The government's new meat-heavy diet looks unaffordable for many Americans

US secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants Americans to eat a lot more meat. Bloomberg/Getty Images 2026-04-08T07:07:01.232Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. The new "Real Food" pyramid could be too expensive for many Americans, according to a recent survey. Half of the respondents said affordability concerns make it hard to follow the protein-intensive guidance. Switching to the new food pyramid would raise grocery bills by 32% per person. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. Why is the "Real Food" pyramid costly? How do households manage increased grocery costs? How do consumers prioritize health and budget? What defines the "Real Food" pyramid? What are alternatives to red meat for protein? New data suggests the dietary recommendations championed by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be out of the budgets of many American households. Loading audio narration... A recent survey from consumer analytics firm Numerator found that US shoppers are still learning about the new "Real Food" pyramid released by the federal government in January. Less than half of the respondents surveyed that month said they were aware of the changed guidance.The survey, which had more than 2,000 respondents, also found that half of the shoppers cited affordability concerns as the leading reason they were not able to shop in line with the new recommendations. In particular, Numerator found that changing consumption to the new recommendations would hike grocery bills by 32%, or an estimated $1,012, per person a year.Almost all of that cost difference was attributed in the study to the new emphasis on protein, particularly meat products. HHS The new guidelines also recommend plant-based protein sources, but Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement has a well-documented preference for red meat.Some medical doctors beg to differ with Kennedy's high-cholesterol diet.

The American Heart Association last week released a paper recommending a shift toward plant-based proteins rather than red meat or processed meat, and the American Medical Association has long said that meat and dairy products are "optional."Numerator's analysis also found that the increased grocery expense would, naturally, hit larger households harder than smaller ones. In addition, the prices in the study were based on November 2025 rates, and beef has only gotten more expensive since then. Setting aside the government's position, Numerator's data does show that Americans are taking dietary health more seriously, increasing their shopping trips to the "perimeter" sections of the store that include fresh produce and dairy at a higher rate than trips to the center aisles with more heavily processed packaged foods."Consumers are not replacing one set of behaviors with another," Numerator wrote. "They are layering health intentions on top of existing habits." Still, Numerator said that consumers are less likely to change their patterns because of any government guidance, but from an ongoing effort to balance their health priorities with their household budgets.