Washington DC - President Donald Trump's nutrition advisor Ben Carson recently suggested school cafeterias be stocked with more healthy options, such as a good frank.
On Monday, Carson spoke at an event to promote the Health and Human Services' (HHS) new Harvest to Hallways Initiative – which seeks to connect school cafeterias with local farmers to serve fresh food.
He criticized the current state of school lunches for not serving certain things.
"I remember not too many months ago, [Agriculture] Secretary [Brooke] Rollins and I went to a school, and we were giving the children whole milk. They were just so amazed. They said, 'I didn't know milk could taste this good!'" Carson claimed.
Carson went on to pitch the idea of introducing kids "to food fresh from the ground" and develop "relationships with the farmers" so that they can be taught about the process.
He then listed some examples of foods, with one garnering a laugh from the crowd.
"They get an opportunity to eat a tomato fresh off the vine. It's a different food than you get in the store, quite frankly. Fresh sweet corn and hot dogs," Carson said, with a smirk.
"But what a difference it makes when they can taste these things," he added. "They won't have a craving for the unhealthy foods that are so prevalent in our society."
Make America Eat Hot Dogs Again?
Carson's remarks come as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made drastic changes to how the federal government views and reports on food to the public as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.
While it's unclear if Carson – a former neurosurgeon who is not at all known for his sense of humor – was intentionally joking, it's notable that prioritizing hot dogs would somewhat fall in line with Kennedy's move to flip the food pyramid back in January.
The new pyramid placed meat, dairy, and healthy fats on the same tier as vegetables and fruits, and fiber-rich whole grains like oats at the bottom tier.
Carson's comments also come as far fewer children receive free or reduced-price lunches because of cuts and changes to the SNAP program made by the Trump administration.