Vice President Kamala Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden on Sunday to run for the presumptive Democratic nominee for 2024, said she supports changing the government’s dietary guidelines to reduce consumption of “red meat.”
In a televised town hall meeting before dropping out of the 2020 election, Harris echoed a voter who asked her to cut back on her red meat intake “given the effects of climate change.”
A clip of the debate posted by RNC Research resurfaced online after Harris entered the race on Sunday.
Flashback:
Kamala said she wanted to “educate” Americans from “the highest levels of government” about their eating habits and “prohibit certain behaviors,” such as eating red meat. pic.twitter.com/zy6mk5wFPC
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 21, 2024
“In light of the effects of climate change, some countries have changed their dietary guidelines to reduce red meat consumption,” the voter said. Said 2019 Climate Crisis CNN Town Hall“If elected, would you support changes to the Dietary Guidelines? And how would you implement those changes to help people effectively change their diet?”
“Well, I mean, the point that you made, in the broader context, is that as a nation, what we eat, healthy eating, really has to be a priority at the highest levels of government, because we have a problem in America,” the senator responded at the time.
“And we can talk about all of that…we can talk about the amount of sugar in everything…we can talk about soda. We can go on and on,” Harris continued, “So the answer is yes. But I would also say…the balance we have to achieve here…is what can and should the government do in terms of creating incentives and disallowing certain behaviors.”
While she acknowledged that she enjoys a cheeseburger “every now and then,” she argued that governments should provide incentives to help people “eat healthily” by encouraging moderation and education.
“We have to do better and the government has to do better,” Harris said.
CNN’s Erin Burnett then pressed her to clarify her position on red meat, asking, “Do you support changing the Dietary Guidelines or the Food Pyramid… specifically to eat less red meat?”
“Yes, I would,” Harris replied.
