RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hearing: Fact Checking his Claims

Watching the first day of RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing yesterday felt like watching a familiar script play out - one designed to mislead, not inform. Repeatedly, he dodged yes-or-no questions, contradicted himself, and lied about existing data. Instead of taking accountability, he reframed, evaded, and shifted goalposts, all while claiming to be unfairly attacked.

This isn’t new for RFK Jr., and it’s not just about him. The tactics he used, sowing doubt where there is none, pretending to champion “better science” while ignoring the existing body of evidence, and positioning himself as a lone truth-teller against a corrupt system, are the same tactics fueling the Make America Healthy Again movement.

While others have already documented his falsehoods about vaccines, I’m focusing on his misleading claims about food, nutrition, and chronic disease because just like his other positions, his rhetoric around food and chronic disease is built on conspiracy, distortion, and an intentional misrepresentation of science.

How RFK Jr. Twists the truth to push a false narrative

Throughout his confirmation hearing, RFK Jr. used a familiar set of tactics: evading direct answers, contradicting his own past statements, and misleading the public with claims that sound alarming but fall apart under scrutiny. His statements on food, nutrition, and chronic disease were no exception.

One of the most glaring examples came in his exchange with Senator Roger Marshall, where he compared U.S. obesity rates to Japan’s and declared:

“Something is poisoning the American people. And we know that the primary culprit is our changing food supply. The switch to highly chemical processed foods. We have 10,000 ingredients in our foods. The Europeans have only 400.”

This claim checks every box in the pseudoscience playbook—a misleading comparison, a vague but alarming accusation, and an oversimplified cause with a conspiratorial undertone.

Fact Check: What’s actually driving chronic disease

Yes, ultra-processed foods are a problem. But not because of “10,000 ingredients” poisoning us. The U.S. food system, which is about 70% ultraprocessed food by some estimates, is the logical outcome of decades of pro-corporate policies that have prioritized profit over public health.

• The U.S. subsidizes corn, wheat, and soy—the backbone of cheap, ultra-processed foods, while fresh produce remains expensive.

• 10-15% of U.S. households experience food insecurity, forcing millions to rely on whatever is most affordable, not necessarily healthiest.

• Americans overwhelmingly aren’t meeting basic dietary and activity guidelines:

  • 95% don’t get enough fiber.

  • 90% don’t eat enough vegetables.

  • More than half consume excess added sugars daily.

  • 80% don’t meet physical activity recommendations.

  • The average American walks 3,000-4,000 steps per day—a fraction of the movement seen in other countries.

None of these issues are mysteries, nor do they require “more research” to understand. The causes of chronic disease are well-established, but RFK Jr. ignores this evidence because addressing the real causes, poverty, food policy, corporate power, and healthcare access, would require policies his allies have spent decades opposing.

Fact Check: The “10,000 vs. 400” ingredient myth

RFK Jr. cherry-picked numbers to push a false narrative about food safety.

• That “10,000” number comes from a 2011 paper that counted the total number of substances allowed in human food, including:

  • Common ingredients like some oils

  • Substances used in packaging and adhesives

  • Pesticide residues from farming

• The EU’s "400" number refers only to a specific subset of additives that require an E-number approval process

Comparing the entire number of substances allowed in the U.S. to the EU’s narrow list of categorized additives is wildly misleading. It’s like comparing an entire restaurant menu to just the dessert section and declaring one has way more options.

Fact Check: Food dye misinformation

RFK Jr. also claimed:

“If you buy Froot Loops, they are loaded with food dyes. The same company makes the same product with different ingredients. We don’t have good science at all about these things, and that’s a deliberate choice.”

This isn’t just misleading—it’s outright false.

✔ Every food dye in Froot Loops—Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1—is also deemed safe and approved for use by regulatory agencies all around the world, including Health Canada and the European Food Safety Authority
✔ Differences in formulations are generally about consumer preferences, not safety.

For example, in 2015, General Mills removed artificial dyes from Trix and other cereals due to consumer demand—but sales plummeted. By 2017, they brought them back after customers complained the new version looked “dull” and “off.”

This isn’t about corporations sneaking banned ingredients into American food. It’s about marketing, consumer demand, and regional taste preferences.

His Entire Premise is Flawed

RFK Jr. ended his opening statement yesterday with this:

“We will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. We will remove the financial conflicts of interest in our agencies. We will create an honest, unbiased, science-driven HHS… We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to health.”

This sounds good until you realize he’s pushing solutions to a problem he has deliberately misrepresented.

We already know what’s driving chronic disease:

• Food and economic insecurity: millions can’t access nutritious food because of poverty and food deserts.

• The ultra-processed food environment: About 70% of the U.S. food supply consists of ultra-processed foods, as a result of pro-corporation, deregulatory policies. The affordability and accessibility of these foods drive poor dietary patterns.

• Lack of healthcare access: preventive care and chronic disease management remain out of reach for many Americans.

• Environmental and social determinants of health: income, education, and policy decisions shape public health outcomes far more than individual food choices.

But instead of addressing these well-documented issues, RFK Jr. pushes conspiratorial distractions.

Final Thoughts

RFK Jr. had the opportunity to outline real, evidence-based policies that could improve public health. Instead, he relied on misdirection, false comparisons, and conspiratorial language that erodes trust in science while offering no real solutions.

His entire approach mirrors the Make America Healthy Again movement:

• Ignore decades of research on chronic disease and food policy.

• Pretend we don’t already have solutions, so we don’t implement them.

• Keep the focus on distractions instead of systemic change.

If you want to improve the health of Americans, you have to start by acknowledging reality. RFK Jr. is refusing to do that. And that’s exactly why he’s the wrong person for this role.