Latest news with #AmericaHealthy
Newsweek
a day ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Two More States Look To Ban Junk Food From SNAP Benefits
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. South Carolina and Tennessee are looking to join a throng of states that have placed restrictions on what can be bought using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Why It Matters Since the Trump administration began in January, 12 U.S. states have previously moved to ban unhealthy foods and drinks from being bought using SNAP benefits. Such rule changes, known as waivers, need to be approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the program. Supporters of restricting SNAP purchases argue that removing unhealthy foods from the program will lead to better health outcomes, and the push to limit what can be bought has been spearheaded by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. However, critics contend it dictates how low-income Americans eat and ignores broader issues around access to affordable, nutritious food. If the waiver requests are approved in Tennessee and South Carolina, it could impact nearly 1.3 million SNAP recipients across both states. Stock image/file photo: A person carrying a basket of groceries in a store. Stock image/file photo: A person carrying a basket of groceries in a store. GETTY Tennessee On August 8, Governor Bill Lee announced he would seek a waiver from the USDA to eliminate sugary foods and drinks from being bought using SNAP benefits. The waiver would exclude items listing sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or a similar caloric alternative as the primary (first) ingredient, as well as carbonated sweetened beverages in which carbonated water and sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or a similar caloric alternative are the first two ingredients. "Tennessee is leading the nation in creating innovative solutions to enhance quality of life, and I'm proud to continue our legacy of responsible fiscal stewardship while also delivering nutritious food choices for hard-working families," he said in a press release. "I'm grateful to the Trump Administration for its leadership to Make America Healthy Again, and thank our grocery retailers, convenience stores, food producers, and beverage manufacturers for working to ensure that healthier choices reach every community across our state." However, Lee also plans to expand benefit rules in other areas. Plans include allowing SNAP recipients to purchase hot prepared chicken, "including rotisserie and non-fried, non-breaded items like grilled chicken tenders – offering convenient, healthy meal solutions." South Carolina South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster is also looking to limit SNAP purchases, although it is currently unclear exactly what foods will be limited. "America is getting healthy, and South Carolina will do her part," McMaster posted on X, on August 6. "In the next few days, I will issue an executive order directing the Department of Social Services to place common-sense limits on purchases made using SNAP benefits, formerly known as "food stamps." America is getting healthy, and South Carolina will do her part. In the next few days, I will issue an executive order directing the Department of Social Services to place common-sense limits on purchases made using SNAP benefits, formerly known as 'food stamps.' — Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) August 6, 2025 Like Tennessee, this will need to be done via a waiver request to the USDA. Newsweek has contacted McMaster's office via email for an update. SNAP Restrictions Across The U.S. So far this year, 12 states have had waivers approved that limit what SNAP users can buy. These are Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. Beginning in 2026, these new waivers - each with their own rules - will prohibit certain foods from being purchased with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which are reloaded monthly for use at participating grocery stores nationwide. Their decisions have been welcomed by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. "It is incredible to see so many states take action at this critical moment in our nation's history and do something to begin to address chronic health problems," Rollins said in a press release issued on August 4. "President Trump has changed the status quo, and the entire cabinet is taking action to Make America Healthy Again. At USDA, we play a key role in supporting Americans who fall on hard times, and that commitment does not change. Rather, these state waivers promote healthier options for families in need," What Happens Next Each of the currently approved waivers will go into effect at various points in 2026, meaning there will be no immediate changes for SNAP beneficiaries across the impacted states for now.
San Francisco Chronicle
14-07-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
The White House praised In-N-Out for switching to beef tallow. It hasn't
The White House touted in a Monday press release examples of prominent food companies that had made changes aligned with President Donald Trump's promises to 'Make America Healthy Again' — including California's In-N-Out Burger, which, the announcement claimed, had switched to only using beef tallow. But in fact, the burger chain continues to use sunflower oil to cook its French fries, the company's customer service line confirmed. The White House press release linked to a viral April 1 X post appearing to announce the company was 'transitioning to 100% pure beef tallow.' The post was from a In-N-Out fan account that quickly clarified it was an April Fool's joke. 'Just delete it bruh,' responded political commentator Dominic Michael Tripi. 'Everyone thinks it's real.' In-N-Out did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the confusion. The burger chain did announce last month that it would remove artificial dyes from two of its drinks and change to a ketchup made with real sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder said in a May 15 Facebook post that the company is 'researching an even better-quality oil for our fries' but did not mention beef tallow. Cardiologists believe that vegetable oils are healthier than animal fats, citing decades of research. Still, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has championed tallow over seed oils, and some Bay Area restaurants have made the switch. Critics claim without medical evidence that seed oils like canola, soybean and sunflower oil cause inflammation and worsen health problems such as obesity and heart disease. Steak 'n Shake, a burger chain in the Midwest, has announced it's moving away from seed oils, and is now cooking fries, onion rings and chicken tenders in beef tallow. In-N-Out operates more than 400 locations in California and beyond. A privately held company, its family-owners have drawn criticism from some customers in liberal-leaning California for their donations to Republicans. And on social media, some customers have indeed pressed In-N-Out to move to beef tallow. But as of now, In-N-Out's website confirms its fries are cooked in 100% sunflower oil.
Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed.
Last week I toured — Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) But an Associated Press review of Mom's Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, shows that the company's offerings are the type of heat-and-eat, ultraprocessed foods that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick. Advertisement The meals contain chemical additives that would render them impossible to recreate at home in your kitchen, said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University and food policy expert, who reviewed the menu for The AP. Many menu items are high in sodium, and some are high in sugar or saturated fats, she said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'It is perfectly possible to make meals like this with real foods and no ultra-processing additives but every one of the meals I looked at is loaded with such additives,' Nestle said. 'What's so sad is that they don't have to be this way. Other companies are able to produce much better products, but of course they cost more.' Mom's Meals do not have the artificial, petroleum dyes that Kennedy has pressured companies to remove from products, she noted. Advertisement Mom's Meals' products 'do not include ingredients that are commonly found in ultra-processed foods' such as synthetic food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, certain sweeteners or synthetic preservatives that are banned in Europe, Teresa Roof, a company spokeswoman, said in an email. She did not address the company's use of additives in the foods that make them ultraprocessed. The meals are a 'healthy alternative' to what many people would find in their grocery stores, said Andrew Nixon, U.S. Health and Human Services spokesman, in response to questions about Mom's Meals. Mom's Meals is one of several companies across the U.S. that deliver 'medically tailored' at-home meals. The meal programs are covered by Medicaid for some enrollees, including people who are sick with cancer or diabetes, as well as some older Americans who are enrolled in certain Medicare health insurance plans. Patients recently discharged from the hospital can also have the meals delivered, according to the company's website. It's unclear how much federal taxpayers spend on providing meals through Medicaid and Medicare every year. An Defining ultraprocessed foods can be tricky. Most U.S. foods are processed, whether it's by freezing, grinding, fermentation, pasteurization or other means. Foods created through industrial processes and with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives that you couldn't duplicate in a home kitchen are considered the most processed. Advertisement Kennedy has said healthier U.S. diets are key to his vision to 'Make America Healthy Again.' His call for Americans to increase whole foods in their diets has helped Kennedy build his unique coalition of Trump loyalists and suburban moms who have branded themselves as 'MAHA.' In a recent social media post where he criticized the vast amount of ultraprocessed foods in American diets, Kennedy urged Americans to make healthier choices. 'This country has lost the most basic of all freedoms — the freedom that comes from being healthy," Kennedy said.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Contributor: Cracks in the Trump coalition? They won't matter
Donald Trump's coalition has always been a Frankenstein's monster — stitched together from parts that were never meant to coexist. Consider the contradictions: fast-food fanatics hanging out with juice-cleanse truthers chanting 'Make America Healthy Again' between ivermectin doses, immigration hardliners mixing with business elites who are 'tough on the border' until they need someone to clean their toilets or pick their strawberries, and hawkish interventionists spooning with America Firsters. Dogs and cats living together — mass hysteria — you know the bit. Navigating these differences was always going to be tricky. But in recent days — particularly following Israel's bombing of Iran, an operation widely believed to have been greenlit by Trump — the tension has reached new highs. Signs of strain were already emerging earlier this year. We got early hints of discord during the 'Liberation Day' tariff fiasco — where Trump declared an 'emergency' and imposed steep tariffs, only to suspend them after they riled markets and spooked his business-friendly backers. The tariff blunder was a harbinger of things to come. But it was the House's passage of Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' — a budgetary monstrosity that self-respecting Freedom Caucus deficit hawks should've torched on principle — that truly exposed the rift. Enter Elon Musk, the billionaire tech bro and MAGA ally, who publicly trashed both the bill and Trump in a flurry of posts. He even referenced Trump's name reportedly appearing in Jeffrey Epstein's files — a claim that, though unverified, was tantamount to 'going nuclear.' But before there was enough time to say 'Republican civil war,' Musk deleted his mean tweets, adding to the evidence that this is still Trump's party; that modern Republicans view deficits the way the rest of us view library late fees — technically real, but nothing to lose sleep over; and that ketamine is a hell of a drug. The next internecine squabble was over immigration. Trump proudly ran on rounding 'em all up. Mass deportations! Load up the buses! But then it turned out that his rich buddies in Big Ag and Big Hospitality weren't so keen on losing some of their best employees. So Trump floated a carve out to protect some 'very good, long time workers' in those particular industries. It even started to look like some exemptions were coming — until his Department of Homeland Security said 'no mas.' (The raids will presumably continue until the next time a farmer or hotelier complains to Trump in a meeting.) But the real fissure involves some prominent America First non-interventionists who thought Trump was elected to end the 'forever wars.' In case you missed it, Israel has been going after Iran's nuclear capabilities with the same gusto that Trump aide Stephen Miller applies to deporting Guatemalan landscapers, and Trump is all in, calling for an 'unconditional surrender' of the Iranian regime (and then deploying bombs on Saturday). This didn't sit well with everyone in the MAGA coalition. 'I think we're going to see the end of American empire,' warned Tucker Carlson on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast. 'But it's also going to end, I believe, Trump's presidency — effectively end it — and so that's why I'm saying this.' And Carlson (co-founder of the Daily Caller, where I worked) didn't stop there. 'The real divide isn't between people who support Israel and those who support Iran or the Palestinians,' he tweeted. 'It's between warmongers and peacemakers.' Then he named names, alleging that Fox's Sean Hannity, radio firebrand Mark Levin, media titan Rupert Murdoch and billionaire Trump donors Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson were among the warmongers. Trump hit back, calling Tucker 'kooky' and repeating his new mantra: 'IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.' It's tempting to see this spat as the beginning of a schism — a break that might finally yield a coherent Trump Doctrine, at least, as it pertains to foreign policy (possibly returning the GOP to a more Reaganite or internationalist party). But that misunderstands the nature of Trump and his coalition. These coalitional disagreements over public policy are real and important. But they mostly exist at the elite level. The actual Trump voter base? They care about only one thing: Donald Trump. And Trump resists ideological straitjackets. If Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu rubs him the wrong way next week (as he did by congratulating Joe Biden in 2020), or if Israel's military campaign starts slipping in the polls, Trump could flip faster than a gymnast on Red Bull. There is no coherent philosophy. No durable ideology. What we're watching is a guy making it up as he goes along — often basing decisions on his 'gut' or the opinion of the last guy who bent his ear. So if you're looking for a Trump Doctrine to explain it all — keep looking. There isn't one. There's only Trump. Matt K. Lewis is the author of 'Filthy Rich Politicians' and 'Too Dumb to Fail.' If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Cracks in the Trump coalition? They won't matter
Donald Trump's coalition has always been a Frankenstein's monster — stitched together from parts that were never meant to coexist. Consider the contradictions: fast-food fanatics hanging out with juice-cleanse truthers chanting 'Make America Healthy Again' between ivermectin doses, immigration hardliners mixing with business elites who are 'tough on the border' until they need someone to clean their toilets or pick their strawberries, and hawkish interventionists spooning with America Firsters. Dogs and cats living together — mass hysteria — you know the bit. Navigating these differences was always going to be tricky. But in recent days — particularly following Israel's bombing of Iran, an operation widely believed to have been greenlit by Trump — the tension has reached new highs. Signs of strain were already emerging earlier this year. We got early hints of discord during the 'Liberation Day' tariff fiasco — where Trump declared an 'emergency' and imposed steep tariffs, only to suspend them after they riled markets and spooked his business-friendly backers. The tariff blunder was a harbinger of things to come. But it was the House's passage of Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' — a budgetary monstrosity that self-respecting Freedom Caucus deficit hawks should've torched on principle — that truly exposed the rift. Enter Elon Musk, the billionaire tech bro and MAGA ally, who publicly trashed both the bill and Trump in a flurry of posts. He even referenced Trump's name reportedly appearing in Jeffrey Epstein's files — a claim that, though unverified, was tantamount to 'going nuclear.' But before there was enough time to say 'Republican civil war,' Musk deleted his mean tweets, adding to the evidence that this is still Trump's party; that modern Republicans view deficits the way the rest of us view library late fees — technically real, but nothing to lose sleep over; and that ketamine is a hell of a drug. The next internecine squabble was over immigration. Trump proudly ran on rounding 'em all up. Mass deportations! Load up the buses! But then it turned out that his rich buddies in Big Ag and Big Hospitality weren't so keen on losing some of their best employees. So Trump floated a carve out to protect some 'very good, long time workers' in those particular industries. It even started to look like some exemptions were coming — until his Department of Homeland Security said 'no mas.' (The raids will presumably continue until the next time a farmer or hotelier complains to Trump in a meeting.) But the real fissure involves some prominent America First non-interventionists who thought Trump was elected to end the 'forever wars.' In case you missed it, Israel has been going after Iran's nuclear capabilities with the same gusto that Trump aide Stephen Miller applies to deporting Guatemalan landscapers, and Trump is all in, calling for an 'unconditional surrender' of the Iranian regime. This didn't sit well with everyone in the MAGA coalition. 'I think we're going to see the end of American empire,' warned Tucker Carlson on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast. 'But it's also going to end, I believe, Trump's presidency — effectively end it — and so that's why I'm saying this.' And Carlson (co-founder of the Daily Caller, where I worked) didn't stop there. 'The real divide isn't between people who support Israel and those who support Iran or the Palestinians,' he tweeted. 'It's between warmongers and peacemakers.' Then he named names, alleging that Fox's Sean Hannity, radio firebrand Mark Levin, media titan Rupert Murdoch and billionaire Trump donors Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson were among the warmongers. Trump hit back, calling Tucker 'kooky' and repeating his new mantra: 'IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.' It's tempting to see this spat as the beginning of a schism — a break that might finally yield a coherent Trump Doctrine, at least, as it pertains to foreign policy (possibly returning the GOP to a more Reaganite or internationalist party). But that misunderstands the nature of Trump and his coalition. These coalitional disagreements over public policy are real and important. But they mostly exist at the elite level. The actual Trump voter base? They care about only one thing: Donald Trump. And Trump resists ideological straitjackets. If Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu rubs him the wrong way next week (as he did by congratulating Joe Biden in 2020), or if Israel's military campaign starts slipping in the polls, Trump could flip faster than a gymnast on Red Bull. There is no coherent philosophy. No durable ideology. What we're watching is a guy making it up as he goes along — often basing decisions on his 'gut' or the opinion of the last guy who bent his ear. So if you're looking for a Trump Doctrine to explain it all — keep looking. There isn't one. There's only Trump. Matt K. Lewis is the author of 'Filthy Rich Politicians' and 'Too Dumb to Fail.'
