You Shouldn’t Be Able to Buy Soda with Food Stamps

On Friday, the USDA rejected New York City's proposal to restrict the use of food stamps to buy soda.

August 23, 2011 | Source: Grist | by Tom Laskawy

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On Friday, the USDA rejected New York City’s proposal to restrict the use of food stamps to buy soda. According to The New York Times, there was much rejoicing:

The decision was a victory for the soft-drink industry, which had lobbied against the proposal, and for advocates for the poor and underfed, who had argued that the government should not stigmatize them by taking away their right to shop like other consumers. The food-selling industry also contended that it would be too complicated for stores to have to program their registers differently in the city than elsewhere.

“It was a big deal not to start breaking up the programs,” said Jennifer Hatcher, senior vice president for government relations at the Food Marketing Institute in Washington.

Tellingly, the New York Times article noted …

… the thrill in the voice of Joel Berg, the executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger who cheered the federal government for “deciding not to micromanage” the lives of poor people.

“The whole attempt was misguided and unworkable,” Mr. Berg said. “This proposal was based on the false assumption that poor people were somehow ignorant or culturally deficient.”

There are few issues that could put the soda lobby on the same side as the coalition for the hungry. Oh, wait. The massive federal Farm Bill does that, too.