Health Beyond the Blog: Jessica Knurick and “The U.S. Food Environment”

Jessica Knurick explains how U.S. policies have shaped what foods we consume.

by Jackson Bartelt

Jessica Knurick is a 6’ 3” former college basketball player, a registered dietitian (RD) with a PhD in nutrition science, and a social media star. She has 1.3 million followers on Instagram, and has become a prominent voice for promoting evidence-based nutrition advice, combating misinformation, and advocating for public health policy.

A video published to her Instagram last Jan. 7 showcases her critical analysis of the U.S. food environment and the economic forces that have made it what it has become. This video, titled “The US Food Environment,” is also available on other platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

In it, Knurick launches a scathing critique of the food industry, not shying away from addressing the elephant in the room. She says: “In America, we have a capitalist economy that’s driven by pro-corporation, de-regulatory policies … that have enabled corporations to prioritize profits and growth above all other values including public health.” Knurick blends evidence-based nutrition guidance with historically informed critique of U.S. policy dating back to the ‘80s. She masterfully explains the entanglement of capitalism, food policy, and public health, even offering specific proposed solutions in her comment section.

Throughout the video, Knurick embraces her oversized red coffee mug, which matches her shiny red nails. This is intentional. In addition to being a prolific public health expert, Knurick is a wife and a mother of two young children. While she doesn’t exploit her children in any way — instead blurring their faces out of respect and for privacy — she uses her identity and appearance as leverage to gain rapport with the concerned mothers currently subscribed the MAHA movement. While her message applies to every concerned citizen and uses evidence-backed rhetorical power capable of winning over any viewer, I absolutely adore that Knurick knows her audience and the pressing need to combat misinformation in her space.

Lastly, what is most compelling about Knurick’s video is her insistence on concrete evidence and policy solutions. She brings in graphics, specific data points, and study numbers, and outlines public health strategies in her captions. In this way, Knurick both informs her audience of the crooked way our food industry works and gives them hope by providing tangible ways forward.

Knurick posts her work on multiple social media platforms.