Our nation's top health officials are sounding the alarm on federal nutrition policy. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary both recently criticized the government's longstanding dietary advice — particularly the USDA "Food Pyramid," now called MyPlate — for failing to promote better health in America.

“We have let the industry tell us as a government what’s healthy and what’s not healthy,” Dr. Makary warned in a recent interview, calling for an overhaul of the pyramid.

They’re right to be concerned. Rates of diet-related diseases — including obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and iron-deficiency anemia — continue to rise. Anemia alone affects 10 million Americans, causing symptoms like chest pain, headaches, and fatigue. Left untreated, it can lead to serious heart problems, premature births, and stunted growth in infants and children.

Given the stakes, adequate nutrition should become the new cornerstone of national dietary policy. MyPlate, the visual representation of the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans, shapes everything from school lunch programs and hospital meals to broader federal health initiatives.

Yet the government's recommended dietary patterns continue to fall short. According to the 2025 guidelines' own expert report, a person following these recommendations to the letter will still not meet adequacy goals for iron, vitamin D, choline, and folate — nutrients crucial for brain development, bone health, and the prevention of birth defects, among other vital functions.

The responsibility now lies........

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