Posted on 06/20/2013 5:54:57 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
(Reuters) - The American Medical Association joined the effort to discourage consumption of sugary drinks on Wednesday with a pledge to work to get them off U.S. government food aid programs for the poor.
The nation's largest physician group said removing the sugary beverages from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would help reduce weight-related health problems.
"The AMA is working to improve the nation's health care outcomes, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are often linked to obesity," said AMA President Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven said in a statement.
The group's stance came a day after mayors in 18 cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, sent a letter to Congress asking members to maintain funding for the food program, known as SNAP, while cutting its subsidy of sugary drinks.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Nanny State PING!
Beware the leaven of the medical Pharisees.
So sick of all these busy bodies!
This will just result in more restrictions on businesses (which is what every government action ultimately results in anyway). They will be required to reinventory every “food” item.
Self-appointed omnipotent moral busybodies.
Sorry, but I disagree.
That high-calorie beverages are a nutritional disaster is clearly established.
Which doesn’t mean the government should be banning them. People have the right to make stupid decisions, and it’s not the government’s business to try to stop them.
But there’s a huge difference between the government forbidding people to do something stupid and the government deciding not to pay people to do something stupid.
I believe the AMA is considered the largest medical association only because all medical profs and students belong to it.
Media makes too much money from ‘sugary drink’ advertising for this to ever fly LOL!
Bloomburg had the right idea: tax them!
That’s right- take the money the feds give the recipients and spend it on union raises and other boondoggles.
The media’s happy, the unions are happy, and the food stamp recipients don’t care.
Audit, fine and monitor people who use sugar products...
But paying people to do stupid things is pretty much the defining criteria of a democracy...
The nanny state part is the food stamps. Since soda is not food I don't see why my tax dollar should be used to provide food stamps and then they're used on stuff with negative nutritional value.
What's the solution? Put US citizens back to work so they can afford their own food. And send home non-citizens who aren't self-sufficient enough to feed themselves.
I agree with you 100%. My only issue is that they will find ways to get their sugary drinks, just like they find ways to get their cigarettes and booze. It’s amazing how they have money for that stuff.
They can have my energy drinks from my cold, clammy hands.
My cold. Clammy. Hands.
If someone wants to use THEIR money to buy a soda, fine. I don’t want them to use MY MONEY aka WELFARE to buy luxury items such as soft drinks, potato chips or candy.
Dr.Nannies
On one hand, the states have never delegated to Congress, via the Constitution, the specific power to regulate, tax and spend for food aid, aka vote-buying programs. So military issues aside, no citizen should be receiving federal food aid.
One the other hand, noting that the 13 original states were nanny states, the states still have 10th Amendment-protected nanny state powers although such powers are now limited by the 14th Amendment. And it’s ultimately up to a state’s legal majority voters to decide what, if anything, is on the menu of state food aid programs.
“Sugary drinks”???
Have you looked at ‘juice drinks’ lately?
Have you looked at how many of those ‘drinks’ contain that nasty stuff, aspertame?
Have you looked at the inside of some of those ‘juice box drinks’, lately? There is MOLD possibly present in them!
Who’s been paying for this stuff?? SNAP!!
The last decades I can remember since lying liberals made those claims, the only ones wanting to "dictate what you do with your body" are all liberals, smoking, seat belts, paint, baby carriers, cribs, grilling out, electrical appliances, SUVs, trash collection, laundry soap, sanitary supplies, hair coloring, tanning beds, tattoos, etc.
Come on fellow FReepers, add your own liberal outrages. How long can this list get anyway.
I agree with this. Thirty years ago, I worked at Publix, and the customers were not allowed to buy pop, candy or prepared foods with food stamps. If Mooch was serious, btw, she would lead an effort to allow only meat, produce, dairy, and other nutritious foods to be bought with food stamps. No cookies, candy, pop, or chips!
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