Gary Taubes's commentary on the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines

Gary Taubes is actively engaged with the MAHA-era 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released on January 7, 2026 by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. He is treating the guidelines as a live policy question rather than a settled matter.

On February 2, 2026, Taubes joined Dr. David Ludwig and Dr. Bret Scher on Metabolic Mind to break down the new guidelines. The discussion covered the shifting stance on animal protein, the move away from refined carbohydrates, why “ultra-processed food” was left out of the guidelines, and what the panel described as a nod to low-carb diets for chronic disease.

Taubes has also engaged with MAHA directly: in a July 2025 Reason interview he said that, on the tallow-versus-seed-oils question, “on this subject, I side with RFK Jr.” — aligning himself with the movement’s push toward traditional animal fats.

Timeline

• July 24, 2025 — Reason publishes an interview with Taubes on MAHA, ultra-processed foods, and what he calls bad science; he says that on the tallow question, he sides with RFK Jr.
• January 7, 2026 — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins release the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines.
• February 2, 2026 — Taubes joins Dr. David Ludwig and Dr. Bret Scher on Metabolic Mind to analyze the new guidelines (animal protein, refined carbohydrates, the omitted UPF term, and the nod to low-carb diets).