MAHA just announced that states will be able to prohibit people from purchasing junk food with SNAP.
They claim this will make people healthier.
That it’ll force them to make better choices. It won’t.
Why? They aren’t addressing the privilege involved with healthy eating
I’m all for a healthy diet. I only consume whole and unprocessed foods myself, and even did a year as a raw vegan to try and reduce my overall inflammation.
It was an eye opening experience that I was only able to do because of my privilege.
In a perfect world, we would all be eating the healthiest and most nutrient dense food available.
But we don’t live in a perfect world.
Whole foods are more expensive, take longer to prepare and require more effort than “junk food”
People who are disabled, elderly, living in poverty and/or food deserts sometimes have no other choice.
Fed is better than dead.
This latest restriction will result in people going hungry. Kids starving because their parents can’t make them a healthy meal.
You can’t cut off an entire category of food without addressing the various systemic barriers to healthy eating.
There needs to be a plan to lower the cost of fresh whole foods. They need to be made more available, cheaper and in easy to prepare options.
People need a basic living wage to ensure they have the time to shop, prep and cook.
If you’re working two full time jobs just to survive; you can’t possibly be cooking from scratch every day.
Even if all those goals were accomplished, there are still people who rely on junk food for survival.
There are still people who may want it as an occasional treat.
Banning it altogether sends a message that poor & disabled people don’t “deserve” treats.
This isn’t about making people healthier. It’s about blaming them for their illnesses.
If we blame diet and lifestyle, we can feel better about not treating people when they get sick.
It’s eugenics and it’s on full display.
There are so many better ways to encourage people to eat healthier.
We should have universal healthcare, a basic income, childcare and affordable housing.
If basic needs are met, healthy living becomes much easier.
Finally, disability is no one’s fault.
Healthy living can help, but you can’t wellness your way out of chronic illness.
It doesn’t work that way, and the only reason to convince people otherwise is a desire to label disabled people expendable.
We are not expendable.
#uspol #disability #FoodInsecurity #snap #ableism #rfkjr #hhs #chronicillness
