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Andrew Sun

Seed oils have suddenly become the new target for anti-science health zealots and conspiracy peddlers.
One such proponent is Robert F Kennedy Jnr, incoming US president Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of health and human services.
The politician specifically mentioned such products – cooking oils like canola, corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, and others made from the seed of plants – as something he would consider banning for their supposed harm.
By now, most people know Kennedy for frequently making false medical claims, such as linking vaccines to autism; he also once boasted he had a brain worm. He also does not like fluoride in water. By any measure, I don’t think he’s really someone to take seriously.

His beliefs also extend to thinking seed oils can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, obesity, and chronic tissue inflammation.
The argument is that when these undoubtedly ultra-processed oils are used, the Omega-6 fatty acids – previously considered a positive in lowering cardiovascular disease – that they contain in high concentrations are thought to turn rancid under high heat.
We all know that when good fats go bad, it sometimes leads to rather negative health effects. This is a concern because they are used by many restaurants and households to fry food.
However, researchers and the actual science community overwhelmingly agree that seed oils are safe to consume. They may not be particularly beneficial in the nutritional sense but are no more harmful than many other processed food products. But science be damned.
Interestingly, it appears MAGA (Make America Great Again) and now MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) people do not have an issue with the likes of Mountain Dew and McDonald’s.

It’s also ironic that the claims made by Kennedy used to make business-friendly Conservatives roll their eyes; they decried such petty concerns as whimpers from snowflakes. Now Republicans embrace him because he’s on Trump’s side.
The reason why the anti-seed-oil campaign is so tied to embittered right-wing reactionaries goes back to 2017, when a scientist named Dr Chris Knobbe suggested that such processed foods “are the primary and proximate cause of AMD (age-related macular degeneration)”.
Somehow the MAGA/MAHA world has deduced that seed oils should now be demonised as another cause of white males and traditional values losing their place to women, gays and liberals.
Typical of populist mobs, they focus on one single thing and blow it up into extremist paranoia, like turning a trickle of migrants into a raging torrent of criminal gang murderers flooding across the border.
So, in place of processed seed oils, the Trumpies propose we use tallow or animal fat. It’s why Kennedy wants to “make frying oil tallow again” and recently deep-fried a turkey in beef fat for Thanksgiving.

Never mind that all diets high in fried fats are bad for the heart. Some of these conspiracy theorists are just so testosterone-obsessed they convince themselves that animal fats will make their Christian Nationalist body healthier and more masculine.
As usual, I am sceptical of everything that has come out of Kennedy’s mouth.
Personally, I used to buy grapeseed oil to cook because I had heard it was a better alternative than peanut oil, with less cholesterol and the same high smoking point. I stopped because grapeseed oil suddenly became hard to find on supermarket shelves.
Now I just mix bran oil with leftover bacon or goose fat for maximum crispiness and extra flavour.
Also, I’m secure enough in my masculinity to often eat mesclun salads with a fruity vinaigrette.


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Food and Drinks

US politicians, right-wing conspiracy theorists and … seed oils? Fats vs fiction

Politician Robert F Kennedy Jnr, who is known for his outspoken views on vaccination and eating roadkill, is against the use of seed oils for cooking. Photo: TNS

Robert F Kennedy Jnr and Donald Trump shake hands during a campaign rally in Arizona in August 2024. Trump has proposed Kennedy Jnr for the post of secretary for health and human services. Photo: TNS

Despite scientific evidence saying seed oils are safe to use, Kennedy believes he knows better and thinks people should go back to using animal fats for cooking. Photo: Shutterstock

Kennedy recently deep-fried a turkey in beef fat for Thanksgiving. Photo: Shutterstock Images

4 successful strategies to get people to eat less meat and more plants amid climate crisis

Serving up tasty plant-based dishes such as pasta with broccolini, basil flowers and lemon zest will help propel diners to eat more plant-based meals. Photo: Instagram/@ciaindustryleadership
 


An Asian family having a meal together. Shifting diets away from meat-centric meals to plant-based ones could dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests. Photo: Shutterstock

The production, transport and consumption of animal-based foods are the dominant source of food-related emissions. Photo: Shutterstock

Giving plant-based meals premium visibility and marketing on shelves, tables and menus can make a big difference, experts say. Photo: Shutterstock

The best way to encourage greener eating is to have plant-forward food taste at least as good as meat-based options. Photo: Shutterstock

The amount of meat Britons eat fell by more than 15 per cent between 2008 and 2019. To save money and the environment, some are having plant-based alternatives such as falafel, made of chickpeas. Photo: Shutterstock

Friends enjoy a plant-based meal. A study of “meat-free Monday” participants found that one in five became vegetarian or vegan within five years. Photo: Shutterstock

Why the last butchers left in New York’s Meatpacking District are ready to pack up shop

John Jobbagy shows cuts of beef in his company’s meat locker in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, New York. Photo: AP

A butcher at work in New York’s Meatpacking District in 1937. Now better known for high-end boutiques and expensive restaurants, the district in Manhattan is sending its last butchers packing. Photo: New York City Municipal Archives via AP

Part of New York’s Meatpacking District in the 1930s with the High Line Railway (right) still under construction. Photo: Collections of the New York Public Library via AP

An elevated view of the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. Today only a handful of meatpackers remain. Photo: AP

People walk past a Hermès store in the Meatpacking District. The neighbourhood is known more for its high-end boutiques and expensive restaurants than the industry that gave it its name. Photo: AP

John Jobbagy shows the stamp he applies to each cut of beef. He and the other tenants of the Meatpacking District’s last meat market have accepted a deal from the city to move out. Photo: AP

Jobbagy shows his stamp on a cut of beef. Photo: AP

Jobbagy in his company’s meat locker. Photo: AP

Jobbagy eats at Hector’s Cafe & Diner in the Meatpacking District. People only visited the neighbourhood if they had business, he said. Photo: AP

Jobbagy in his office. He expects to be the last meatpacker standing when the last meat market finally closes. Photo: AP

Knifes hang in the meat locker of J.T. Jobbagy Inc. Photo: AP

People walk on the High Line in the Meatpacking District. The popular greenway is flanked by hotels, galleries and luxury apartment buildings. Photo: AP

10-hour queues in Germany for viral ‘Dubai chocolate’ bars that can be resold for US$100

Pieces of Dubai chocolate with gold leaf at Abu Khaled Sweets in Berlin. Photo: AFP

Ali Fakhro behind the counter at his shop Abu Khaled Sweets in Berlin, Germany. Fakhro can’t keep up with demand for “Dubai chocolate”, viral pistachio-filled bars that can be resold online for over US$100. Photo: AFP

Pieces of “Dubai chocolate” with gold leaf at Abu Khaled Sweets in Berlin. The chocolate bar went viral on TikTok but is only available to customers in Dubai in limited quantities, prompting imitations elsewhere. Photo: AFP

Ali Fakhro experimented “several times” with different recipes before finally landing on the right ingredient to give the pistachio cream its famous crunch. Photo: AFP

Fakhro prepares “Dubai chocolate” at his shop in Berlin. Photo: AFP

Ali Fakhro applies gold leaf to a bar of “Dubai chocolate” at his Abu Khaled Sweets shop in Berlin. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Health & Wellness

Health

Opinion

World Opinion

US politician Robert F Kennedy Jnr believes seed oils are bad and animal fats are good. Andrew Sun makes some lard choices


US politician Robert F Kennedy Jnr believes seed oils are bad and animal fats are good. Andrew Sun makes some lard choices.


Healthy eating

United States

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Mouthing Off

Mouthing Off | US politicians, right-wing conspiracy theorists and … seed oils? Fats vs fiction

US politician Robert F Kennedy Jnr believes seed oils are bad and animal fats are good. Andrew Sun makes some lard choices