Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Raw Milk

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, has signaled an openness to the alleged health benefits of raw milk and has criticized regulatory agencies for their stance on pasteurization. He has tweeted that the Food and Drug Administration's regulations on raw milk were part of an agency “war on public health.” Furthermore, he has reportedly asked an entrepreneur in the raw milk business to serve as an adviser to the FDA on policy and standards development. He has also appeared in videos consuming unpasteurized milk, sometimes alongside other proponents of the practice.

This support for raw milk is situated within a broader agenda focused on changing federal dietary guidelines to include more dairy and less skepticism toward saturated fats, despite warnings from the medical community regarding pathogens in unpasteurized dairy. His stance has been linked to efforts to reduce regulatory oversight, including the reported suspension of Milk Quality Testing at the FDA. These actions have been framed by critics as prioritizing unproven narratives over established food safety science, which views pasteurization as a critical public health advance that mitigates risks from bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli.