{"id":622776,"date":"2026-06-21T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T22:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=622776"},"modified":"2026-06-21T22:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T22:40:00","slug":"meet-steak-n-shakes-first-maha-officer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=622776","title":{"rendered":"Meet Steak ‘n Shake’s First MAHA Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Steak ‘n Shake’s First MAHA Officer<\/span><\/p>\n

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Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times<\/a>,<\/em><\/p>\n

DALLAS\u2014Lunch at Steak \u2018n Shake is served for Michael Boes. The plate in front of him has a grass-fed burger and beef tallow fries. He washes it down with cane sugar Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n

\u201cFast food doesn\u2019t have to mean processed, complicated, or artificial. It used to mean real, simple, and delicious – and it can again,\u201d <\/strong>Boes said.<\/p>\n

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Michael Boes, Steak ‘n Shake’s chief Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) officer, in Irving, Texas, on June 15, 2026. Bobby Sanchez\/The Epoch Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Founded in Normal, Illinois, in 1934, Steak \u2018n Shake was most known for its steakburgers and hand-dipped milkshakes for decades. Almost a century later, the chain is building its brand around the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.<\/p>\n

The heart of Steak \u2018n Shake\u2019s transformation is a bold pledge: to eliminate industrial seed oils from its menu items and shift to cleaner ingredients.<\/p>\n

Leading the transformation is Boes, one of the forces behind the 2025\u20132030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In April, he was named the restaurant chain\u2019s first chief MAHA officer.<\/p>\n

A former senior adviser within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Boes holds a position described by the company as \u201ca new executive role dedicated to advancing nutritional integrity, ingredient transparency, and the long-term health of Steak \u2018n Shake customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sardar Biglari is the chairman and CEO of Biglari Holdings, the owner of Steak \u2018n Shake. When announcing the hiring of Boes, Biglari called the position \u201ca sign of our continued commitment to make Steak \u2018n Shake the great differentiator in fast food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael is ideally suited for such a role, with his deep understanding of nutrition and his experience at the highest level of health policymaking,\u201d Biglari said. \u201cTo put it simply, good-tasting food should also be good for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company announced in May that it would make the switch to \u201c100 percent grass-fed and grass-finished\u201d beef. In March last year, the company announced the switch from seed oils to beef tallow. In February 2026, it said it would remove all microwaves from franchise locations by April, writing in an online post that \u201cquality restaurants don\u2019t need microwaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steak \u2018n Shake prepares fries, tater tots, onion rings, and chicken tenders in 100 percent beef tallow with \u201cno additives, preservatives, or chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

On its website, the company explained that it has worked with its manufacturer of fries and tots to completely eliminate the vegetable oil formerly used to fry the product before freezing and shipping it to the restaurants. As a result, Steak \u2018n Shake\u2019s beef tallow fries and tots are not yet completely free of seed oils, according to the website.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransitioning away from seed oils is a journey, and we continue to work with our other suppliers to achieve our goal,\u201d the company said on its website.<\/p>\n

The chain uses 100 percent Grade A Wisconsin butter sourced from a family farm and it serves cane sugar Coke rather than drinks that have high fructose corn syrup. Last December, Steak \u2018n Shake switched to A2 Milk, which is \u201c100 percent real milk from cows that naturally produce only the A2 protein and no A1,\u201d which may help with digestion, according to A2 Milk\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Boes noted that Steak and Shake is still early in its transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took the bold step to say we\u2019re going to drive the demand side in order to impact the supply side,\u201d Boes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe website is a prime example of the transparency and messaging, saying up front that we are making this transformation, but it\u2019s not going to be complete overnight, so please stick with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boes, who grew up in the Dallas area, earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Texas Christian University followed by an MBA from Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\n

He worked in healthcare technology with a focus on commercial growth for 15 years before joining HHS. He developed expertise in nutrition after addressing personal health challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had gut and skin issues, I had trouble putting weight on, and I was on medication for ADD. I didn\u2019t feel healthy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Positive changes happened, Boes explained, when he eliminated processed foods and started eating whole foods. In a matter of months, he gained \u201chealthy weight,\u201d added muscle, and felt more energetic.<\/p>\n

From that point, he became immersed in reading articles and listening to podcasts about biohacking, which is a do-it-yourself form of personal improvement in which people focus on changing their biology to improve their overall health and well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chronic disease epidemic and mental health crisis are tied to what we put into our bodies. I wanted to be a part of influencing positive change in those areas,\u201d Boes said.<\/p>\n

After attending President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration, Boes was driven to work with the new administration, he said.<\/p>\n

He made cold calls and sent emails to figures such as Stefanie Spear, who served as the press secretary for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s presidential campaign and is now Kennedy\u2019s chief of staff. HHS expressed interest, Boes said. After a phone call and two interviews, and learning that they sought private sector professionals, he joined the agency and helped develop the new dietary guidelines.<\/p>\n

Boes\u2019s career path evolved once again after a chance meeting with Biglari at the wedding of Alex Bruesewitz, a political consultant and an adviser to Trump.<\/p>\n

Biglari told Boes that he wanted to align Steak \u2018n Shake with the growing movement of health-conscious consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had my opportunity to impact the regulatory side. Now I have this opportunity to prove that not only is there a regulation component to this, but also MAHA can be the cornerstone of a brand,\u201d Boes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a powerful story that can impact people and shape the industry,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Boes said that in his previous role with HHS, he talked to multiple restaurant companies and asked them if there was a way they could work collaboratively with the agency and reform the food environment.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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A Steak ‘n Shake restaurant in Middletown, Del., on July 26, 2019. The fast food chain in April hired a chief MAHA officer, an industry first. Jim Watson\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p><\/article>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSun, 06\/21\/2026 – 18:40<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Steak ‘n Shake’s First MAHA Officer Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times, DALLAS\u2014Lunch at Steak \u2018n Shake is served for Michael Boes. The plate in front of him has a grass-fed burger and beef tallow fries. He washes it down with cane sugar Coca-Cola. \u201cFast food doesn\u2019t have to mean processed, complicated,… Continue reading Meet Steak ‘n Shake’s First MAHA Officer<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":622771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-622776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=622776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/622771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=622776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=622776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=622776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}