Some of the world’s biggest food companies are confronting a strange reality in Washington: They’re no longer getting their way.
After decades of seeing glad-handing on Capitol Hill and positive relations with the White House pay off in policy wins, food industry lobbyists are finding fewer receptive audiences and even struggling to get key meetings as consumer trends and a triumphant political movement fracture old alliances.
“Most of the food industry is like the stunned fish you get when you stick a cattle prod in a fish pond,” said one long-time food industry lobbyist granted anonymity to speak candidly.
The White House’s plan to improve children’s health, released Tuesday, is the clearest signal yet that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda is scrambling the equation for how K street wields its influence, leaving the food industry divided and confused.
While farm groups were able to persuade the White House to dial back its criticism of pesticides, companies that manufacture processed foods are instead seeing the Health and Human Services secretary pushing front-of-pack nutrition labeling, tighter regulations of ultra-processed foods and new limits on additives — all changes that could have significant financial implications for their trillion-dollar industry.
“These are not surprises,” said a second industry representative granted anonymity to speak candidly. “But that doesn’t mean that … this is not still a fundamental change in some things for the industry that we’re going to have to be prepared to deal with.
This account, which is based on nine interviews with representatives across the food and consumer packaged goods industry, paints a picture of a food sector at war with itself over how to respond to White House attacks — or whether to respond at all.
Tuesday’s MAHA strategy report comes as the industry is facing sweeping changes: Weight-loss drugs are shrinking serving size, states are banning ultra-processed foods from school lunches and tariffs are decimating profit margins.
Though it didn’t meaningfully change the administration’s position on food additives or labeling, some in the industry thought the MAHA strategy report represented a shift. For one, some in the industry were invited to share feedback before its publication. At the report’s launch, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley even namechecked “recommendations from industry.” But most lobbyists are still skeptical that it’s anything more than “a bright spot,” as a third person described it.
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It wouldn’t be the first time Kennedy offered an olive branch to industry without much changing his position.
He asserted during his Senate confirmation hearing in January that regulators were allowing top food brands like McDonald’s to “mass poison American children.” But two months later, he was doing a television hit at Steak ‘n Shake praising the company’s decision “RFK’ing the french fries” — swapping vegetable oil for beef tallow.
The apparent contradiction is leaving the food industry floundering. A fourth industry lobbyist said it was part of the White House’s strategy to “keep folks on their heels.”
While some parts of the food industry have won praise from administration officials for making voluntary commitments that align with White House priorities, others are struggling with their approach. Several groups and companies have shied away from publicly criticizing the administration out of fear they could become the focus of a presidential social media post, which could color consumer sentiment against their products.
In April, the American Beverage Association — a trade group representing Coca-Cola and PepsiCo among others — criticized the Trump administration for supporting a ban on food stamp recipients purchasing soda with their benefits.
Calley Means, who serves under Kennedy as a special government employee at the Department of Health and Human Services, immediately shot back: “You have lobbied millions to ensure taxpayer money funds soda for poor kids,” he posted on X.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins piled on. “It’s disappointing that the American Beverage Association’s leadership dragged its entire membership … into direct conflict with this Administration’s priorities for American health, well-being, and taxpayer protection.”
The episode left an impression.
“There’s a keen hesitance to say anything and call a spade a spade,” said a fifth industry representative. “That’s a very different universe. Since when do big companies refrain?”
While many member companies want their trade associations to push back, the groups have largely shied away from public criticism, opting instead for voluntary commitment pledges, such as removing food dyes.
A sixth industry representative noted the surprising absence of an industry coalescing around a single mission to counter the administration.
“The rise of this sort of anti-institution sentiment and antigovernment, anti-everything has had an impact on the food industry’s ability to exert their influence,” the person added.
At the MAHA Commission’s news conference Tuesday, Rollins lauded the dairy industry for committing to cut artificial dyes from its products “even though it might hurt” companies’ bottom lines. The Trump administration is even tracking company and trade group commitments to eliminate such additives on the FDA’s website.
Groups like the Consumer Brands Association, which represents food companies like General Mills and Nestlé, are announcing voluntary programs to encourage members to eliminate artificial food dyes — over the objections of some companies. Still, other groups like the American Beverage Association are attempting to ratchet up consumer transparency by listing ingredients their members use that weren’t previously disclosed, allowed by what critics see as a loophole in the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations.
Despite these efforts, Kennedy continues to disparage their products, repeatedly saying that some of America’s most popular food items are making people sick. That rhetoric — even if it’s yet to be accompanied by serious regulatory change — has become increasingly difficult for the industry to counter. Many food lobbyists privately express similar concerns to Kennedy about chronic disease though they argue that the MAHA Commission’s proposals will do little to solve it.
And the industry recognizes that going after sugary drinks and processed food is popular across the political spectrum, making it an easy target despite company pledges to appease Kennedy on food dyes, seed oils and more.
Said a seventh lobbyist: “Is this a distraction because vaccines are so politically polarizing and there’s wins to be had here, so they’re going to come back for more?”
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