Reuters writer Charles
Abbott
reported yesterday that, “
Congress should ban sugary
sodas from the $58 billion-a-year U.S. food stamp program as a
step to combat the obesity crisis, the
House Agriculture Committee was told on Thursday
.

“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.”

Yesterday’s article stated that, “
‘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.’

“Committee chairman
Collin Peterson told reporters,
‘It clearly is something we need to look at.’

“‘
We need to look at what effect, if any, we’re having on the
obesity situation
. Is the SNAP program
contributing to that?
’ said Peterson. ‘
That’s the first
question, before we talk anything about money
.’”

(
FarmPolicy.com Note: To listen to extended comments on
this issue by Dr. Paarlberg from yesterday’s hearing, just click
here
(MP3-5:02); also, an entire audio rebroadcast of yesterday’s
hearing is
available for replay or download here
.)

Mr. Abbott noted that, “First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled a 70-point
plan on Tuesday to reduce childhood obesity rates within a generation. The
report
called for larger enrollment in public nutrition programs,
putting healthier foods in school meals and encouraging Americans to eat
more fruits and vegetables.”

Philip
Brasher
reported yesterday at The Green Fields Blog (The Des Moines
Register) that, “
The White House plan for attacking childhood
obesity ran into resistance today from a key player on Capitol Hill
.
The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Collin Peterson,
said he doesn’t think that increasing the number of people on food
stamps or subsidizing fruits and vegetables are solutions to obesity.

“The White House plan, released on Tuesday,
called for
expanding enrollment in food stamps and using the next farm bill to
expand production of fruits and vegetables
. The plan sets a
target of increasing fruit and vegetable supplies 70 percent by 2020.

“‘
I do not believe the solution to obesity is spending more
money on fruits and vegetables
,’ the Minnesota Democrat told
reporters during a break in a hearing on farm policy.”

Mr. Brasher explained that, “
The White House was not specific
in how fruit and vegetable production should be subsidized
. An
Iowa State University economist, Bruce Babcock, warned Peterson’s
committee against directly subsidizing farmers, saying that would cause
growers’ prices to crash.
It would be better, he said, to
subsidize transportation or other costs necessary to get produce to
markets where fresh produce is now hard to get
.”

(
FarmPolicy.com Note: To listen to some of Dr. Babcock’s
analysis on this issue, which was provided in a response to a question
by Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-Penn.), just click
here
MP3- 2:11.))

Jerry Hagstrom reported yesterday at DTN (link
requires subscription
) that, “[
Chairman] Peterson also said
he does not understand why anti-hunger advocates keep saying there is a
simultaneous problem of hunger and obesity
.

Jean
Kinsey
, a University of Minnesota economics professor, replied that
when people are hungry ‘they tend to eat what is available,’ and that
those foods are usually cheap, high in fat, dense in calories and
nutritionally poor. Kinsey said that the most frequent question she gets
is ‘
Why doesn’t our government subsidize the production of
fruits and vegetables like (or instead of) corn and soybeans?

“Peterson told the reporters, ‘I do not believe the solution to
obesity is spending more money on fruits and vegetables. That might be
part of the solution. I don’t know where we get the money to do that.’”

(
FarmPolicy.com Note: To listen to remarks on this issue by
Chairman Peterson from yesterday’s hearing, just click
here
(MP3-5:27). As a side note, on the issue of farm payments,
Chairman
Peterson indicated in a prelude to his comments on nutrition issues
that the 10% of farmers who are getting 60% of farm payments generate
80% of production. The fact that payments follow production makes
sense, he noted
.)

Mr. Hagstrom added that, “
Tied to that notion of eating more
fruits and vegetables, Neil
Hamilton
of Drake University also disputed recent
criticism
of the Obama administration’s ‘Know
Your Farmer, Know Your Food
’ program as aimed at hobby farmers and
affluent consumers
. Hamilton called for continuation of the
program, saying it helped create farmers markets where millions of
Americans can exercise their preference to buy fresh food from local
farmers whose earnings stay in the community.”

In a related article discussing a separate issue related to soda, Tim
Craig
reported in today’s Washington Post that, “
The
beverage industry is mounting an expensive campaign to derail a D.C.
Council proposal for a citywide soda tax, setting up a two-week showdown
between some city grocers and health advocates over how best to curb
childhood obesity rates
.

“To pay for a council initiative requiring city schools to serve more
fresh fruit and vegetables to students, council member Mary M. Cheh
(D-Ward 3) has proposed a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on bottled and canned
soda that contains sugar. Diet soda would be exempt.”