There are moments when American political life takes such an unexpected detour that one has to pause, rewind, and confirm it wasn’t the setup for a joke. The recent White House footage of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. knocking back raw milk in a celebratory gesture—alongside social media influencer and self-styled wellness icon Paul Saladino, a.k.a. Carnivore MD—definitely fits the bill.
From Farm to West Wing: A Toast Unlike Any Other
Footage reviewed by MassLive and The Cut captures Kennedy and Saladino clinking glasses with shot-sized servings of unpasteurized milk and glyphosate-free honey after the rollout of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report. Saladino, who enjoys an audience of over two million followers, didn’t miss the chance to showcase the event in a video, captioning it with his signature confidence in the power of diet—while also spotlighting the absence of glyphosate (a chemical whose reputation is, like the milk, unfiltered).
In that same segment, Saladino explains that their concoction was specifically free of glyphosate, a nod to Kennedy’s own vocal concerns linking the herbicide to a broad range of health problems. As reported in The Daily Beast’s coverage, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized glyphosate in 2015 as a probable carcinogen, in contrast with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has stated it’s “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans at exposure levels found in real-world use,” and the National Toxicology Program, which judged glyphosate “unlikely” to be toxic to people overall. If that leaves your head spinning, you’re not alone—regulatory ping-pong is something of a tradition in American chemical debates.
When Food Safety Meets Viral Wellness
But for all the glyphosate debate, the raw milk itself is what most public health experts would probably flag for attention (and perhaps mild consternation). According to advisories highlighted both in The Daily Beast and by MassLive citing CDC warnings, raw milk is estimated to be 150 times more likely to cause foodborne illness than its pasteurized counterpart. It can carry as many acronyms and cautionary tales as the Department of Agriculture itself—think E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Brucella. The CDC warns that potential health consequences range from an upset stomach to kidney failure.
And yet, Saladino, as profiled by The Cut and summarized in MassLive, is known for promoting a range of wellness philosophies that would make even the most seasoned nutritionist take a second look. Alongside his advocacy for animal-based diets, he has argued—again, with a certain zeal—for skipping shampoo, questioning the necessity of soap, and even doubting the benefits of conventional hygiene practices like wiping. One can almost imagine the White House plumbing shuddering at the implications.
The setting for this dairy toast, incidentally, was the rollout of the aforementioned MAHA Commission report, which, as MassLive notes, has itself been the subject of whispers regarding its authorship and the presence of apparent errors (some have even speculated it may have been partially AI-generated). The Daily Beast details that the report referenced scientific studies which, after a quick fact check, don’t appear to exist—raising the possibility that the most carefully reviewed portion of the afternoon was, ironically, the provenance of the milk.
Performative Health, Political Theater, or Something Else?
Cameras flashed and Saladino’s own meat-based snack brand products glowed in the background as Kennedy lifted his glass. According to The Daily Beast, Saladino’s commentary—“Thank you for your work. It’s an honor to spend time with you”—was met with Kennedy’s nonchalant “You too.” It all makes you wonder if, in a few years’ time, historians will cite this as a new chapter in government wellness rituals. Perhaps “pasteurized” will take on a new meaning in policy circles: rendered safe, but just a bit too predictable.
The whole spectacle elicits a kind of bemused curiosity: Was this a symbolic rejection of mainstream nutritional science, a nod to the growing subculture of alternative health, or simply the modern political urge to outdo the previous administration in headline-grabbing oddities?
As the CDC’s guidance and food safety facts continue to float in the background, it feels almost surreal to watch top policymakers and influencers celebrating a report of questionable rigor with a practice public health agencies have spent decades warning about. Then again, what’s government without a little spectacle—and the occasional gastrointestinal gamble?
Is this controversy a temporary blip in the ever-quirkier world of American wellness, or will raw milk join the roster of polarizing White House traditions? It’s too soon to say. At least we can be sure historians (and a few enterprising dairy lobbyists) are watching closely, glasses in hand—though perhaps filled with something just a bit more conventional.
