In this episode, Theodore and Helena discuss why the (non-vaxx) ideas of the MAHA movement are popular, but the movement itself is less so.. That split presents a major problem for Democrats, who can’t resist the Trump administration when it’s pushing for things they want. Also, does Coke taste better with cane sugar or high-fructose corn syrup? The answer: they taste about the same, and people prefer Pepsi (as long as they don’t know what they’re drinking – then they like Coke).

The major companies that produce and sell ultraprocessed foods are making big changes, or at least they are promising to. The Trump administration has celebrated “wins” over companies as varied as PepsiCo and Steak ‘n Shake. It’s not clear whether decisions from these companies to change their products – out with synthetic dyes and in with beef tallow – are coming from pressure at the federal level, new state laws, changes in the marketplace – or if anything meaningful is happening at all.

Helena and Theodore explain why Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski flipped to cast the deciding vote on Trump’s Big Beautiful Act: an exemption that rewards her state’s highest-in-the-nation SNAP error rates. They also take a look at how the law creates barriers to food assistance and healthcare, with paperwork, work requirements, and pushing administrative costs to the states. Finally, RFK Jr. has talked a big game about banning artificial dyes in foods – but it’s places like West Virginia that have taken action. Do people really want beet-flavored red M&M’s?

In the “Double Take,” Helena and Theodore have Trump whiplash on the threat of mass deportations in the food system. In “Forks and Knives,” the discussion turns to the historic cuts to food assistance for low-income Americans that are playing out as the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” makes its way through Congress. And for “Good Vibes,” the federal Dietary Guidelines may drop recommendations for how much Americans should drink. Glass clinking sound or MAHA mistake?

American food politics are a mess. The traditional forces driving policy in agriculture and nutrition have been wiped away, and ordinary people are struggling to figure out who is in charge, what they’re up to, and why. Every two weeks, Forked hosts Helena Bottemiller Evich, of Food Fix, and Theodore Ross, FERN’s Editor-in-Chief, cut through the confusion, providing context and analysis, hopefully leaving you feeling less, well, forked. New episodes every two weeks, from the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

Theodore Ross and Helena Bottemiller Evich work through the tumultuous nomination process for Surgeon General. Donald Trump’s first nominee withdrew (questions about her medical and anti-vaxx credentials) and the newest one, Casey Means, has been branded a “Marxist tree hugger” by Laura Loomer. (Questions also remain about her anti-vaxxness). Conversation addresses the split within the groups backing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – anti-Big Food versus anti-vaccine – “the big questions” about government being posed by the Trump administration; and in a sign of hope – MAHA members meet with public health experts and don’t hate each other.

Is it possible that RFK Jr. believes autism research can be done so fast because he already thinks he knows what those causes of autism are? Other topics include: RFK Jr. “hitting his stride” after attending the funeral of a child who died of measles. How many people have been laid off at HHS and why doesn’t anybody know? Bipartisan bonhomie on the issue of plant-based milk, in a Senate proposal that almost no one thinks will pass. MAHA anti-vaxxers would rather RFK Jr. forget about food.

Forked is an insider’s look at the politics and policy turning the American food system upside down. Hosts Theodore Ross (FERN) and Helena Bottemiller Evich (Food Fix) round up current events on food and farming, making important Beltway news accessible to everyone. The first episode covers RFK Jr.’s meeting with the MAHA Commission, the pressure he’s putting on major food companies about additives – and the good, bad, and bonkers of his first month at the Department of Health & Human Services.