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After criticizing First Lady Michelle Obama for ‘telling them what to eat,’ House Republicans are proposing a bill that will tell millions of Americans what they are allowed to eat.
The Hill reported:
Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday proposed legislation that would require people using federal food stamps to buy only healthy food…Efforts to curb these purchases have been opposed by anti-hunger groups. But Roe said some states are already exploring ways to curb junk food purchases through the SNAP program, and argued that the federal government needs to take steps as well.
“Already, states like Wisconsin and South Carolina have shown interest in improving the healthfulness of choices in their SNAP programs,” he said. “By giving SNAP recipients more nutritious choices, we can take a meaningful step towards ending hunger in America.”
There are a couple of of things about this bill that you need to know. First, anti-hunger organizations oppose all legislation that would limit food choices. Edward Cooney, Executive Director of the Congressional Hunger Center, used the Republicans’ own argument against them, “Our view is that people have the smarts to purchase their own food and we’re opposed to all limitations on food choice. There’s no study that I’m aware of that links SNAP participation to obesity.”
It has been widely speculated that the reason why anti-hunger groups are against any limits on what SNAP recipients can buy is because they accept tens of millions of dollars in food donations every year from the processed food industry.
The idea that First Lady Obama is trying to tell Americans what to eat is a part of Republican anti-Obama folklore. There was the infamous incident in 2011 when Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner told a woman at a church auction that, “she lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself.” Rush Limbaugh targets the First Lady with his sexist rants about the freedom to be as fat as he wants to be on a regular basis. It is possible to find some Republican somewhere claiming that Michelle Obama is telling them what to eat on almost every day of the year.
Michelle Obama has been advocating for Americans to eat healthier. What Republicans are trying to do is pass a law telling poor Americans what they can, and can’t eat. Republicans are proposing the exact thing that they were criticizing First Lady Obama for.
Republicans can’t criticize Michelle Obama for asking people to make better food choices, when they are passing legislation around the country that tells people what they can eat. Healthier eating is important for all Americans, but this Republican double standard deserves to be called out.
Michelle Obama is encouraging Americans to make their own choices. Republicans are making the choices for people. The hypocrisy is mind boggling.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
