[Editor's note: this piece was co-authored by Sarah Frey and Hannah Anderson]
For 75 years, America slowly engineered whole foods out of its diet. Under the Trump Administration, it started engineering it back in.
The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in January by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are now reaching into hospitals and corner stores alike, among other federal programs. Hospitals are being asked to serve sick patients real food. And convenience stores and other retailers that accept food stamps must double their whole food offerings by November.
And while healthy food for patients and more real foods for areas without large grocers will bring better nutrition to the vulnerable, the benefit extends beyond hospitals or urban and rural “food deserts.” The new Dietary Guidelines will benefit all Americans who have gradually been deprived of access to whole foods for decades.
Until the release of the new guidelines, for the better part of a century, the nation drifted away from a diet built on whole, locally grown foods. Each step was sold as progress: cheaper, faster, longer lasting. Over time, however, the consequences became increasingly clear in the form of rising chronic disease and a weakening connection between Americans and the farmers who grow their food.
Federal nutrition advice once pointed the other way. In 1894, the government published Farmers’ Bulletin No. 23, which evaluated foods based on nutrition, protein content, and cost. During World War II, the USDA’s “The Basic Seven” helped Americans get essential vitamins, minerals, and protein during a period of scarcity. For decades, what the government recommended was simply what American farmers grew.
That changed in the late 1950s as consumer and business demand grew for food that was inexpensive, convenient, and which wouldn’t perish when shipped globally. Manufacturers delivered food that was exactly that. High-fructose corn syrup became one of the most recognizable symbols of this shift; derived from corn and inexpensive to produce, it found its way into everything from soft drinks to bread and offered manufacturers a shelf-stable alternative to fresh ingredients. Between 1970 and 1990, consumption increased by more than 1,000 percent, while obesity rates rose alongside it.
The damage went well beyond waistlines.
As processed foods took over the American diet, specialty-crop growers producing nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other fresh foods faced declining demand. In the 1990s, lobbying by major food manufacturers contributed to federal nutrition recommendations that emphasized a carbohydrate-heavy, lower-protein approach more closely aligned with processed foods and refined sugars. Many small and family farms, particularly those without the acreage needed for large-scale grain production, found themselves at a disadvantage as the food system increasingly prioritized efficiency and shelf life over freshness and nutritional value.
Eventually, we had to confront the consequences.
The numbers are staggering. Today, six in 10 American adults live with at least one chronic disease. More than 40 million Americans have diabetes, while another 115 million have prediabetes, together representing roughly half of the adult population. At the same time, chronic and mental health conditions account for 90 percent of the nation’s healthcare spending. We did not eat our way to the world’s most expensive sick care by accident.
A reset in federal nutrition guidance has been long overdue. By putting whole foods back at the center of the plate and pushing heavily processed products to the margins, the new Guidelines restore something Americans lost: common sense and a connection to the land and the farmers that grow our food.
Guidance alone, however, cannot reverse decades of entrenched habits and structural challenges. The nation’s farm-to-table infrastructure also requires renewed attention. States should work alongside farmers and ranchers to increase access to American-grown whole foods in homes, schools, and communities. Rebuilding a healthier food system means strengthening supply chains that make fresh, nutrient-dense foods more available while supporting the local producers who grow them.
The new guidelines are about more than nutrition. They represent an opportunity to reconnect two things that were never meant to come apart: the health of Americans and the prosperity of the farmers who feed them.
The Trump administration has begun steering federal nutrition programs toward whole, American-grown foods. As demand shifts away from ultra-processed products, billions of dollars in purchasing power could flow back to local producers. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program retailers will be expected to carry more fresh and nutrient-dense options, while nutrition programs serving seniors, service members, and schoolchildren will place greater emphasis on those foods as well.
The result could be a virtuous cycle worth building: healthier food makes healthier families, and stronger demand for fresh foods makes stronger family farms. That is the promise of a renewed commitment to real food.
Frey is the founder and CEO of Frey Farms, a leading grower of fresh fruits and vegetables, and serves as senior advisor of Rural Policy at the America First Policy Institute. Anderson is the former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy at HHS and now serves as senior director for Healthy America at the America First Policy Institute.