current pastures could cover just 27% of the U.S. beef supply. And another study in 2020 found that producing recycled beef requires up to 2.5 times more land than conventional production.
Scientists have found that pasture-based poultry farming also requires an increase in land use that is unsustainable.
The Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment released last year contained no disturbing data about meat production, except to note that four companies control 80% of the market. But the new U.S. dietary guidelines released in January featured meat prominently, emphasizing protein from animal foods. Kennedy Jr. said the guidelines would “revolutionize” the country’s food culture.
The dietary guidelines and broader MAHA recommendations regarding high meat consumption have raised alarm among some doctors and health experts, who argue that meat, especially processed and red meat, is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
“This is where we as killjoy scientists come out here and say, ‘Wait a minute, tobacco causes cancer. That’s true of meat too…and it also causes heart disease and a lot of other problems,'” said Dr. Neil Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Marion Nestle, a nutrition expert and professor at New York University, said the dietary guidelines’ protein push is “very much about red meat.” “There are other types of protein, but the guidelines ignore the quality of protein from other sources.”
Means and other proponents of MAHA meat point to health benefits such as protein, omega-3s and healthy fats. Several of Meatstock’s speakers talked about how a diet focused on meat and real foods can enhance health.
“I cut out all processed foods and started eating meat and vegetables and some fruit…and it transformed my health in about a month,” podcaster Mikhaila Peterson said on Meatstock’s MAHA panel.
Peterson said her arthritis and chronic fatigue have gone into remission through dietary changes. Some studies suggest that a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet may help reduce arthritis and related inflammation.
In addition to meat cred, the MAHA Coalition blames ultra-processed foods and pesticides for contributing to the spread of chronic disease.
“Exposure to ultra-processed foods and chemicals remains one of our biggest and most pressing concerns because it affects nearly all Americans every day and is strongly associated with trends in chronic disease,” Hari said.
Many in the MAHA movement promote non-industrial agriculture for meat. USDA last year began investing $700 million in regenerative agriculture pilot programs, which Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called “another effort driven by President Trump’s mission to make America healthy again.”
“In the United States, people like meat. They want it to be cheap,” said Dan Blaustein Reit, director of food and agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute. “If we actually move to a different system, we’re going to limit our supply. We won’t be able to meet the current demand.”
“There is absolutely a place for animals in a sustainable food system,” Kim said.
“However, the insatiable appetite for these types of animal products in the United States far exceeds our ability to sustain them with these more nature-based approaches,” he says.
HHS did not respond to a request for comment on how CAFOs fit into MAHA’s agenda.
“Lack of political courage”
CAFOs produce large amounts of fertilizer that can pollute local waterways with nitrates. Exposure to nitrates can cause dangerous hypoxia in an infant’s blood, causing a condition known as “blue baby syndrome,” and has also been linked to several cancers, including bladder, ovarian, and colorectal cancer.
And the nitrate pollution produced by these CAFOs is increasingly being linked to a wide range of health problems. In Iowa, which leads the nation in the number of CAFOs, a report released in March found that nitrates from excess animal waste, along with pesticides and other pollutants, are to blame for the state’s increased cancer rates. In late May, the Des Moines water utility asked residents to reduce their water use because nitrate levels in drinking water were extremely high and the city was struggling to treat the nitrates in the water.
In another large-scale CAFO study conducted in April, researchers at Yale University found that people living near concentrated animal feeding facilities (CAFOs) in California, Texas, and Iowa had higher rates of cancer.
More than 80 health and environmental organizations recently sent a letter to HHS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pleading with them to use emergency powers to protect Americans from a “public health emergency” caused by industrial agricultural practices that are dangerously contaminating drinking water. CAFOs are also major emitters of air pollution into nearby communities, including contributing to the formation of particulate matter associated with respiratory and heart problems.
Nestlé said that while the negative health effects of CAFOs have received less scrutiny, people’s perception of risk is behind the vilification of pesticides and food coloring.
“Everyone knows what animals are, so in their hearts they think they’re okay,” she said. “Very few people know what chemicals are, so in their minds they’re not okay.”
CAFO effects aside, meat consumption in the United States is at record levels. The Food Industry Association’s annual survey showed that the majority of Americans consider meat to be part of a healthy diet, and meat sales will hit a record high in 2025, reaching $112 billion.
Zen Honeycutt, founder and executive director of Mamas Across America, which has championed MAHA’s cause, told New Rede that the surge in meat eating is due in part to “concerns raised by Big Across,” such as pesticides in vegetables and ultra-processed foods.
Honeycutt, Meatstock’s opening speaker and advocate of organic regenerated meat, acknowledged that this increased demand for meat is “posing a problem for pasture and for the resources that are becoming available.”
“While I believe most people should consume meat, the ability to produce that meat is a challenge that needs to be addressed through humane and ethical decision-making,” she said.
“CAFOs are one of the major issues in the food supply that this administration and every administration has proactively ignored,” she added. “There has to be a better way.”
There has been MAHA advocacy regarding industrial meat. Honeycutt’s group said it is recommending that the Senate remove a provision from the current House-passed farm bill that prohibits state and local governments from implementing welfare measures for animals in farms, including CAFOs, or animals sold within the state that differ from other states’ rules.
Hari said that while MAHA is primarily focused on pesticides and ultra-processed foods, the movement is having a “cultural impact” on meat production.
“Steak ‘n Shake… used to use conventional meat, but now it’s 100% grass-fed, which is a positive change to factory-farmed meat,” she said. “The adoption of this policy by major fast food chains has had a ripple effect across the industry. One chain is a start, but it’s never enough.”
Hari and Honeycutt each emphasized that there are several issues they disagree with with the Trump administration, including its stance on the herbicide glyphosate.
MAHA is “a group of very independent-minded people,” Hari said. “While there are many different methodologies for approaching food and nutrition, one thing we all agree on is that Americans need to eat more real food.”
He added that he would like to see the MAHA movement increasingly focus on meat production and its environmental and health damage, but that “political courage is currently lacking.”
