Ultra-processed foods are a “genocide” on the Native American population, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified Wednesday, as he vowed to get “high-quality food” onto reservations.
Kennedy said he’s devoted about a fifth of his career working on tribal issues and noted how he spared Indian Health Services — an HHS program that provides services to the Native American and Alaska native population — from the sweeping cuts he enacted across HHS.
“I’ll say one thing, the Pima Indians were a Blue Zone in Arizona, the longest-living people on the continent. Today, they’re among the shortest-lived. I think their lifespan is around 47 years old,” the Kennedy scion claimed during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee.
“Across the border in Mexico, the Pima Indians, who are still long-lived, have no diabetes, no heart disease, no obesity — because they’re not being fed ultra-processed food.
“Ultra-processed food is a genocide on the American Indian,” he said. “One of my big priorities will be getting good food, high-quality food, traditional foods onto the reservation, because American Indians, because processed food for American Indians is poison.”
Kennedy’s remarks came in response to questioning from Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees Native American issues.
“Yeah, I agree,” Simpson replied to Kennedy’s stunning “genocide” claim.
It is not entirely clear what data Kennedy was referencing. Pima Indian males have an average life expectancy of 53 years, while women live an average of 63, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The average American male’s life expectancy is 74.8 years, while women are 80.2 years, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kennedy also noted how the Indian Health Service is “chronically understaffed.”
“It is very, very difficult to find competent personnel who will move to Indian country or to a distant location,” he said.
Reservations have long been plagued by high rates of alcoholism, obesity and chronic diseases relative to the rest of the US.
Kennedy has been on a crusade to tackle the spate of chronic diseases that have ravaged the US and to crack down on processed food.
Last month, he championed an initiative to push the food industry to abandon eight artificial dyes.
Kennedy’s testimony before the House Appropriations Committee was given to defend HHS’ budget request.
