At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) directly confronted anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his rejection of germ theory – the undisputed scientific idea that specific pathogenic microbes cause specific diseases. After Kennedy defended his marginal approach, Senator Bill Cassidy fact-checked in real time and debunked Kennedy’s denialist arguments.
This exchange marks a rare instance in which Kennedy’s rejection of germ theory has been raised in such a high-profile public setting, in this case, a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Kennedy, who has no background in science, medicine or public health, is known as an ardent anti-vaccine activist and seller of conspiracy theories. But his shocking rejection of a cornerstone theory in biomedical science has been mostly under-reported.
As Ars Technica reported last year, Kennedy wrote explicitly about his germ theory denialism in his 2021 book. real anthony fauci. In it, Kennedy discredits germ theory as a tool of pharmaceutical companies, scientists, and doctors to promote the use of modern drugs. Instead of accepting the germ theory, Kennedy promotes a concept similar to the rejected terrain theory, in which diseases arise not from germs, but from imbalances in the body’s internal “terrain”. These imbalances are claimed to be caused by poor nutrition and exposure to environmental toxins and stressors. (In his book, Kennedy mistakenly labels this as the “miasma theory”, but it is a separate theory that suggests diseases arise from breathing bad air, vapor, or mist from rotting or contaminated matter. This idea was replaced by the germ theory, while the terrain theory was never widely accepted.)
Kennedy’s adoption of the landrace theory over the germ theory is the basis for the priorities of his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, which promotes healthy diets and lifestyles and the notion of clean living. As Secretary of Health, Kennedy has focused on redesigning federal dietary guidance, focusing on whole foods (and without regard to saturated fat content), while condemning artificial ingredients and additives. He has been regularly posting videos of himself working out on social media. And, with his previous career as an environmental lawyer, he has a long history of fighting against environmental pollution. Kennedy and his MHA movement have lobbied strongly against chemical pollutants and pesticides, especially glyphosate (although Kennedy has recently turned a corner on this issue, and now supports increased production of the herbicide, in line with Trump’s policies).
<a href