By Dr Ben Carson and Dr Oz Pen
America is in the middle of the worst chronic health crisis in our nation’s history, but the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for revitalisation—which is rooted in the real, nutritious food grown by our farmers and ranchers.
Every five years, the US Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) are required by law to jointly publish a report containing nutritional and dietary information and guidelines for the general public. This report, known as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, is meant to provide science-based advice on what to eat and drink to promote health, reduce risk of chronic disease, and meet nutrient needs.
However, since the very first report was published in 1980, our nation’s diet-related chronic disease rates have risen to pervasive levels.
The CDC reports that over 40 percent of the roughly 73 million children (birth–17) in the United States have at least one chronic health condition, and three-quarters are not eligible for military service due to their health.
These numbers are unacceptable. Poor health inhibits the ability of our citizens to live healthy and happy lives, especially when harmful habits are ingrained from childhood.
By amending the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, President Donald J. Trump is putting the well-being of Americans first—where it should have been all along. After decades of misguided nutritional advice, he is also delivering on his promise to reorient government based on common sense, science-backed policy.
To Make America Healthy Again, we must return to the basics of nutrition.
What we put into our bodies impacts what we can get out of them! What we eat impacts how we grow, function, and flourish. However, the American diet has shifted dramatically toward highly processed foods with artificial additives, which have displaced nutrient-dense whole foods grown by America’s farmers and ranchers. As a result, Americans are consuming fewer essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients needed for optimal biological functioning.
The Trump administration is acutely aware of this danger, and we are doing something about it. At this decisive moment in our national history, the new Dietary Guidelines encourage American households to prioritise diets built on whole, nutrient-dense foods. The healthiest foods look the same coming out of the ground as they do on your plate, and we are blessed to live in a country with bountiful farmland where this should be achievable for all Americans, including our most vulnerable.
Research consistently shows that key micronutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamin D—which are found in fruits and vegetables—are essential for children’s physiological well-being. Evidence also consistently links diets centered on wholesome foods to lower rates of chronic diseases.
That’s why we are finally putting real food back at the center of the American diet. Real food that nourishes the body, restores health, fuels energy, and builds strength. This pivot also supports the abundant healthy food being supplied by America’s incredible farmers and ranchers.
By making milk, raising cattle, and growing wholesome fruits, vegetables, and grains, they hold the key to solving our national health crisis.
Over the past year, the Trump administration has been actively working alongside rural America to restore small, local, and regional operations and strengthen agriculture across the country. The USDA Plan for American Ranchers and Consumers aims to strengthen U.S. cattle production by lowering the long-term costs ranchers face, and the new Regenerative Agriculture Pilot Program will invest $700 million to support stable soil composition and water retention. With the release of the revised Dietary Guidelines, we can build on efforts to connect farmers to lunchrooms by updating regulations governing school meals and child nutrition programs. These investments will pay large dividends by reducing our health care expenses while increasing our nation’s productivity, benefits that could create trillions of dollars in value annually.
Under president Trump’s leadership, we are restoring common sense, scientific integrity, and accountability to federal food and health policy. We are reclaiming the food pyramid and returning it to its true purpose: educating and nourishing the American people.
America’s future depends on what we grow, what we serve, and what we choose to eat. This is the foundation that will Make America Healthy Again.
ICYMI: Dr Ben Carson and Dr Oz Pen Joint Op-Ed in Newsweek
