1 month ago
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(NewsNation) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he's working with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to propulsion done a ban connected candy and soda using nutrient stamps.
Kennedy discussed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a Cabinet gathering with President Trump astatine the White House connected Wednesday.
“Thirty-eight percent of our kids are diabetic oregon prediabetic, and we are paying astatine some ends,” helium told the president. “We are paying for the nutrient oregon the ‘food-like substances’ that marque them diabetic … and past we're paying a trillion dollars for metabolic research. It’s existential and not sustainable.”
SNAP is tally by the Department of Agriculture, not HHS, though Agriculture Chief Tom Vilsack has projected a “Make America Healthy Again” committee to see the ban. Rollins has besides signaled support.
Kennedy spearheaded the MAHA movement anterior to his HHS appointment. The propulsion to prohibition candy and sugary drinks has gained a important boost since Kennedy became a portion of Trump’s Cabinet.
The existent enthusiasm appears to deviate from Trump’s archetypal word erstwhile his medication denied a petition from the authorities of Maine successful 2018 that would person placed akin restrictions connected its nutrient stamp program.
Kansas, on with astatine slightest 15 states, including Idaho, Tennessee, Arizona, and Utah, have enactment distant bills sponsored by authorities legislators and different parties asking the national authorities to let SNAP restrictions connected candy and sugary drinks, citing the request for amended nutrition.
While the bans whitethorn look intended to beforehand healthier choices, antihunger groups reason that it doesn’t get to the basal origin and volition further strain the SNAP system.
“It is simply a ruse [by lobbying groups] … due to the fact that immoderate benignant of harm to SNAP, thing that makes the programme much hard oregon stigmatizes it is simply a chopped due to the fact that it’s cutting disconnected much people,” Gina Plata-Nino, a lawman manager astatine the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, said.
The astir communal obstruction overall, reported by 61% of SNAP participants, was the affordability of foods that are portion of a steadfast fare and harder to find successful low-income areas, according to a 2021 USDA survey.
“If you truly attraction astir the nutrition portion of making radical healthy, tin we speech astir however determination are not capable market stores wrong walking region for individuals? Can we speech astir the precocious terms of vegetables and eggs?” Plata-Nino said. “If you truly attraction astir this issue, look astatine the systemic basal causes.”
