Taylor Farms, the lettuce supplier implicated in a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands across multiple US states, has spent millions of dollars donating to conservative political causes and lobbying against food safety regulation, according to public filings. The revelations, reported by WIRED, raise questions about whether the company's political influence shaped the federal response to the outbreak, even as the US Department of Health and Human Services insists donations played no role in decision-making.

Federal Election Commission filings show Taylor Farms gave over $2 million to conservative groups in 2025, including $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. and $1.1 million to other Republican-aligned PACs, on top of $1.6 million donated between 2020 and 2024. The company has also spent $810,000 since early 2025 on lobbyists pushing back on food safety regulation, and recently hired a former White House personnel official. Taylor Farms, which earns roughly $7 billion annually, has previously been linked to a 2013 cyclospora outbreak, a 2015 E. coli-linked celery recall and a 2024 onion recall.