Inside the Republican network behind big soda's bid to pit Maga against Maha

"Major US soft-drink and snack-food corporations are waging a coordinated campaign that aims to pit Donald Trump's Maga faithful against Robert F Kennedy Jr's Make America Healthy Again movement, a Guardian investigation in partnership with environmental watchdog Fieldnotes has found. Their goal is to stymie the Maha-led effort to curb Americans' consumption of soda and ultra-processed foods. To carry out the plan, the companies have turned"

"In the process, the industry has also been aided less directly by a loose coalition of free-market ideologues who have previously worked to advance Trump's deregulatory agenda. The effort features Maga influencers hired by a firm that promotes anti-woke movies; an obscure research group Lee Zeldin was working for when Donald Trump picked him to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency; and a media outlet backed by rightwing billionaires Leonard Leo and Charles Koch, among others."

"The ongoing influence campaign is being spearheaded by the American Beverage Association with help from the Consumer Brands Association, two prominent trade groups in the food industry. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper, the three largest soft-drink corporations in the United States, as well as packaged-food conglomerates like General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Nestle, are among those that pay dues for the right to have a say in either or both of the trade groups' strategies."

Major US soft-drink and snack-food corporations are coordinating a campaign to undermine Robert F Kennedy Jr's Make America Healthy Again movement by pitting Maga supporters against efforts to curb soda and ultra-processed food consumption. The companies rely on a network of for-hire pollsters, strategists and political financiers with deep Republican ties, some obscuring connections, and they receive support from free-market ideologues linked to Trump-era deregulation. The campaign uses Maga influencers, anti-woke media firms, an obscure research group tied to Lee Zeldin, and a media outlet backed by billionaires. Trade groups American Beverage Association and Consumer Brands Association lead the initiative, and major soda and packaged-food firms have flagged Maha as a business risk.

Read at www.theguardian.com