Marty Makary, M.D.: Full Speech- Senate Roundtable, Washington D.C. 9/23/24

In a powerful and eye-opening speech, Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and public policy researcher from Johns Hopkins University, addresses the profound systemic failures in healthcare and the root causes of chronic disease, with a focus on the rise of gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders. Speaking before Senator Ron Johnson and Mr. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dr. Makary draws attention to how the healthcare system has become entangled in billing, coding, and medicating, while neglecting the root causes of the chronic disease epidemic that has worsened over the past 20 years.

Dr. Makary highlights the alarming increase in pancreatic cancer, which has doubled in the last two decades, yet no concerted effort has been made to understand why. He criticizes the healthcare system for failing to address the real drivers of chronic illness, such as poor nutrition, environmental toxins, and an industrialized food supply that has been poisoned with pesticides and engineered chemicals. These substances not only harm the gut lining and microbiome but also drive the low-grade inflammation that underlies many modern diseases.

Using the example of the Pima Indians, Dr. Makary illustrates how the introduction of processed and junk food by the U.S. government led to a staggering rise in obesity and diabetes rates, from less than 1% to 90%. Rather than addressing the clear dietary and environmental factors, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focused on genetic research, missing the bigger picture.

Dr. Makary emphasizes the need to shift from merely treating symptoms to addressing the root causes of diseases. He calls for greater attention to food as medicine, better funding for research on environmental exposures and nutrition, and a reevaluation of how healthcare policy focuses on treating disease rather than preventing it. He critiques the healthcare system for overmedicating the population, stating, "The best way to lower drug costs is to stop taking drugs we don’t need."

Throughout the speech, Dr. Makary calls on leaders to take bold action, reconsider school lunch programs, and stop placing children on lifelong medications without addressing the underlying issues of poor nutrition and environmental toxins. He challenges the status quo, urging the audience to rethink the way chronic disease is approached in modern healthcare, and warns that continuing down the current path will only worsen the health crisis in the United States.

Dr. Makary’s speech is a clarion call for reform in how we understand, research, and treat chronic diseases, emphasizing prevention and addressing the toxic food environment that is driving so much illness today.

About Dr. Marty Makary:
Dr. Marty Makary is a surgeon and public policy expert at Johns Hopkins University. He is a New York Times best-selling author of Unaccountable and The Price We Pay. Dr. Makary has been a prominent critic of broad vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions in schools, advocating for a more nuanced approach to public health policy.