Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s stance on food is clear: reform is needed, especially when it comes to what is served in schools. If there were a symbol of the problems he sees in the food system, it would likely be Big Daddy’s Primo Pizza, a fixture in school cafeterias across the country. The pizza, marketed as an “exceptional slice” made with whole-wheat flour, is mass-produced in a factory with industrial additives, designed to be quickly reheated. This makes it an ultra-processed food—exactly the type of item Kennedy is determined to eliminate from school lunches.
However, Kennedy faces an obstacle in his quest: the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees school nutrition, is outside the purview of the Department of Health and Human Services, where Kennedy serves. Despite his role, Kennedy does not have the authority to directly influence school lunch regulations or dictate what foods should be included.
Kennedy often speaks with confidence about his ability to address America’s food-related issues, yet his proposals are limited by the complex and often confusing regulatory structure. Food oversight in the U.S. is split between the FDA and USDA, sometimes in ways that seem illogical. Take, for example, the issue of food safety. When it comes to a pepperoni pizza, regardless of whether it is sold in schools or grocery stores, its safety is monitored by the USDA. Inspectors visit production facilities where pepperoni is placed on frozen pizzas multiple times a day and are also present at slaughterhouses where pigs are butchered. However, a frozen cheese pizza, which lacks meat, falls under the FDA’s jurisdiction, which inspects food facilities much less frequently—typically once every five years. Interestingly, open-faced sandwiches containing meat are regulated by the USDA, but add another piece of bread, and the FDA takes over.
This confusing division of responsibilities highlights the inefficiencies in food regulation, underscoring Kennedy’s point that a more unified approach—possibly through the creation of a dedicated Department of Food—could streamline efforts to address America’s food system problems.
Related topics
