How Americans Feel About RFK Jr.’s Views on Food

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President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has raised some eyebrows for his views on modern medicine, particularly with regard to vaccines. But when it comes to the food system, Americans’ perspective about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s outlook is a bit more nuanced. 

According to Morning Consult’’s latest survey, majorities of voters side with Kennedy’s view that things like food dyes, ultraprocessed foods and sugar are bad for your health. On the other hand, relatively few share Kennedy’s concerns about the negative effects of seed oils derived from canola, soybeans and sunflowers.

Republican voters are slightly more likely than Democrats to share Kennedy’s perspective on a number of the substances tested, especially seed oils, an American kitchen mainstay, and genetically modified organisms, which undergird modern big agriculture in the United States.

Notably, older voters are more sour than their younger peers on things such as raw milk, which is unpasteurized and regularly drunk by Kennedy, or beef tallow, which Kennedy promotes as a healthier alternative than seed oils.

As the U.S. food system gets put under the microscope ahead of Kennedy’s confirmation fight on Capitol Hill, the erstwhile presidential candidate is maintaining narrow voter backing for his bid to lead HHS.

Our latest survey shows 45% of voters approve of his nomination, including roughly 1 in 5 Democrats and 71% of Republicans, compared with 38% who disapprove of it. In recent weeks, Kennedy’s opposition has declined among Democrats (from 65% to 60%), as more on the left express uncertainty about it and at least one prominent voice, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), backed Kennedy’s views on food.

The bottom line

Kennedy, who spent the week on Capitol Hill attempting to woo senators, is tied for the highest level of public support for his Senate-confirmed post, matching the share of voters backing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s bid to become secretary of State. But he also is among the figures who generate the most opposition from voters.

Kennedy’s potential elevation to the nation’s top public health position is concerning big agricultural interests, from seed oil producers to agriscience firms that produce pesticides. And his nomination, while relatively divisive, remains more popular than not.

Unless that changes once Kennedy’s confirmation process ramps up, it amounts to a tall task for his industry opponents who will need to convince at least four Senate Republicans to tank his nomination.