Calley Means Business

Some fallout from this week's post

Well that escalated quickly. On Twitter earlier this week, Calley Means posted this:

I’ve no intention of engaging with Means on Elon Musk’s website, a deepening cesspool. Twitter’s rhythms are inimical to sensible debate.

But the fact remains that Means is ignoring the remarks he gave at the Great American State Fair, the ones where he was sat here…

…as reported by the Washington Post. From him there’s no retraction, no engagement with the facts, no acknowledgement that he spent the week trying to make hallucinations about Marion Nestle appear as reality. Instead, we’ve this:

“Because it’s the Trump administration, we’re fascists” is another mischaracterisation. First, Marion never said it. Second, neither did I. The word Trump appears once in the analysis, as a description of Noor Bin Ladin, who is a fan of the President. For the argument in which I point the finger at Means, I drew on actual self-described fascists, the kind who parade under a Swastika, and I pointed out the similarity between their actions and Means’. Means continues to shitpost, and in his persistent smearing, he provides yet more evidence for the fascist trope I described.

I am pleased, though, that this post has been circulating in the liberal food world, and that it’s eliciting some sadness about the need to part ways with MAHA, since they do seem, in part, to be saying some reasonable things. Why can’t we all just get along? It gives me the opportunity to repost one of my favourite dissections of this question, courtesy of Mars Attacks!

The reason we can’t all just get along is because we’ve never all gotten along. There has always been a deep vein of individualism, racism and national chauvinism within the organic food movement. It’s the reason for Nazi vegetarianism. It’s not an argument against vegetarianism, but it is an argument against overlooking the Nazi bit just because you share vegetarianism in common. And, again, it’s why those of us who can hear the dogwhistles in MAHA have kept our distance.

There must be something in the air, because one of my favourite podcasts, Maintenance Phase, just posted an episode in which the Means family appeared. The discussion notes the incongruity of fighting for ‘food as medicine’ while cutting food aid for the hungry, and they reminded me of this Vanity Fair investigation into Means’ biography and its fabrications. It includes the delicious observation that he used to walk around the office saying, ‘Calley Means business’.

The question remains: what does one do about all this, if one can’t fight back on Twitter. The answer, always, has to be organising, offline, in ways that build power. It’s no accident that those who have been suspicious of MAHA have already been building power, educating and teaching one another for decades. For those lamenting the death of a potential coalition with MAHA, it’s worth - as many have done - looking at how we got here, and the inadequacy of the demands MAHA ever had for thinking systemically to get us out, particularly compared to organisations like the Black Panthers. So, while Means’ misinformation is certainly part of an old playbook, there are other venerable strategies and movements to learn from as we re-learn the arts of self-defence for this dark historical moment. Do have a look at how the National Black Food and Justice Alliance, the HEAL Food Alliance and others responded to MAHA. It’s a great place to start.