Influencing the Easter basket: Holiday-related groups spend millions in Washington

(Alexander Lyakhovskiy/Getty Images) Easter Sunday is this weekend, and many of the companies producing products associated with the holiday have trade associations representing their interests. Even those businesses that do not have registered lobbyists in Washington have banded together in a common cause. And with the Trump administration rewriting healthy eating guidelines, businesses have new reasons to put their lobbyists to work. Rogan Kersh, a professor of public policy and global vice chancellor at New York University, said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement have upended the food and health industries. “Companies tend to ramp up lobbying in changing or otherwise uncertain regulatory environments,” said Kersh, who has written extensively about lobbying and politics. Just because a group doesn’t have a registered lobbyist doesn’t mean it hasn’t enlisted the support of K Street, even just to bring members up to date on the latest rules and regulations from Washington. “With new or revised food/health regulations issued regularly during the Kennedy/MAHA regime, lobbyists are much in demand both as guides (explaining to candy manufacturers or rabbit farmers, among others, the fast-shifting rules governing their products) and as advocates (working to remove regulatory obstacles to production/distribution, or to blunt proposed new laws aimed, for example, at reducing sugary junk food in children’s diets),” Kersh said. Some industries don’t need the assistance, he explained. “Laws affecting Easter bonnets haven’t changed much in years, so that industry is less likely to seek lobbying help,” he said. And you don’t always need a registered lobbyist to get your views across. Sometimes an association website or a social media campaign works just as well. “A viral social-media (or legacy media) campaign or timely appearance on a popular podcast can significantly amplify lobbying efforts,” Kersh said. “In the European Union, efforts to ban social media accounts for youth under 16 have encountered an effective campaign of clever ads – billboards are everywhere in Brussels, the EU’s capital – and industry-sponsored commentary designed to drive Big Tech’s preferred alternative: parental controls in place of government restrictions.” In the United States, the American Rabbit Breeders Association is not registered to lobby. But its website includes a warning to families who want a real live Easter Bunny that rabbits require a commitment of more than seven years, are “not ‘starter’ pets, and they are not disposable.” “Yes, we love the increased interest in rabbits this time of year, and we genuinely welcome that interest,” the group posted. “That is why we want you to consider learning all you can about rabbit ownership before you buy.” Here are some of the other trade associations representing products most associated with Easter. Egg hunt. The United Egg Producers spent $248,000 last year to lobby on issues including food waste, animal welfare and federal spending. The U.S. Poultry and Egg Association reported spending less than $5,000 to lobby the Environmental Protection Agency on regulating waste. Fill the basket. The National Confectioners Association, which represents candy manufacturers, spent $890,000 on lobbying in 2025. Issues included sugar policy, tax cuts and nutrition. In your Easter bonnet. The Headwear Association represents manufacturers of hats and bonnets. It does not have any registered lobbyists. Spring flowers. The Society of American Florists spent $200,000 last year to lobby on issues including the farm bill, agriculture spending and crop protection. A trade group of farmers promoting domestically grown flowers, known as American Grown Flowers & Foliage, is not registered to lobby in Washington. What’s for dinner. The National Country Ham Association does not have anyone registered to lobby in the nation’s capital, but the National Pork Producers Council does, spending $1.2 million last year on animal disease prevention and preparedness, immigration and agriculture funding. Republish this article We encourage you to republish our content. Please review our republication policy for guidelines. Support Accountability Journalism At OpenSecrets.org we offer in-depth, money-in-politics stories in the public interest. Whether you’re reading about 2022 midterm fundraising, conflicts of interest or “dark money” influence, we produce this content with a small, but dedicated team. Every donation we receive from users like you goes directly into promoting high-quality data analysis and investigative journalism that you can trust.