Governors in several states have announced their plans to remove unhealthy foods from the food stamp program. The announcement has boosted a key part of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s agenda, “Make America Healthy Again “.
The United States Department of Agriculture has been asked to allow the governors of Arkansas, Idaho, and Indiana to prevent recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Program from using the money to buy candy or soft drinks.
The Governor of West Virginia made a similar announcement in November.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was in attendance when Sanders announced she had submitted a request for a waiver, was also present.
Kennedy, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun both made similar announcements.
Braun told Kennedy: “You’re setting the stage at the federal level.”
“This isn’t a top-down, universal public health agenda,” he said. “We’re focusing on the root cause of chronic diseases, transparency, and results.”
A high-sugar diet can cause obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. The USDA recommends that added sugars shouldn’t exceed 10% of calories for children and adults. This would be 200 calories, or 12 teaspoons, based on a 2,000-calorie intake. As of 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that children consumed 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day.
Kennedy & Rollins have encouraged Governors in public to submit waivers.
Kennedy was seen with the West Virginia Governor in the last month. Patrick Morrisey has announced that he will be submitting a request for SNAP to ban soda.
“I want to send a message to the country today and to all governors. I’m asking them to support Governor Morrisey. Then, they can apply to my agency for a waiver. We will give it to them”. Kennedy said to the nation on that day: That’s our strategy for winning this.”
According to the USDA website, SNAP recipients can spend their money on fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry and fish, cereals and breads, as well as “other foods such a snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, seeds and plants.”
SNAP money can’t be spent on alcohol or tobacco.
According to experts, the efforts by the state to place soda and candy on a list of prohibited foods will most likely succeed in preventing SNAP beneficiaries from eating junk food.
According to Marion Nestle of New York University, if people are forced to buy junk food, they won’t buy as much.
Nestle stated that it would be difficult to define precisely what should be excluded by the states.
She stated that candy can include raisins, nuts, and healthy foods.
An Idaho bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Brad Little defined candy as “a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of confections, bars, drops, or pieces.”
The bill does not define candy as “anything containing more flour than 10% by weight or any item requiring refrigeration.”
Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. He stated that “we must try different things” to make Americans healthier. Mozaffarian expressed his optimism about the efforts made by state governments to revamp SNAP.
“If the program can achieve all its goals, including nutrition and the name, then it will be strengthened,” said the man.
Vani Hari, also known as Food Babe, is a healthy food activist and founder of Truvani. She is also an active member of the MAHA Movement.
“We should ask any legislators who do not sign these laws. It is not necessary to include high fructose corn syrup water in the government’s nutrition budget.”
