An economics professor’s Bluesky post about falling lettuce prices drew a sharp response from actor Mark Ruffalo, who blamed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “killing” the market. The source article we reviewed instead points to a Cyclospora outbreak and a related recall as the likely cause of the slump.
The Bluesky exchange
The piece attributes a post to Justin Wolfers, identified there as a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, who reportedly shared a graph and wrote, “Something is going on in the market for lettuce.”
According to the same source, Ruffalo replied on Bluesky: “Robert F KennedyJR has killed the lettuce market by not getting to the bottom of these outbreaks and playing politics with everything. We can’t trust the CDC or him.” The source includes a timestamp of August 13, 2026, at 9:53 a.m. We have not independently verified the post or the graph.
The outbreak explanation
The article argues the price collapse is more plausibly tied to a Cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce that was served in restaurants across the U.S., asserting that a “massive” recall followed to curb illnesses. The same piece attributes some lettuce to Mexican produce sources. These claims, including the scope of the recall and supply origins, require independent verification.
What’s unverified
The source refers to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Donald Trump; this identification needs confirmation. The headline description labeling Ruffalo as a “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” star also requires verification. We have not confirmed the Bluesky posts, the specific outbreak linkage, or the recall details.
