For some, Robert Kennedy Jr.’s installation as US Health Secretary last month was cause for glee; for others, it’s been like walking into a corn maze. As Kennedy sat with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity and extolled the virtues of beef tallow, a wide-eyed WFPB community dropped its collective jaw.

WFPB exponents are perfectly clear about the road to good health, but the breakthrough, the idea that they simply need to get rid of the processed food and advise people to eat more plants, still isn’t there yet.

Some, because of his objection to ultra-processed foods, see RFK as the man who might at least take us partway down the road, but there’s still a huge distance to go. The real concern now centres around the current administration’s attitude to a four-letter word – woke.

For those who want to see a fundamental change in health, the problem is that eating plants, which appeals to large numbers of mainly coastal residents of the type that once bought Teslas, is so woke.

Americans love meat

On top of this, Americans just cannot lose their love affair with meat. From 2014 to 2024, annual per capita meat consumption increased by nearly 28 pounds (12.7kg), equivalent to roughly 100 chicken breasts.

I’m always reluctant to quote stats on anything happening around the US these days because so many seem to ignore them anyway, and so many others (well, one in particular) just make them up.

But what about this? According to the USDA, total poultry sector sales in 2022 were $76.9 billion, an increase of 67 percent over 2021. Broiler sales increased 60 percent, turkey sales increased 21 percent, and egg sales increased 122 percent.

Hmm, perhaps we should ignore that last bit about egg sales because it probably represents a massive increase in vegetarianism, and those guys are close relatives of us former Tesla owners anyway – don’t worry, I’m kidding. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not the vegetarians I’m concerned about. Hopefully, their numbers did increase, but the fact is a dozen eggs were nearly $4 cheaper back then.

Not to steal any thunder from The Man Himself, of course, but the crazy thing is, at least according to the American Bureau of Statistics, the past decade has seen three major spikes, all triggered by outbreaks of avian influenza that have been more deadly than in the past. 

The virus, which spreads rapidly through commercial flocks, has forced producers to cull tens of millions of egg-laying hens, creating sudden supply shocks that drive up prices.

Are vegetarians to blame?

So, is it true that the price of eggs rose dramatically because of inflation, an extraordinary rise in vegetarian numbers or because of our love affair with animal products? I’m going for the third option. Obviously, price has an impact, but what about the potential impact on human health?

Unfortunately, despite ongoing warnings about zoonotic diseases, many of us still struggle with the idea of reducing our reliance on animal products by putting more plants on our plates.

It was a problem ethicist Peter Singer lamented on in an article published a couple of years ago. He wrote the book Animal Liberation, published in 1975, where he argued that our treatment of animals was ethically unjustifiable.

“If it’s wrong to cause unnecessary suffering, then it’s wrong regardless of the sufferer’s species,” he argued. On that basis, he urged readers to stop eating meat. His pleas surely affected some people, but what about those scoffing Slim Jim’s meat sticks today? Currently, they rank as the fastest-growing snack category across the US.

Fast-food chains, including McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr., have ditched their alternative-meat options.

It’s the global elite

Atlantic writer Yasmin Tayag points out that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year issued a preemptive ban on the sale of lab-grown meat in his state, describing it as part of “the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish, or bugs.”

Wow, Catherine and I were accused of being part of this cabal by an NZ vegan zealot, and it all had to do with lab-grown meat. There’s always someone out there with a more profound truth … that ‘reality’ no one else has caught up with yet. The accusation came following our publication of this article almost two years ago.

Trump’s re-election has bolstered the cause, Tayag says. The rise of meat-eating is part of the larger wave of right-wing influence on American culture. “Woke”—DEI, caring about the climate, eating plant-based—is out. Tradition, at least one specific version of it, is in. Last week, The New Yorker announced the “Revenge of the American Steakhouse,” which, to some, signals a “restoration of the proper order.” 

And, for those disturbed by the recent Netflix series Adolescence, there’s even more to be concerned about if you think, because of RFK’s lofty rise, that we’re now tracking towards healthier days ahead. The manosphere has its oar in there, too.

Best known for promoting different ways for men to become manlier, manosphere adherents are believed to have supported Trump in significant numbers. Meat’s ascendance “coincides with the rise of the masculine influencers,” says Timothy Caulfield, a professor at the University of Alberta who studies male health trends.

Carnivore claptrap

Tucker Carlson’s documentary, The End of Men, calls on men to eat organ meat and raw eggs to boost their testosterone levels. Last year, Elon Musk appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and suggested that the climate impacts of industrial meat are overblown: “You can totally eat as much meat as you want,” he said. No wonder plant-based sandal flappers like us have stopped buying his cars!

Both Musk and Rogan have promoted the all-meat “carnivore diet.” Other influencers encourage more extreme behaviours, such as eating raw beef testicles for a testosterone boost, Tayag notes.

Even though the much-acclaimed, newly reviewed US Dietary Guidelines have received a big thumbs up from many plant-based advocates, dark clouds still hang over the cornfields. The guidelines aren’t due for formal adoption until later this year.

Meanwhile, let’s all keep our corncobs crossed, and boys, click here to find out what plant-based eating does for your testicles.