Taylor Farms spent heavily on MAGA and anti-regulation lobbyists before the diarrhea outbreak

Lettuce supplier In the middle Outbreak of turbo diarrhea He spent millions of dollars to influence sentiment around food regulation and elect Donald Trump and other MAGA Republicans, according to public filings.

Taylor Farms He donated more than $2 million to conservative political groups in 2025, according to Federal Election Commission filings. That includes a $1 million donation to MAGA Inc., Trump-centric super PACs, and $1.1 million to other super PACs dedicated to electing Republicans.

From 2020 through the end of 2024, the company donated more than $1.6 million to conservative political action committees, including a total of $850,000 to AFP Action, an anti-regulation super PAC that has Relationships for hut network.

Bruce Taylor, chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms, is also a longtime donor to Republican causes. Since 2020, Taylor has personally donated more than $900,000 to political action committees and Republican candidates, including contributions to Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

Like many corporate giants, Taylor Farms has spent large sums on lobbying for industry regulation. In early 2025, she hired lobbyists for Sidley Austin to advocate on behalf of the company on “food safety regulation,” according to disclosure documents. Since then, the company has spent $810,000 on its lobbying efforts.

Marion Nestle, a food policy expert, said Taylor Farms’ donations are part of a broader problem in the U.S. food industry: that multibillion-dollar companies are using their financial resources to push policies that would reduce food safety regulation and accountability when outbreaks occur.

“The FDA has regulations in place about what food producers are supposed to do, but no one wants to do it — because it’s expensive and difficult,” Nestle told WIRED.

In a post on X, the US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that political donations to Taylor Farms did not influence the Trump administration’s response to the crisis. Cyclospora outbreak.

“This is how fake news works: implied collusion, and ignoring the facts,” the Department of Health and Human Services account Published on Monday. “Nothing influences our decisions except science and the safety of the American people.”

Taylor Farms has apparently objected to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration’s handling of the investigation into the current Cyclospora outbreak, Which sickened thousands of people across multiple states. The company recently claimed that the FDA “apologized” after announcing a false positive test result for a sample of lettuce produced by Taylor Farms; The Food and Drug Administration told reporters that No, in fact, a formal apology never occurred. (The company did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment.)

Prior to the false positive and non-apology, Taylor Farms executives met with White House and Food and Drug Administration officials to discuss what a company spokesperson called “shortcomings” in the government agencies’ response. The New York Times reported The meeting came after Taylor Farms hired Trent Morse, the former deputy director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, who left the Trump administration to start a government relations firm in September.

The recent diarrhea debacle is not the first time Taylor Farms, which generates nearly $7 billion in annual revenue, has attracted the attention of federal regulators.

In 2013, Food and Drug Administration Taylor Farms has been named as the source of a Cyclospora outbreak that sickened hundreds. In 2015, The company has voluntarily recalled several products containing celery because they may be contaminated with it Escherichia coli. and In 2024, The company has recalled some yellow onions as part of a purge Escherichia coli The outbreak is linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Following the outbreak, CBS News It reported that FDA inspectors found dozens of violations at the Colorado Taylor Farms facility linked to the Quarter Pounder outbreak, including minimal hand washing and dirty equipment.

Since 2025, the FDA has inspected 18 Taylor Farms U.S. plants. Three of them resulted in an “indication of voluntary action,” meaning that although violations were found, they were not serious enough to warrant mandatory enforcement.

OSHA has cited at least 21 violations at Taylor Farms facilities across the United States since the beginning of 2025. In one particularly horrific case, the Department of Labor New Jersey facility fined $1.1 million Because of violations. The inspection in May 2025 came after an employee died after sustaining injuries while cleaning industrial bleach at the facility.