EXPLOSIVE SHIT STORM

Taylor Farms donated more than $3.6 million to conservative groups between 2020 and 2025, including $1 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC.

Taylor Farms, a privately owned California-based produce empire built by Bruce Taylor, and valued at an estimated $7 billion, is at the center of an FDA investigation into a multistate Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce.

Public campaign finance records show that Taylor Farms (through Taylor Fresh Foods) donated $1 million to MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting Donald Trump’s political operation, on March 26, 2025.

Company representatives met with White House and FDA officials. Shortly afterward, the FDA withdrew an earlier laboratory finding, saying the positive Cyclospora test was a false positive, while also stating that its epidemiological investigation still points to Taylor Farms’ shredded iceberg lettuce as the likely source? Huh?

I’m sure the $1 million donation to Trump’s super PAC bought absolutely no access whatsoever. Just a coincidence that meetings happened and, afterward, the FDA withdrew its announcement of a positive Cyclospora test while continuing to identify Taylor Farms’ shredded iceberg lettuce as the likely source of the outbreak. Purely coincidental.

Taylor Farms has also spent big on lobbying related to industry regulation. In early 2025, it hired lobbyists at the firm Sidley Austin to advocate on behalf of the company on “regulation of food safety,” according to disclosure documents. Since then, the company has spent $810,000 on its lobbying efforts.

As Noah Berlatsky wrote for Aaron Rupars excellent Substack Public Notice:

“RFK Jr. and Trump removed cyclosporiasis from the FoodNet mandatory food surveillance program. In the past, FoodNet would be testing for cyclosporiasis and monitoring cases on an ongoing basis in order to find and contain outbreaks early. But now, former FoodNet epidemiologist Jodie Guest told the BBC, “we don’t have the data we normally expect to go back to use to help us … you’re starting in the dark.”

But this is just a part of Trump and RFK’s brave, lonely fight to spread explosive diarrhea from coast to coast.”

In 2013, the FDA named Taylor Farms as a source of a cyclospora outbreak that sickened hundreds. In 2015, the company voluntarily recalled multiple products containing celery because they may have been contaminated with E. coli. And in 2024, the company recalled certain yellow onions as part of an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Following the outbreak, CBS News reported that FDA inspectors found dozens of violations at the Colorado Taylor Farms facility linked to the Quarter Pounder outbreak, including minimal handwashing and dirty equipment.

But just weeks after Trump's inauguration, the administration dismantled key parts of the nation's food safety infrastructure. The USDA National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods was eliminated. Roughly 20,000 FDA positions were cut, including employees involved in food safety. The Food Safety and Inspection Service lost 913 workers. The CDC lost about 3,000 employees in a chaotic reduction that one former official described this way: "Now, there's nobody to answer the phone."

Similarly, the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak happened after the CDC let go of all its cruise ship inspectors, and now preventable diseases like measles are making a comeback, all while science denier RFK Jr. serves as HHS Secretary.

FUN FACT:

As of yesterday, July 21, the CDC reports that measles cases in the United States have hit a record high in 2026, climbing past last year’s total of 2,289 to 2,295 confirmed cases by mid-July. The CDC says 93% of this year’s cases are linked to outbreaks, with most involving people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Measles was declared eradicated in the US in 2000.

MAHAahahahahaha. Sorry. Not sorry.

NOTES

RFK Jr. says cyclosporiasis outbreak is ‘under control’ as Mexico casts doubt on link to Taylor Farms facility

Taylor Farms Spent Big on MAGA and Anti-Regulatory Lobbying Before Diarrhea Outbreak | WIRED

Who Owns Taylor Farms? Bruce Taylor, $7B Revenue (2026)

Taylor Farms made huge donation to Trump group after loosening of rules that could have prevented explosive diarrhea outbreak

Cyclospora Outbreak: Weekend Update | Shouldn’t Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland on Patreon

The CDC Fired All Its Cruise Ship Inspectors Before the Hantavirus Outbreak

Measles Resurgence: 2,295 US Cases in 2026 With Months to Go