Posted on 05/14/2010 5:55:37 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
WASHINGTON — Rep. Collin Peterson on Thursday suggested Congress consider banning caloric soft drinks from being purchased with food stamps as a way to address obesity.
According to multiple reports, Peterson said the proposed ban is "clearly is something we need to look at," though he added that he neither supports nor opposes the suggestion at this point.
Peterson's comments followed a House Agriculture Committee meeting, in which a panelist suggested the embargo. The hearing was one of many Peterson is holding as an early preview of the 2012 Farm Bill, which includes the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The exact suggestion Peterson was responding to, as reported by Reuters' Charles Abbott:
Wellesley College professor and food expert Rob Paarlberg suggested the ban during a hearing to review the 2008 farm law, which includes food stamps as well as crop subsidies. Food stamps help low-income people buy food. One in eight Americans receives food stamps.
The anti-hunger program accounts for 40 percent of Agriculture Department spending and outweighs crop subsidy and land stewardship spending of $10 billion this year.
"I would argue caloric soda should be made ineligible for purchase under SNAP, like tobacco and alcohol," said Paarlberg, using the new name for food stamps, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He later said sugary sodas are "a huge part of the obesity problem."
Now that is an idea worth considering. I often see food stamps buying more soda than I can afford.
HA! Like to see ‘em try! This Congress appears to fear the people in no way (except of course an angry mob of Pepsi or Mountain Dew-deprived welfare recipients rioting in the streets!)
Should just go back to “free food” handouts. Direct distribution of foodstuffs. Worked great for us when my father lost his job back in the early ‘60s.
not to mention...what about our vaunted Ethanol Lobby of Corn Farmers and Grain Belt Congresscritters? You start shutting down demand for HFCS and there is gonna be HELL to PAY!
Is that on Michelle Obummers list for Obesity! It should be. Soda is nothing but wasted calories and should be banned from food stamp as should twinkies.
I assumed it already wasn’t allowed. Does this mean that food stamps can be used to purchase chips, ice cream and candy, too? Good grief.
Where will it stop? No cereal? No boxed or canned foods? Fresh fruit, veggies and bagged beans only?
Food police
Yup. They are considered food items.
Well if that’s a good idea, here’s a better one:
1 fresh and dried fruit, and nuts
2 fresh veggies
3 unprocessed, packaged fresh or frozen meats
4 loaves of fresh bread
Nothing else.
If you are on welfare getting food stamps then tough titty said the kitty. Get a frigging job, then you can purchase whatever you want.
You have to have worked in a grocery store at some point to believe it. You can generally spot a Food Stamp recipient even before they open their purse, because the cart is overflowing with pop, Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Ho-Ho’s, potato chips, etc. That and every cut of meat which people who actually work for a living can’t afford. Not a tomato or a head of lettuce to be found anywhere. If you manage a store one of your challenges is to get your cashiers to stop making snyde remarks in front of such (and I use this term loosely....) customers.
That being said, I am not in favor of a Federal Food Police.
That’s the insidious nature of having someone else in charge of paying for your “needs”...
not only do THEY get to control what you can have,
it makes people like you and me tend to justify that control
because we don’t approve of what it’s being spent on.
Same with healthcare control.
NO. ..just get the Gov out of the 'food line'. These kind of 'good intentions' lead to hell. We know that.
I actually have no problem with gov’t restrictions on things when the money is coming from the public coffers. If people are going to insist on having other people support them, they should accept whatever guidelines are imposed upon them. Might make welfare and other gov’t programs less attractive.
And no, I don’t condemn anyone who has to accept public aid on a temporary basis, to get them through a rough patch. But if you make it too easy and comfortable, it becomes a lifestyle.
yes
And guess what...milk has calories, too.
I’d like to see soda banned from food stamps but for a completely different reason. Take away soda, sweets, salt, potato chip type snacks etc. Piss these leaches off and see if any decide to work for a paycheck!
2 Thess 3:10.
A Christian precept, and therefore, to be rejected in "post-Christian" America.
Wise judgment! Who thinks they'd stop at food stamp purchases? ;-)
When Pepsico spent untold millions of dollars changing their logo to resemble the Obama “Hope and Change” icon, somehow I can’t see where this is ever gonna happen.
OK, I'll include fruit and veggies too.
Amazing.
This is ironic. They want to remove choice when people select food products, but they want to allow choice when it comes to abortions.
If they're successful doing this, it seems to me a precedent would be established for reversing Roe v Wade.
I agree 100%.
The government should get out of the food business completely and all people’s food choices will once again reflect economic reality. People might actually learn how to cook rather than push a microwave button.
People on the government food dole should not be buying convenience anyhow. In reality, they have more time on hand to prepare meals from scratch than working people.
I believe the government under nobama has already begun the process of making us like North Korea. They have a plan to take care of the “peoples” excess and fat children. With the economy in eventual shambles we will be eating grass and tree bark. Problem solved. nobama is a genius. Pure genius.
I know legal immigrants from India who go to Sams Club and buy 25 lb. bags of rice. With that and a few vegetables and spices, they can live on it for half a year. (generally they save the rest of their money and end up buying a business within a couple of years)
Yeah, and we were also told Obama was the “post-partisan” president. Look where that got us. I’ll “cling bitterly to my guns and religion”, thanks all the same.
At the same time they wanted to put a federal tax on our soda to pay for Health Reform. Idiots #2
About 4x’s a year my wife and daughters drive to Pinehurst, NC to see their Granny. We pass the section 8 projects on the way in. Every time we go we place bets on whether or not these same 4 people are sitting on the front porch, not working. We always pass by on a Thursday or Friday about noon. 3 out of 4 times, there they are! In their 20’s and 30’s just sitting. It’s a great illustration to my kids on the “wonders” of hand outs! The complex is called “Optimist Apartments” too! Right next to “Optimist Field” which is always empty. Sitting on the porch wears a fellow out.
That isn’t the point. The point is the government will control what people eat. Are you really okay with that?
Then why not just ban them outright?
Good!
I have a friend who is a clerk in a food store. She said those with gub’ment food cards buy the expensive crackers, chocolates, etc. that she can’t afford to buy. So much for subsidies.
“except of course an angry mob of Pepsi or Mountain Dew-deprived welfare recipients rioting in the streets!”
Nothing to fear, they’d give out quick without all that sugar and caffeine.
No stamps for Nehi Grape Soda? None for Kools cigarettes? What’s next- none for Barbecue Potato Chips?
I totally agree, but all those corporations getting subsidies should face the same thing. Their CEO’s should eat nothing but raw veggies.
this has all the makings of a classic Democrat Pinch Bill (propose some draconian regulation and then milk the Soda, Snack Food and Fast Food industries for campaign cash in order to keep the Grim Reaper away from their door). Just like the deals Obama cut with GE and Big Pharma.
Government handouts breed resentment of our fellow human beings... as I believe they are intended to do at some level.
Congress should 'look at' banning all food stamp purchases
Cigarettes, beer, and ice cream too.
Working families who are paying for it all can't feed their families anywhere near that well. Next time you're in a grocery store, hang out a while and watch for a food stamp recipient (they'll use a government debit card), and take a look at the bounty they have in their cart. You'll be shocked. I don't remember the last time I could afford a standing rib roast, prepared pies, top of the line frozen vegetables, and cases of Pepsi like that.
While you're at it, notice their professionally manicured nails, designer clothing, and salon hair styles.
The tax payers are getting fleeced - big time.
Try explaining that to one of the "i'm gettin' over" class and you get a less than blank look.
Ban Food Stamps. They are illegally traded for booze, prostitutes, and cash.
Open commodity stores where nutritious foods would be given to the poor to be cooked at home...no Sara Lee cakes, Cokes, chips etc. Obesity would be halted in its tracks.
If the government is telling us what to eat, it should only pay for caloric necessities, not fattening frills, in their feeding programs.
Bears repeating.
Here's a take -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMnIY7NADvk
Add cookies, chips, and candy to the list, and go back to the old food stamp coupons with NO CASH BACK! They swipe their cards when they purchase food and get $20 in cash, then turn around and buy cigs, beer, and lottery tickets with the money.
you should only be able to buy the staples with food stamps, just enought to keep you alive.
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