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Food and Politics: A Historical Breakdown of Industry Influence
Political campaigns are heavily influenced by the financial power of the food and agriculture industries, which outspend even the oil industry by a significant margin. This dominance has roots in the 1990s when major cigarette companies like RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris diversified into the food sector, leveraging their massive cash reserves after facing scrutiny over tobacco products. The result has intertwined the interests of processed food companies and political lobbying, illustrating how former tobacco giants reshaped the food landscape through mergers and acquisitions, thereby embedding themselves in the political and economic fabric of the country.