RFK Jr. and Sean Hannity Visit Fast Food Restaurant That Has 'RFK'd' Its Fries: 'Customers Are Raving About It'
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Fox News host Sean Hannity visited a Steak ‘n Shake restaurant in Florida over the weekend to highlight the chain’s decision to switch from seed oil to beef tallow to cook its iconic shoestring fries.
“The customers are raving about it,” RFK Jr. said as the two sat down for a burger and fries. “Steak ‘n Shake has been great. We’re very grateful to them for ‘RFKing’ the french fries. They turned me into a verb.”
The secretary said the best fries have been in Europe because restaurants over there tend to cook with beef tallow.
The Mayo Clinic explained that beef tallow is the fatty tissue that surrounds animals’ organs. It has traditionally been used for cooking at high temperatures, such as making fries, among other things. While it is a saturated fat, Mayo said, if eaten in moderation, it can be a good choice.
“In tallow, some of the saturated fat is a specific type known as stearic acid. Stearic acid appears to not raise cholesterol in the same way as other saturated fats,” the healthcare provider noted. “Tallow also contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are considered healthier.”
Further, “beef tallow contains fat-soluble vitamins that are vital for various bodily functions, including immune support, bone health, cellular function and skin health.”
Hannity asked RFK Jr. to address why he is so concerned about seed oils — soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. — which most restaurants use to cook their fries, and food manufacturers include in many of their products.
“All the science indicates that ultra-processed foods are the principal culprit in this extraordinary explosion, the epidemic, we have of chronic disease,” the secretary said.
“When my uncle [John F. Kennedy] was president, 3 percent of Americans had chronic disease, today 60 percent do,” he continued, particularly pointing to the spike in diabetes and pre-diabetes in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 1 in 3 Americans suffer from pre-diabetes, i.e., higher blood sugar than normal.
“We are poisoning ourselves, and it’s coming from, you know, principally, these ultra-processed foods,” RFK Jr. said.
The Cleveland Clinic stated on its website that seed oils “can contribute to inflammation in your body.”
“Seed oils are made through a chemical process where they’re bleached, refined and heated in order to be usable,” registered dietitian Julia Zumpano explained. “That process strips the seeds of their nutrients.”
Inflammation in the body can lead to arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Zumpano noted, “When people say they’re cutting seed oils from their diet, what they really end up doing is cutting out many processed foods.”
“I think that’s why we often hear about seed oils as being so bad for your health. But the reality is that it’s less about the seed oils themselves and more about the fact that they’re so often found in ultra-processed foods,” she said.
Good alternatives to seed oils include extra-virgin olive oil and avocado oil.
“Both of these oils are clinically shown to have higher monounsaturated fats,” Zumpano said. “They’re not seed-based, and they don’t go through the same type of processing, so they’re very unrefined and even have a lot of nutritional benefits.”
RFK Jr. told Hannity that the Trump administration will seek to steer companies toward using better ingredients but will not force them to do so.
“We want to do everything that we can to incentivize these companies to be transparent, to switch over from ultra-processed food, and to be part of this movement to make America healthier,” he said.
Kennedy pointed out that Popeyes, Outback, Sweetgreen, and Buffalo Wild Wings have also made or are in the process of making the switch to beef tallow.
“I have a libertarian outlook,” the secretary said. “People should be able to make their own choices. If you want to eat a donut or seed oils, you should be able to. You should be able to exercise informed choice. You should know what that product is, what’s in your food, and what the health impacts are. That’s all we’re going to do.”
“We’re going to inform Americans about what’s been making them sick,” he emphasized.
RFK Jr. argued that one of the benefits of eating better may be mental relief, as well, from symptoms of anxiety and depression, citing studies from Stanford and Harvard universities.
“Food is medicine. By changing your diet, you can lose some of those diagnoses,” he said.
Kennedy concluded, “This generation of our kids is the first generation in 200 years that is going to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. We are, you know, we are letting down these kids, and there is a moral issue here. And we need to start grappling with it because it’s a moral issue.
“It’s a financial issue. Healthcare costs are going to sink us, and the only way that we’re going to solve it is by changing what we eat.”
So pass the beef tallow fries and the olive oil: Here’s to Making America Healthy Again!
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