Kamala Harris once supported eating less red meat. Should cheeseburgers be on the ballot?
Trump has beef with Harris over 2019 comments about Americans' red meat consumption
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Trump has unleashed a bevy of attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris since she took the top spot on the Democratic ticket, targeting everything from her record on immigration to her stance on red meat.
"Kamala even wants to pass laws to outlaw red meat to stop climate change," Trump claimed at a July 24 campaign rally in Charlotte. Harris has never called for a ban on beef, but did previously say she would support "incentives" for Americans to eat less red meat.
Fox News Digital asked people in New York City, Houston, and Birmingham, Michigan, whether cheeseburgers belong on the ballot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In 2019, then-candidate Kamala Harris said she would support changing the food pyramid to incentivize Americans to reduce their red meat consumption and help the environment. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
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"Oh my gosh. Cheeseburgers should always be an option," Trevor in Houston said. "Don't take away our good cheeseburgers. We love cheeseburgers."
Lee from Houston said cheeseburgers are "a staple here in our country."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They're in good company — Harris said she loves cheeseburgers, too.
The beef seems to have originated during the 2020 presidential race.
During a September 2019 CNN town hall, a voter asked then-candidate Harris if she would support changing dietary guidelines to help combat climate change, since some studies accuse beef of having one of the highest carbon footprints of any food.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harris said she would support changing the food pyramid to reduce red meat consumption.
"The balance that we have to strike here, frankly, is about what government can and should do around creating incentives, and then banning certain behaviors," Harris said. "Just to be very honest with you, I love cheeseburgers from time to time, right? I just do."
She added that the government should do a better job of educating people "about the effect of our eating habits on our environment" and create incentives for people to "eat in a healthy way." She did not specify at the time what those incentives might look like.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Several Americans in New York, Michigan and Texas said they don't think the government should tell people what they can and can't eat. (iStock)
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"Red meat, or at least cows, really contribute to this climate crisis," Mari from Brooklyn, New York, told Fox News Digital. But he added that he supports "individual choice."
"It should be everybody's free choice," Rick from Birmingham said. He's a pescatarian — meaning fish is the only animal he eats — but said he can't imagine why dietary decisions would be "something that we would want to hang our hats on when there's so many other issues."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Luke from New York was raised vegetarian, but believes in "people's freedom to do whatever they want, to a degree."
"I would be more inclined to have more guidelines around the actual industry itself and how the animals are treated, rather than the amount of consumption on an individual level," he said.
Luke from New York said he's more concerned with how cattle are treated rather than individuals' food choices. (Nick Oxford/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ryan in Birmingham said the "definition of a healthy diet" is difficult to pin down.
"For the government to dive in and to tell everyone what is healthy and not healthy when it's a bigger issue … that yes, I do think should be addressed, but I think it also needs to be evolved a little more before we make big decisions," he said.
When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a representative for the Harris campaign wondered of Trump's remark about red meat, "Did Donald Trump offer evidence of that allegation?'"
Nikolas Lanum reported from New York City; Joshua Q. Nelson reported from Birmingham, Michigan; and Elizabeth Heckman reported from Houston, Texas.