Overview
- The American Beverage Association and the Consumer Brands Association are leading the push, representing companies including Coca‑Cola, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper, Nestlé and Kraft Heinz.
- Documents show tactics centered on Republican‑aligned operatives, polling and paid influencers to cast MAHA proposals as government overreach affecting working‑class families.
- In Arizona, lobbyist Michael Gardner cited a Public Opinion Strategies poll linked to GOP networks to press lawmakers, and a Consumer Brands official shared right‑wing media coverage to sway a school‑meal bill.
- Raw Story adds that Utah Rep. Kristen Chevrier rebuffed soda‑industry lobbying over SNAP restrictions, while influencer Eric Daugherty promoted pro‑soda posts without initial disclosure before acknowledging the error after exposure.
- State‑level outcomes include 12 waivers allowing limits on SNAP purchases and several new laws restricting petroleum‑based food dyes in school meals, with tensions flaring as the ABA labeled Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and USDA chief Brooke Rollins the “food police,” prompting a public rebuttal from Rollins.