Can Food Stamp Users Be Stopped From Buying Soda?

In the tough battle to fight against obesity, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ban the 1.7 million users to use food stamps to buy soda, or other soft drinks.

This initiative is part of a series of interventions to fight against obesity, which included advertising, stricter rules on food sold in schools, and an attempt to tax sugary drinks.

Whilst it may be surrounded by political and ethical debate, it's not a bad idea really, is it? In fact, wouldn't it be great if food stamps were used to buy vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds and canned products - healthy foods?

For a healthier nation, this thing should be signed, sealed and delivered as of today, but in the "humor us" department, let's take a look at some of the thorny issues that may arise such stipulation.

Ethically, is it fair to discriminate against those who have food stamps? Who are we to tell them what they can and can not buy?

Conversely, we all have a collective responsibility to ensure that already off-the-track health care spending does not go even further into the abyss.

The thread of the "big-brother" argument here is "How dare they tell people what they can and can not eat or drink," but let's not forget that the regulation of what people can get their government assistance on is not the same as telling people what they can and can not eat or drink.

Like many other ideas, the problems are deeply rooted, and the solution is multifaceted. Although this is a good idea, there are bigger fish to fry - specifically corn subsidies that keep prices artificially low.

Ultimately I do not see this passage because of the industry-cozy relationship between regulators and major food government food. I'm sure they have soda lobbyists working overtime to ensure that this idea never sees the light of day. In addition, in 2004, the Agriculture Department has rejected a request by Minnesota to prevent recipients of food stamps to buy junk food.

What are your thoughts on this?

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