RFK Jr. and the chocolate factory

October 23, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

When a Wall Street Journal reporter noticed that shares of food companies jumped within hours of Calley Means—an advisor to RFK Jr. and one of the administration's loudest critics of ultra-processed foods—announcing his resignation, the market seemed to signal relief that a nemesis was departing. Means fired back on Twitter: "This is a misread by the markets. Moms are not going to settle for their kids being poisoned for General Mills to gain 8% on their stock. This cultural movement has just started and we are not going back." The exchange captures the central tension of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement: a high-profile pressure campaign against Big Food that has generated real commitments from companies, but so far little regulatory muscle—and no guarantee that the changes will stick.

The blue M&M problem

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What you'll learn

1 RFK Jr. and the chocolate factory
2 (00:01) **The Maha Movement and Big Food** - WSJ reporter Jesse Newman introduces the story of RFK Jr.'s campaign against ultra-processed foods, starting with the resignation of advisor Callie Means and the market reaction
3 (02:12) **Introducing the Blue M&M** - Host and reporter discuss the personal and political significance of the blue M&M
4 (03:55) **What Science Says About Artificial Dyes** - The factual debate over whether artificial dyes are actually harmful
5 (06:27) **Inside the M&M Factory** - Newman visits Mars's plant in Topeka, Kansas to see how M&Ms are made and the challenge of switching to natural dyes
6 (08:55) **The Cost of Going Natural** - Mars is spending millions to retrofit plants but still couldn't make natural blue M&Ms work at scale
7 (11:04) **What Natural M&Ms Mean for Your Health** - The honest assessment of whether the reformulation matters

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The HHS secretary has pressured food companies like Mars, which makes M&M's, to stop using artificial dyes. Easier said than done.

This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Noel King.

A close-up image shows a bowl of blue M&M candies. Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.

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