Latest news with #MomsMeals
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Kennedy touts ultra-processed meals he once called ‘poison'
Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr promoted a company whose meals contain ultra-processed ingredients – which he has repeatedly railed against – on his 'Make America healthy again' tour. Kennedy appeared at an enormous food plant in Oklahoma for a company called Mom's Meals, which makes 1.5m 'medically tailored' meals each week and ships them all over the country. Companies including Mom's Meals have been criticized for hijacking the 'food is medicine' movement by providing 'salty, fat-laden' meals to the ill and elderly, paid for by health insurance companies. 'This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,' Kennedy said in a video posted to the his social media account. Kennedy visited Mom's Meals to celebrate Republican Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt's Food Is Medicine Act, which allows the state's Medicaid program to purchase such meals. Nutritionists told the Guardian that the company's menus contain ultra-processed ingredients and could be healthier. The Associated Press first reported nutritionists' concerns with Kennedy's promotion of the company. 'We can do better and there are lots of meal programs that do better, and they don't have any of those kinds of ingredients in there,' said Marion Nestle, emerita professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, told the Guardian. 'It's the texturizers and even the natural colors. It's got all this stuff in it that food companies put into foods to make up for the fact the ingredients aren't fresh.' Walter Willett, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health, gave the meals a 'C' grade in comments via email. Willet, who is generally skeptical of the utility of the ultra-processed label, said: 'These meals could be ultra-processed but be much healthier.' A disclaimer on the Mom's Meals website pushed back against the ultra-processed label: 'Mom's Meals does not currently produce any meals containing ingredients commonly found in ultra-processed foods,' the prominent banner read. 'This means no: synthetic food dyes, added MSG, high fructose corn syrup, non-nutritive sweeteners (e.g., sucralose), partially hydrogenated oils or added trans fats, synthetic preservatives banned in EU.' A spokesperson for the company who spoke to the AP echoed this argument. Ultra-processed foods generally include ingredients you wouldn't use in your home kitchen – such as stabilizers, gums and anti-sticking agents to name a couple in Mom's Meals' cheese tortellini meal. It also includes cooking processes you wouldn't use at home, such as molding and extrusion. There is a growing body of evidence that shows ultra-processed foods encourage people to eat more calories and are linked to obesity and diabetes. A recent study found these foods account for more than half of all the calories Americans eat. Food researchers are still studying exactly why ultra-processed foods prompt people to eat more. The phrase 'ultra-processed' has come into wide usage since Kennedy began painting it as the boogeyman of the US food system, criticizing the industrialized processes as 'poisoning the American people' in his confirmation hearing. His agency is also planning a 'bold, edgy' public relations campaign to warn Americans about the dangers of such foods. 'Why he would pick on these meals as being the solution to America's food problems – I have no idea,' said Nestle. 'But ones that are made with better ingredients and don't have all the junk in them would cost more, and they'd probably have to be shipped frozen.' Notably, the state act comes after Republicans and Donald Trump signed a mega bill to cut $1tn out of Medicaid and $186bn from government food supports, colloquially known as 'food stamps', over the next decade. Medicaid is a public health insurance program that covers 71 million low-income, disabled and elderly Americans. This is not the first time Kennedy has made a controversial choice of companies to promote. In March, he visited Steak 'n Shake, a burger and fries restaurant, where he praised the company's use of beef tallow in fryers and made inflammatory statements about vaccines.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Kennedy touts ultra-processed meals he once called ‘poison'
Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr promoted a company whose meals contain ultra-processed ingredients – which he has repeatedly railed against – on his Make America Healthy Again tour. Kennedy appeared at an enormous food plant in Oklahoma for a company called Mom's Meals, which makes 1.5m 'medically tailored' meals per week and ships them all over the country. Companies including Mom's Meals have been criticized for hijacking the 'food is medicine' movement by providing 'salty, fat-laden' meals to the ill and elderly, paid for by health insurance companies. 'This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,' Kennedy said in a video posted to the secretary's social media account. Kennedy visited Mom's Meals to celebrate Republican Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt's 'food is medicine' act, which allowed the state's Medicaid program to purchase such meals. Nutritionists told the Guardian that the company's menus contain ultra-processed ingredients and could be healthier. The Association Press first reported nutritionists' concerns with Kennedy's promotion of the company. 'We can do better and there are lots of meal programs that do better, and they don't have any of those kinds of ingredients in there,' said Marion Nestle, emerita professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, told the Guardian. 'It's the texturizers and even the natural colors. It's got all this stuff in it that food companies put into foods to make up for the fact the ingredients aren't fresh.' Walter Willett, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health, gave the meals a 'C' grade in comments via email. Willet, who is generally skeptical of the utility of the ultra-processed label, said: 'These meals could be ultra-processed but be much healthier.' A disclaimer on the Mom's Meals website pushed back against the ultra-processed label: 'Mom's Meals does not currently produce any meals containing ingredients commonly found in ultra-processed foods,' the prominent banner read. 'This means no: synthetic food dyes, added MSG, high fructose corn syrup, non-nutritive sweeteners (e.g., sucralose), partially hydrogenated oils or added trans fats, synthetic preservatives banned in EU.' A spokesperson for the company who spoke to the AP echoed this argument. Ultra-processed foods generally include ingredients you wouldn't use in your home kitchen – such as stabilizers, gums and anti-sticking agents to name a couple in Mom's Meals cheese tortellini meal. It also includes cooking processes you wouldn't use at home, such as molding and extrusion. There is a growing body of evidence that shows ultra-processed foods encourage people to eat more calories and are linked to obesity and diabetes. A recent study found these foods account for more than half of all the calories Americans eat. Food researchers are still studying exactly why ultra-processed foods prompt people to eat more. The phrase ultra-processed has come into wide usage since Kennedy began painting it as the boogeyman of the American food system, criticizing the industrialized processes as 'poisoning the American people' in his confirmation hearing. His agency is also planning a 'bold, edgy' public relations campaign to warn Americans about the dangers of such foods. 'Why he would pick on these meals as being the solution to America's food problems – I have no idea,' said Nestle. 'But ones that are made with better ingredients and don't have all the junk in them would cost more, and they'd probably have to be shipped frozen.' Notably, the state act comes after Republicans and Donald Trump signed a mega bill to cut $1tn out of Medicaid and $186bn from government food supports, colloquially known as 'food stamps' over the next decade. Medicaid is a public health insurance program that covers 71 million low-income, disabled and elderly Americans. This is not the first time Kennedy has made a controversial choice of companies to promote. In March, he visited Steak 'n Shake, a burger and fries restaurant, where he praised the company's use of beef tallow in fryers and made inflammatory statements about vaccines.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday praised a company that makes $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. He even thanked Mom's Meals for sending taxpayer-funded meals 'without additives" to the homes of sick or elderly Americans. The spreads include chicken bacon ranch pasta for dinner and French toast sticks with fruit or ham patties. 'This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,' Kennedy said in the video, posted to his official health secretary account, after he toured the company's Oklahoma facility last week. But an Associated Press review of Mom's Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, shows that the company's offerings are the type of heat-and-eat, ultraprocessed foods that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick. The meals contain chemical additives that would render them impossible to recreate at home in your kitchen, said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University and food policy expert, who reviewed the menu for The AP. Many menu items are high in sodium, and some are high in sugar or saturated fats, she said. 'It is perfectly possible to make meals like this with real foods and no ultra-processing additives but every one of the meals I looked at is loaded with such additives,' Nestle said. 'What's so sad is that they don't have to be this way. Other companies are able to produce much better products, but of course they cost more.' Mom's Meals do not have the artificial, petroleum dyes that Kennedy has pressured companies to remove from products, she noted. Mom's Meals said in an emailed response that its food products 'do not include ingredients that are commonly found in ultra-processed foods.' The company does not use synthetic food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, certain sweeteners or synthetic preservatives that are banned in Europe, said Teresa Roof, a company spokeswoman. The meals are a 'healthy alternative' to what many people would find in their grocery stores, said Andrew Nixon, U.S. Health and Human Services spokesman, in response to questions about Mom's Meals. Mom's Meals is one of several companies across the U.S. that deliver 'medically tailored' at-home meals. The meal programs are covered by Medicaid for some enrollees, including people who are sick with cancer or diabetes, as well as some older Americans who are enrolled in certain Medicare health insurance plans. Patients recently discharged from the hospital can also have the meals delivered, according to the company's website. It's unclear how much federal taxpayers spend on providing meals through Medicaid and Medicare every year. An investigation by STAT news last year found that some states were spending millions of dollars to provide medically tailored meals to Medicaid enrollees that were marketed as healthy and 'dietician approved." But many companies served up meals loaded with salt, fat or sugar — all staples of an unhealthy American's diet, the report concluded. Defining ultraprocessed foods can be tricky. Most U.S. foods are processed, whether it's by freezing, grinding, fermentation, pasteurization or other means. Foods created through industrial processes and with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives that you couldn't duplicate in a home kitchen are considered the most processed. Kennedy has said healthier U.S. diets are key to his vision to 'Make America Healthy Again.' His call for Americans to increase whole foods in their diets has helped Kennedy build his unique coalition of Trump loyalists and suburban moms who have branded themselves as 'MAHA." In a recent social media post where he criticized the vast amount of ultraprocessed foods in American diets, Kennedy urged Americans to make healthier choices. 'This country has lost the most basic of all freedoms — the freedom that comes from being healthy," Kennedy said. — Aleccia reported from Temecula, Calif.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday praised a company that makes $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. He even thanked Mom's Meals for sending taxpayer-funded meals 'without additives' to the homes of sick or elderly Americans. The spreads include chicken bacon ranch pasta for dinner and French toast sticks with fruit or ham patties. 'This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,' Kennedy said in the video, posted to his official health secretary account, after he toured the company's Oklahoma facility last week. But an Associated Press review of Mom's Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, shows that the company's foods are the type of heat-and-eat, ultraprocessed food that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick. The meals contain chemical additives that would render them impossible to recreate at home in your kitchen, said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University and food policy expert, who reviewed the menu for The AP. Many menu items are high in sodium, and some are high in sugar or saturated fats, she said. 'It is perfectly possible to make meals like this with real foods and no ultra-processing additives but every one of the meals I looked at is loaded with such additives,' Nestle said. 'What's so sad is that they don't have to be this way. Other companies are able to produce much better products, but of course they cost more.' Mom's Meals do not have the artificial, petroleum dyes that Kennedy has pressured companies to remove from products, she noted. Mom's Meals said in an emailed response that its food products 'do not include ingredients that are commonly found in ultra-processed foods.' The company does not use synthetic food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, certain sweeteners or synthetic preservatives that are banned in Europe, said Teresa Roof, a company spokeswoman. The meals are a 'healthy alternative' to what many people would find in their grocery stores, said Andrew Nixon, U.S. Health and Human Services spokesman, in response to questions about Mom's Meals. Mom's Meals is one of several companies across the U.S. that deliver 'medically tailored' at-home meals. The meal programs are covered by Medicaid for some enrollees, including people who are sick with cancer or diabetes, as well as some older Americans who are enrolled in certain Medicare health insurance plans. Patients recently discharged from the hospital can also have the meals delivered, according to the company's website. It's unclear how much federal taxpayers spend on providing meals through Medicaid and Medicare every year. An investigation by STAT news last year found that some states were spending millions of dollars to provide medically tailored meals to Medicaid enrollees that were marketed as healthy and 'dietician approved.' But many companies served up meals loaded with salt, fat or sugar — all staples of an unhealthy American's diet, the report concluded. Defining ultraprocessed foods can be tricky. Most U.S. foods are processed, whether it's by freezing, grinding, fermentation, pasteurization or other means. Foods created through industrial processes and with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives that you couldn't duplicate in a home kitchen are considered the most processed. Kennedy has said healthier U.S. diets are key to his vision to 'Make America Healthy Again.' His call for Americans to increase whole foods in their diets has helped Kennedy build his unique coalition of Trump loyalists and suburban moms who have branded themselves as 'MAHA.' In a recent social media post where he criticized the vast amount of ultraprocessed foods in American diets, Kennedy urged Americans to make healthier choices. 'This country has lost the most basic of all freedoms — the freedom that comes from being healthy,' Kennedy said. — Aleccia reported from Temecula, Calif.
