NASHVILLE, Tenn. (DTN) -- Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told cattle producers that he wants everyone to eat real food, and cattlemen should grow their herd to be able to provide more beef for consumers.

The reversal of the Food Guide Pyramid in January by the Trump administration put meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables at the top and grains at the bottom.

During the 2026 National Cattlemen's Beef Association's CattleCon in Nashville, Tennessee, Kennedy stressed the importance of helping Americans make better nutritional decisions for their health.

"Rewriting these guidelines took more than 11 months by a team of dieticians who studied research to justify these changes," he said.

Cattlemen were happy to hear the pyramid has protein at the top. Kylie Peterson, director of communications and marketing for the Iowa Beef Industry Council, said in an interview with DTN, "I think it's really exciting that 20-plus research projects that were funded by the Beef Checkoff were used to help build the dietary guidelines, which have flipped the Food Guide Pyramid and are putting a steak right at the top.

"Having Secretary Kennedy here to echo those points is great. He wants us to grow the cattle herd to be able to provide more real beef for our consumers," she added.

BEEF IS PART OF A HEALTHY DIET

Kim Brackett, an Idaho rancher and NCBA vice president, stated in an NCBA news release, "Beef provides high amounts of protein plus nine other essential nutrients like iron and B vitamins, and gold-standard clinical studies have consistently shown that it is easy to incorporate beef into a balanced, heart-healthy diet. We appreciate Secretary (of Agriculture, Brooke) Rollins and Secretary Kennedy underlining the role of beef as an important part of a healthy diet."

Kennedy went on to say the reasoning for changing the food pyramid is to stress the importance of eating real food and get away from eating highly engineered foods that have few or no nutrients.

NCBA has noted the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans focus on building a diet around whole foods, limiting highly processed foods and added sugars, and prioritizing protein at every meal like nutrient-dense beef. Red meat is specifically mentioned in the guidelines as a healthy source of protein in a varied, balanced diet.

SCIENCE-BACKED RECOMMENDATIONS

The pyramid also provides a streamlined approach to keep science-backed recommendations at the heart of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but makes them far more practical for the families, caregivers, school administrators, and medical professionals who are making decisions every day about what to feed children, seniors and Americans of all ages.

While Kennedy admitted President Donald Trump has promised the consumer he will help lower the price of food at the grocery store, he also said no one in the administration wants to import beef. "We need a lot of beef, and we want to do that in America and not export it from other countries," he said. "We are begging you to increase the size of the cow herd."

Also see "New Dietary Guidelines Issued" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.