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Sasha Chavkin

@sashachavkin.bsky.social

2K followers 380 following 300 posts

Senior reporter covering the food industry @examinationnews.bsky.social. Past: RIN Fellow for Pulitzer Center/@apnews.com, Ted Scripps Fellow, reporter @ICIJorg. Believer in democracy, the Constitution and the New York Mets.

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · Mar 25

We're covering cuts to FDA and other food regulators at @theexamination.org

If you're a federal worker, contractor or business partner, and we should know about changes to food programs and their impact on food safety & public health, drop a line

DMs are open and I'm on Signal at sashachavkin.09

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Reposted by Sasha Chavkin

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 18h

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 15h

This is why we started @theexamination.org, an investigative newsroom that holds powerful actors accountable for the world's leading causes of death

Our core beats are Big Food (linked to #1 killer), Big Tobacco (linked to #2) and Industrial Pollution (linked to #2, #5 & more)

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 1d

Does the news reflect what we die from?

The image presents a comparison of the leading causes of death in the United States for 2023 and the media coverage these causes receive from three news outlets: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News.

In the footer, it notes the data sources, indicating that the information is based on media mentions from Media Cloud (2025) and death data from the US CDC (2025) and the Global Terrorism Index, with a clarification that values are normalized to sum to 100%.

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 15h

Good @civileats.com rundown of industry ties in Trump's food policy leadership. Among them:

- Undersecretary for Food Safety nominee described by Congress as "meat industry's go to fixer"
- Food Safety Inspection Service administrator helped w controversial "climate-friendly beef" label at Tyson

The Industry Ties Within Trump’s Food and Ag Leadership

Many of the president’s top officials at USDA, EPA, HHS, and FDA have connections to chemical, agribusiness, or fossil fuel interests.

civileats.com

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 15h

JBS Aves, the poultry division of meat giant JBS, was excluded from Brazil's newest "Dirty List" for slave labor despite an inspection finding modern slavery conditions in its supply chain

The Labor Minister personally intervened to keep the company off the list

Governo divulga nova Lista Suja da escravidão e JBS fica de fora

Cadastro oficial de empregadores responsabilizados por trabalho escravo foi atualizado e conta agora om 691 nomes ao todo

reporterbrasil.org.br

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 2d

“We were heard" - CEO of pesticide trade group CropLife America praises last month's MAHA report

Language criticizing the health effects of pesticides in an earlier MAHA report was eliminated after a lobbying blitz

How Big Agriculture got its way in the latest MAHA report

Alarmed by the first MAHA commission report, the agriculture industry mobilized to shape the next installment. Those efforts seemingly paid off.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 2d

Niche brands selling higher-end, more specialized products are beating out Big Food

These "insurgent brands" make up less than 2% of products but drove almost 39% of category gains in 2024, WSJ reports, while Big Food's market share erodes

Startups Are Eating Big Food’s Lunch

Smaller brands are capturing much of the growth in packaged foods.

www.wsj.com

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 5d

Brazil's Justice Department orders JBS Aves, the poultry division of the world's biggest meat producer, to take 17 actions to ensure its supply chain is free of forced labor

An inspection found forced labor at a JBS Aves supplier last December, @reporterbrasil.org.br is on top of the story

Justiça obriga JBS a agir contra trabalho escravo em granjas

Decisão liminar da Vara do Trabalho de Soledade (RS) obriga JBS Aves a adotar 17 medidas para monitorar granjas fornecedoras

reporterbrasil.org.br

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 6d

Nicotine-infused energy drinks are marketing themselves as "clean fuel" to customers seeking better cognitive performance

Welcome to 2025, everyone

Beverages: Nicotine-Infused Energy Drinks: The Rise of Cognitive Fuel for Performance Users

What is the Nicotine-Infused Beverage Trend?The Nicotine-Infused Beverage Trend is the emergence of ready-to-drink (RTD) products that combine microdosed nicotine with conventional energy ingredients ...

www.insighttrendsworld.com

Reposted by Sasha Chavkin

Chelsea M. Cameron (she/they) @chel-c-cam.bsky.social · 8d

Since they’ve cut food inspections at the FDA, the burden is now more on consumers to protect ourselves from contaminated food: www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

10 Really Risky Foods Right Now - Consumer Reports

In this look at 10 really risky foods right now, CR shows you how to protect yourself from food poisoning from these foods and in general.

www.consumerreports.org

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 7d

Walmart is getting rid of synthetic dyes and cutting 30 ingredients from preservatives to artificial sweeteners from store brand foods by January 2027, changes likely to ripple through the US food supply chain

“The customer is just getting louder and louder on this,” a Walmart VP tells WSJ

Walmart Ditching Dyes, Other Artificial Ingredients in Its Food Brands

The retail giant said it is working to remove synthetic dyes from all its store-brand foods, including Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and Bettergoods.

www.wsj.com

Reposted by Sasha Chavkin

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 7d

The real-life impact of Trump and Musk’s freeze on USAID

Drugs and food, intended for global aid, instead languished and rotted in warehouses — and some children withered and died.

Sweeping, damning investigation by my @washingtonpost.com colleagues.

Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting.

USAID antimalarial and HIV supplies valued at nearly $140 million were delayed in the first half of the year or not delivered at all due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid pause, The Post found...

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Sasha Chavkin

Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 8d

The CDC made reporting listeria optional. Listeria in ready-to-eat pasta has killed four and hospitalized 19.

Trader Joe’s and Walmart Frozen Meals May Have Listeria Linked to Outbreak

www.nytimes.com

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 9d

One policy that California and Texas have in common: cracking down on ultraprocessed foods

At least 30 states across partisan lines have passed or are considering limits on chemicals in food or food packaging, advocates tell @kffhealthnews.org

States Target Ultraprocessed Foods in Bipartisan Push - KFF Health News

States are taking aim at chemicals and additives in foods as Republican and Democrats alike embrace at least one aspect of the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” push. It’s a shift fo...

kffhealthnews.org

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 9d

The contractor that provided more than 600k kilos of chicken blood to government soup kitchens in Lima, Peru had no sanitary license and operated in filthy conditions

Soup kitchen leaders said the product smelled like dead dogs, finds a stomach-turning investigation from @saludconlupa.com

Sin licencia y en un local insalubre: así operaba el proveedor de sangre de pollo para las ollas comunes de Lima

Salud con lupa revela que el Consorcio San JoseMaría procesaba sangre de pollo refrigerada sin la licencia sanitaria correspondiente y en un local que incumplía las normas de higiene. La Municipalidad...

saludconlupa.com

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 12d

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins suggests at an agriculture industry forum that the upcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans will "boost demand for U.S. beef and whole milk"

Officially, they are being revamped to remove industry influence and give Americans unbiased nutrition advice

Food Policy Tracker

The Civil Eats Food Policy Tracker is your daily, go-to source for actions taken by the President, federal agencies, and Congress that directly relate to or have significant implications for the food ...

civileats.com

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 12d

At least nine auditors in Brazil's Labor Ministry jointly resigned in protest of Labor Minister's personal intercession to keep JBS - the world's largest meat producer - off the "Dirty List" for forced labor and modern day slavery

Contra decisão de Marinho sobre JBS, fiscais deixam cargos

Fiscais deixam cargos em protesto contra medida de Luiz Marinho de puxar para si decisão final sobre entrada da JBS Aves na Lista Suja

reporterbrasil.org.br

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 12d

After demanding that health systems be revamped to tackle chronic disease, RFK Jr rejects a global declaration calling for the same.

He offered few details and the objections he did make - on gender & abortion - aren't even mentioned in the text

@foodfixco.bsky.social digs in

‘Too much and too little’: U.S. rejects U.N. declaration on non-communicable diseases

Why is the U.S. splitting from the rest of the world on tackling chronic diseases?

foodfix.co

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 14d

Lawmakers write to TV station owners that cancelled Kimmel while they had mergers pending before the FCC, seeking answers about "a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws"

Democratic lawmakers demand answers from TV station owners that pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show

ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returns Tuesday night, but Nexstar and Sinclair are keeping the show off their affiliate stations.

www.nbcnews.com

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 14d

Are you interested in global health or investigative journalism?

Sign up for @theexamination.org's free, once-a-week newsletter with our latest stories and news across our beats

Newsletter

The best way to follow The Examination’s reporting is to subscribe to our newsletter.

www.theexamination.org

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 14d

Mexico has proposed sweeping health taxes on products from sugary drinks to junk food to tobacco, one of the world's most ambitious policy efforts to combat chronic disease.

I wrote about it for our newsletter this week

Mexico wants more health taxes; the United States fights UN treaty on chronic diseases

Mexico wants to raise taxes on tobacco and sugary drinks and add health taxes on things like artificial sweeteners and online betting. Plus, global health updates across our beats.

mailchi.mp

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 15d

Brazil's labor minister personally intervened to keep JBS - the world's largest meat producer - off the official "Dirty List" for forced labor

A federal prosecutor denounced the move as a "dangerous" politicizing of labor standards

Via @reporterbrasil.org.br

Ministro adia entrada JBS na Lista Suja do Trabalho Escravo

Ministro do Trabalhou puxou para si próprio decisão sobre entrada da JBS na Lista Suja do trabalho escravo

reporterbrasil.org.br

Reposted by Sasha Chavkin

jen sometimes aph 🌻 @bunnibytz.bsky.social · 18d

Disney+ cancellation page crashes as customers rush to quit after Kimmel suspension
creators.yahoo.com/lifestyle/st...

Disney+ cancellation page crashes as customers rush to quit after Kimmel suspension

Thinking of canceling Disney+? You’re not alone—after Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, so many people rushed to quit that the cancellation page itself started crashing.

creators.yahoo.com

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Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 19d

The choice between all standing up for free speech now at the risk of losing a platform, or staying quiet and assuring that no platform will be safe for free speech, should not be a hard one

Sasha Chavkin @sashachavkin.bsky.social · 19d

A meat-industry funded group intrusively surveilled animal rights activists, including personal relationships, and shared their findings with industry members and law enforcement

“It’s a chilling intrusion into people’s private lives and constitutional rights,” one activist said

Via @desmog.com

Revealed: ‘Chilling’ Surveillance of Activists by Meat and Dairy Industry

The U.S. meat industry has engaged in intrusive surveillance of animal rights groups, including monitoring relationships between activists and tracking employees of leading charities. The industry-fun...

www.desmog.com

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Reposted by Sasha Chavkin

Alexander Verbeek @alexverbeek.bsky.social · 20d

This is how American press freedom dies: not with government bans, but with merger fears.
#JimmyKimmel #Kimmel

Trump's Quiet War on American Press Freedom Just Claimed Its Biggest Victim

The Jimmy Kimmel suspension exposes how Trump weaponizes business regulations against critics

theplanet.substack.com

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