Steak ‘n Shake beefed with Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) influencers Saturday on X over accusations that the fast food chain continues to deceptively use seed oils to cook its fries.
Steak ‘n Shake announced in January that their restaurants will swap vegetable oil for “100% all-natural beef tallow” by the end of February. Despite this, Turning Point USA’s Alex Clark caused a stir when she alleged Friday that Steak ‘n Shake’s reformed “‘tallow fries’ are precooked in vegetable oil.”
Steak ‘n Shake did not hold back from a public response to Clark’s X post, in which the company suggested Clark did not respond to its earlier messages regarding criticism she posted on her Instagram account.
@yoalexrapz here you go again Alex.. you still haven’t responded to our earlier messages when you posted incorrectly the screenshot. You also said we tried to pay you, also untrue. Whats your beef? Try our beef tallow..we hear it creates positive energy. We cook in 100% beef… pic.twitter.com/8qDe6zLdMm
— Steak ‘n Shake (@SteaknShake) March 8, 2025
“You also said we tried to pay you, also untrue. Whats your beef? Try our beef tallow..we hear it creates positive energy,” the restaurant chain wrote in part.
Steak ‘n Shake bashed other unnamed burger joints for being “too chicken” to switch to cooking with beef tallow, but Clark was not convinced by the company’s claim that they were the only restaurant chain “with a backbone.”
“Take a picture of the tallow box with an employee next to it and post it,” Clark dared in the replies. Steak ‘n Shake has yet to respond to that message.
After Steak ‘n Shake posted a screenshot of its alleged Instagram direct message to Clark, the health and wellness advocate hit back by claiming an account manager from the company reached out to her asking to participate in a promotion. (RELATED: Skinny-Fat Daily Caller Reporter To Undergo 12-Week ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Transformation)
You had an account manager message me asking if I’d like to take part in promotion. Just answer the question and source where you’re getting fries from and the entire process.
— Alex Clark (@yoalexrapz) March 9, 2025
Seed Oil Scout, a restaurant-mapping app that identifies locations that use seed oils, weighed in on the dispute by suggesting Steak ‘n Shake’s response to their own Instagram callout “reads like an admission of guilt.”
Steak ‘n Shake told the seed oil watchdog in a comment on Instagram, “We are committed to abolish all seed oil! The frying oil was switched to 100% beef tallow that has no preservatives or chemicals or additives. It’s not like most chains with tallow. Yes, it costs more. Switching to pure beef tallow oil was just step 1!”
This settles it.
The response to our instagram callout reads like an admission of guilt.
A step in the right direction, but we need to be celebrating the spots that cut their own fries.
We’ll be making sure to label this front and center in SOS going forward, along with… https://t.co/2tyIhOdotv pic.twitter.com/mT7LrzFaxG
— Seed Oil Scout📱🫡 (@SeedOilScout) March 9, 2025
“A step in the right direction, but we need to be celebrating the spots that cut their own fries,” Seed Oil Scout added in its Saturday X post, tagging Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and prominent MAHA ally Calley Means to raise awareness.
Calley Means hit back at Steak ‘n Shake for opting to publicly attack MAHA leaders like Clark, who he said was only seeking truth.
Dear @SteaknShake – I celebrated your move on Fox. We are all supportive of your efforts.
But horrible idea to question the integrity of @yoalexrapz who is a leader in this movement and is only trying to get to the truth.
If you can’t fully get seed oils out of supply chain… https://t.co/Vqib9D2k6k
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) March 8, 2025
“If you can’t fully get seed oils out of supply chain yet, just let us know why it’s difficult and how you’re working to do that. We all understand changing food supply chains is a long term journey. But if you get substantial good will from saying ‘no seed oils in fries’ and your fries have seed oils, then just explain that,” Means wrote on Saturday.
He added, “And don’t attack leaders in the movement like Alex.”
The Daily Caller reached out to Steak ‘n Shake for comment but did not hear back.