Health and Human Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. blamed the major tobacco companies for manufacturing bad, ultra-processed addictive food that has fueled obesity, chronic disease and even “poisoned” Americans.
Kennedy, during a 77 WABC radio interview, said cigarette-makers Philip Morris International and RJ Reynolds diversified in the face of legal and public backlash against the tobacco companies over the dangers of smoking.
“They saw the regulatory headwinds and litigation headed their way … So, they decided to diversify. And how did they do that? They bought the food companies,” Kennedy said on the Cats Roundtable.
The tobacco companies between them acquired major food manufacturers such as Kraft, General Foods and Nabisco.
“By 1995, the two biggest food companies in the world were Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds. They moved all of these thousands of scientists who were for years making tobacco more addictive, and they moved them to figure out ways to make food addictive,” RFK Jr. claimed to host John Catsimatidis.
“They used chemicals and softeners to hijack our brains … The food tastes good. It smells good. But it has no nutrition, so it doesn’t fill you up, so you keep stuffing your pie hole all day. That’s what makes Americans obese.
“It’s not because Americans suddenly got lazy or indolent or hungry,” he added. “It’s because they were poisoned. Their minds were deliberately addicted to eat poison all day long. And we are going to end that now with this administration.”
The tobacco giants later unloaded their food companies and mostly exited the food industry, but not before inflicting damage, Kennedy claimed.
Far too many Americans are obese and suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes because of eating processed foods that are loaded with sugar and or salt, Kennedy said.
In support of RFK’s campaign to “Make America Healthy Again,” the Department of Agriculture earlier this month released a new set of dietary guidelines.
The recommendations prioritize proteins and healthy fats while reducing the role of grains.
The Post reached out to Altria, the parent company for Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds for comment.