If you’ve ever wondered why U.S. presidential elections are held in November, it’s because that was the most convenient time for farmers. Spring, summer and fall were busy seasons for Americans who farmed for a living, so November was the best time to travel to the polls before harsh winter weather disenfranchised people who got around with horses and wagons.
This Thanksgiving, we can all be grateful to our nation’s farming Framers for their foresight and vision. Somehow they knew that one day, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., would be appointed by a U.S. president to reform America’s eating habits and everyone would be grateful if he didn’t take office until after the holidays.
Kennedy is on a mission to Make America Healthy Again, and of course that’s a great idea, just not right now, when the nation’s grocery stores are halfway between displays of discounted Halloween candy and parking-lot sales of sugar-frosted sugar cookies, with sprinkles.
Don’t mess with the holidays. Family memories are often wrapped in the tastes, textures and aromas that emerge from the kitchen. Or the restaurant. Or the take-out counter at the grocery store.
Even the White House has its holiday traditions. Recipes from our presidents have occasionally been printed in newspapers.
In 1992, the L.A. Times published the recipe for President Reagan’s Favorite White House Eggnog, which calls for 1-1/2 cups of sugar, 1 tablespoon of vanilla, 6 eggs, 3 cups of half-and-half and a cup each of bourbon, brandy and rum.
Peace through strength.
Here are the directions if you’re planning to try that recipe: blend the sugar, eggs and vanilla, add the half-and-half and blend again, pour the mixture into a serving bowl, stir in the bourbon, brandy and rum, dust with freshly grated nutmeg, post the standard warning about consuming raw eggs and lock up everybody’s car keys until morning.
But really, it’s important to Make America Healthy Again. If Americans are suffering from chronic disease as a result of ultraprocessed foods, synthetic food dyes, cheap seed oils and high fructose corn syrup, by all means, let’s do as much as possible to improve the quality of the foods we eat. Just not in the middle of cupcake season.
If you’re wondering which foods are considered “ultraprocessed,” this was explained in an April 2023 article in the journal Nature titled, “Machine learning prediction of the degree of food processing.” Citing the NOVA classification system used in epidemiological studies, the authors said “ultra-processed products” are categorized as NOVA 4: “industrial formulations typically of five or more ingredients including substances not commonly used in culinary preparations, such as additives whose purpose is to imitate sensory qualities of fresh food.”
Ewwww.
I’m sorry to have to tell you that the NOVA 4 category includes hot dogs, hamburgers and carbonated drinks. Also cookies, pizzas and packaged bread. And most of the good breakfast cereals.
“Epidemiological studies have documented significant associations between greater consumption of NOVA 4 and disease onset,” the Nature article reports, specifically mentioning obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and depression.
Make America Healthy Again could mean eating home-cooked meals made from natural foods that don’t have an ingredient list. For example, the ingredients of apples are apples. That’s a perfect food to eat. In January.
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This time of year, it can be hard to find apples in the grocery store. Sweet potatoes have taken over all the good locations in the produce department, along with giant displays of brown sugar and marshmallows. Sweet potatoes never bake alone.
The pharmaceutical industry is standing by with an array of prescription weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, which could be a pot of gold for them if Medicare agrees to cover these drugs for weight management alone. Private insurance companies would likely follow.
But Kennedy has raised questions about the relationships between Big Food, Big Pharma and the U.S. government regulatory agencies. He says the agencies are “captured” by the industries they regulate, leading to a terrible cycle of selling Americans health-destroying foods and then approving costly prescription drugs to deal with the increase in chronic disease.
He’s probably right.
We’re all-in to Make America Healthy Again. Let’s start right after the Super Bowl.
Write Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on X @Susan_Shelley