Trump Cabinet member blames RFK Jr.'s movement for sky-high beef prices

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins blamed the Make America Healthy Again movement — at least in part — for soaring beef prices heading into Memorial Day weekend, telling Fox Business that Americans are eating more beef thanks to the MAHA-driven health craze.

"But this is also combined with Make America Healthy Again — people are eating more beef than ever before," Rollins said Wednesday on Fox Business. "This is an amazing testament to our incredible ranchers who produce the best beef in America."

Ground beef is now running roughly $6.70 to $6.90 a pound — about a dollar above historical norms — as cattle herds sit at a three-generation low.

The MAHA movement, spearheaded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has aggressively promoted red meat, organ meats and animal fats as cornerstone foods of a healthy diet, while vilifying ultra-processed foods, seed oils and plant-based meat alternatives. Kennedy has long championed grass-fed beef and raw milk as part of a broader back-to-basics approach to American nutrition.

Rollins didn't pin the crisis solely on surging MAHA-fueled demand. She also pointed to what she called years of the Biden administration waging "a war on cattle ranchers" — including pulling grazing allotments and, she claimed, using climate policy to discourage cattle production. A screwworm infestation originating in South America has forced port closures, further straining supply.

On the production side, Rollins said the Department of Justice is now scrutinizing the four dominant beef processors — two of which are Brazilian-owned — and vowed to reshore processing capacity alongside a long-term push to rebuild American cattle herds.

"We're at this perfect storm," she said.

Rollins offered no concrete short-term relief for consumers staring down $7-a-pound ground beef at the grocery store this weekend. However, she framed the long-term outlook as promising under Trump's agricultural agenda.

The MAHA movement's embrace of red meat puts it squarely at odds with mainstream dietary guidance and environmentalists who argue that beef consumption is a major driver of carbon emissions.