Why are Democrats surrendering the issue of healthy food? | Tim Ryan and Justin Talbot Zorn

Under RFK Jr and the Maha movement, Republicans have claimed the mantle - but their actions are full of contradictions

On 25 February, in her opening remarks at her Senate confirmation hearing, Casey Means, Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general, called on the US government to address key drivers of chronic disease, including ultraprocessed foods, industrial chemical exposure" and other factors. The same month, in a provocative Super Bowl ad for the federal government's RealFood.gov site, Mike Tyson warned of the dangers of processed food. The recent developments confirm what's becoming conventional wisdom: the GOP is now the party of healthy food.

It's not just Robert F Kennedy Jr's high-profile moves on red food dyes or the USDA food pyramid. Conservative politicians and influencers are now attacking chemical additives, plastics, and ultra-processed ingredients as drivers of chronic disease. Republicans see Maha, the make America healthy again" movement, as a rare cultural wedge that resonates outside the party's Maga base. The GOP's own polling memos show that Kennedy's movement could be their single most promising midterm strategy.