SNAP funds should not be spent on candy and soda | Opinion

SNAP shouldn’t pay for junk food

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s program to “Make America Healthy Again” has made a serious error in cutting back on vaccine research, but I agree with its targeting of ultra-processed foods. The National Institutes of Health says that two-thirds of the calories consumed by young people are ultra-processed. The Centers for Disease Control says that the majority of Californians consume at least one sugary drink per day, and these are frequently associated with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a great way to help low-income people get food, but its big flaw is that it also pays for junk foods. Now Kennedy is encouraging states to apply for a waiver to exclude junk foods from their SNAP. So far, six states (all Republican-led) have received waivers allowing them to stop paying for sugary drinks and candy. California should get one, too.

Not surprisingly, the Food Industry Association and the National Grocers Association have opposed this type of change for many years. But its time has finally come.

Many Californians have legitimate issues with the current administration, but we should not let partisan politics get in the way of good policy.

Don Gaede

San Luis Obispo

Trump did have a choice

McClatchy columnist David Mastio’s opinion that bombing Iran was the “only reasonable choice” is flat-out false, as is his conclusion that Trump “made the only choice he could.”

His reasonable choice was to obey his oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.” Article 1, Section 8, states “Congress shall have the power... to declare war.” Only Congress can decide if we’re going to war, unless we’ve been attacked or are under imminent threat. Neither condition existed. As commander-in-chief, Trump can decide how to wage a war, not if we do.

It’s up to us, through our elected representatives in Congress, exercising our First Amendment rights to speak, assemble and petition the government. This is the most consequential and deadly decision any government can make. But, for over seven decades since WWII, Congress has surrendered its exclusive power to presidents, and from Vietnam, to Iraq, Afghanistan and more, the U.S. has killed millions of people, using our tax dollars and silent acquiescence.

Our July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In our democratic republic, we the people are the ultimate rulers. This July 4th let’s start acting like it.

David Broadwater

Atascadero

Protect wildlife

As a veterinarian, I understand species and habitat interdependence. Unfortunately, human destruction of habitat and wildlife killing has upended biodiversity and environmental balance: mammalian biomass is composed of 60% livestock, 36% human and only 4% wildlife, while birds are 70% poultry and 30% wild.

We depend on plants and wildlife for food chains, photosynthesis, pollination, nutrient recycling etc. I fervently oppose rescission of the regulatory definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act and any legislation hindering wildlife and wilderness protection. Degrading habitat harms all dwelling in, around or migrating; we’ve destroyed most ecosystems and environmental balance. We all need protection from oil and gas drilling, mining, logging and development because they destroy plants and animals. Wildlife biomass must be increased, not decreased.

As a veterinarian, I have witnessed harm: Guns are not the only human weapons — poisons from antifreeze to xylitol, rodenticides and insecticides harm and or kill. Please tell legislators, the governor and the president to oppose further destruction of our wilderness areas and wildlife.

Allyson R. Dallmann

Cambria

Shameful ICE behavior

Our nation is no longer “The home of the free,” with armed and masked ICE police stalking our cities to beat and arrest innocent residents. I am old enough to remember WW II and Hitler’s Holocaust to exterminate the Jews and this inhumane atmosphere stinks of Nazism.

It is shameful and against the Constitution to incarcerate innocent individuals without due process of law, destroying families and deporting them to unfamiliar countries. It is happening now, right here on the Central Coast, to please Donald Trump’s lust for revenge and spewing of hatred. Please urge your Congress members to stop this horror. This is not our America and it must end.

Janet F. Langton

Templeton