What The Hell America!

Most people who study nutrition agree, reducing the amount of soda Americans consume would be good for the nation’s health. But the plan to block people using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — SNAP — from buying soda is getting mixed reviews.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. is encouraging states to pursue the idea — which would have to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and possibly approved by Congress. But even if a ban is possible, many who study food policy are skeptical it would improve people’s health.

“Americans should drink less soda,” says Joel Berg, CEO of  Hunger Free America, who worked on food policy under President Bill Clinton. “No question about it.”

Sugary drinks including soda are the leading source of added sugars in the American diet, contributing to obesity and heart disease.

But Berg doesn’t believe soda bans would help people to eat a healthier diet. “ If we really want to improve public health, we ought to make healthier food more affordable, more physically available, and convenient,” he says.

Natalie Kiyah is a single working mom of four who lives in Portland, Ore. She has intermittently received food assistance for more than a decade, and says she has occasionally used SNAP to purchase soda.

“I love to once in a while treat my kids,” says Kiyah. “Like a fun pizza night would also be soda night.”

For her, soda is a small indulgence, but a meaningful one.

“The more choice I have, I feel more dignity,” she says. “I feel more secure in who I am — having options — which then makes me a better mom and better mental health. It’s all connected.”

Kiyah says she struggles to pay bills and eating and drinking healthy foods ends up low on the priority list.

“Sometimes it’s like let me pop up some chicken nuggets in the microwave,” she says.

Giving people more money to spend on groceries when they buy fruits and vegetables can incentivize people to eat a healthier diet, says Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food as Medicine Institute at Tufts University.

“It’s a way of preserving choice and nudging people towards healthier behaviors.

He says it’s not a bad idea to discourage people on federal assistance from consuming things like soda and candy but he points to programs that use both negative and positive incentives as the most successful.

Mozaffarian says SNAP has been an effective program for reducing financial strain for families, but “it’s not been a very effective program for improving nutrition,” he says. “It’s the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and yet the N has been missing.”

One program that did improve nutrition is the expanded child tax credit, says Berg. He points to research from his organization that looked at the impact of the tax credit on people’s shopping behavior.

“ We found that low income people told us nationwide they were able to buy healthier food,” says Berg. “They were able to shop at more farmer’s markets. If you build it, they will come.”

Representatives from beverage companies have aligned their messaging with that of public health advocates.

“The majority of people on SNAP work, they just don’t make enough to make ends meet month to month,” says Meredith Potter, senior vice president at America Beverage. “It’ll treat them like second class citizens.”

One study suggests people on SNAP drink about the same amount of soda as those who aren’t using the benefit.

Potter argues  that beverage companies are sensitive to concerns about sugar consumption and have responded to increasing market demand for beverages with fewer calories by bringing more choices to market.

“Just look at the explosion in growth in water and sparkling waters and flavored waters,” she says.

Representatives from both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture — which administers SNAP — did not respond to an interview requests for this story.

Natalie Kiyah , the mom of four, says she had a message for the administration.

“There is so much more than soda that we are up against when it comes to giving our children and ourselves healthy foods and drinks.”

Edited by Jane Greenhalgh