As the midterms approach, Americans' digestive health has become a talking point, with explosive diarrhea emerging as a bizarre issue in the campaign. This follows a year marked by food recalls and parasites, which Democrats are highlighting.
Food Recalls and Political Reactions
In August, the Democratic party's official Twitter/X account highlighted the number of foods recalled in 2026 and demanded that RFK Jr resign as health secretary. Last month, which was Food Safety Month, Rhode Island congressman Gabe Amo argued that Trump's cuts to the federal workforce had decreased food safety. Senator Elizabeth Warren also accused "slashed food safety agencies" of contributing to the cyclospora outbreak and demanded Trump be held accountable in November.
The number of food recalls during Trump's second term is not remarkably different than under Joe Biden. However, the scale of the problem differs. The US recently declared the end of the largest ever recorded cyclosporiasis outbreak, linked to contaminated lettuce, which resulted in 570 hospitalizations and two deaths.
Changes to Surveillance and Fuel Rules
Since 1995, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) has tracked infections from various pathogens, including Cyclospora. Starting on 1 July, the CDC downgraded this program, limiting mandatory surveillance for the 10 participating state health departments to salmonella and E coli. This downgrading didn't cause the cyclospora outbreak but might have made it harder for health authorities to respond.
On Monday, the Trump administration announced it was relaxing fuel-efficiency rules for new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said removing stringent pollution-control requirements would reduce average costs of new vehicles by $1,300. Reduced efficiency could increase fuel spending and create more air pollution, worsening climate change.
Rollbacks on Air and Water Regulations
The administration is also working to roll back regulation of toxic air pollutants. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed weakening air pollution limits on ethylene oxide (EtO), a known carcinogen used to clean medical devices. A Biden-era rule from 2024 required stringent testing for hazardous emissions. If overturned, tons of the carcinogenic gas could continue to be released, affecting largely low-income neighborhoods.
On water, a Biden-era rule set drinking-water limits for several Pfas, known as "forever chemicals." The Trump administration is trying to roll back these limits, arguing the standards are expensive and legally flawed. They've also terminated a regulatory review of Pfas-contaminated sewage sludge fertilizer used on farmland. According to comments submitted by the Southern Environmental Law Center to the EPA, "if PFOA levels are 9.4 parts per billion [as witnessed in sludge tested in Maine], then more than 54 children out of 10,000 who eat 1-2 meals of fish per week on crop farms could get cancer later in life from those meals alone."
If Trump isn't reined in at the midterms, the whole country is going down the toilet.
