Health

Michigan Cyclosporiasis Cases Cross 9,200

Is the cyclospora outbreak proof of RFK Jr.'s dangerous CDC cuts or simply a Taylor Farms contamination issue?

Published 1 day ago

Michigan Cyclosporiasis Cases Cross 9,200

Story

Above: A customer shops for cilantro at a Walmart Supercenter in Austin, Texas, on July 23. Image credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The Spin

Democratic narrative

RFK Jr. gutted CDC's cyclospora tracking, and now thousands of Michiganders are sick in an unprecedented outbreak. The CDC monitored this parasite for decades, and stripping that surveillance away left communities exposed. Also, Taylor Farms, which has given millions to Trump-aligned political committees, secured a White House and FDA meeting one day before recalling its lettuce, which shows that political access now comes before public safety.

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Republican narrative

The FoodNet changes didn't cause the Cyclospora outbreak — that program was never designed to detect outbreaks in the first place, and none of the affected Midwest states were even part of it. The real culprit is iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, and the epidemiological evidence for that is overwhelming. Blaming RFK Jr. for this outbreak is a political move that misrepresents how food safety surveillance actually works.

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