REALLY!? Taco Bell/KFC accepts Food Stamps

Take a look at what I came across on my way to my internship site one day. I had driven past it a hundred times, but somehow never noticed the sign that is proudly displayed on the corner of Taco Bell/KFC: "Now accepting EBT cards" (read: FOOD STAMPS!)

A close-up. I just couldn't believe it!

I was flabbergasted to say the least. Why, exactly, should fast food, which has little to no nutritional value, be promoted by the government, let alone paid for under the Food Stamp Program!? Am I the only one who thinks this is absurd???

Now, I don't have anything wrong with food stamps, which is technically called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and was created while President Roosevelt was in office in 1939. It is considered one of a few "entitlement programs" (similar to WIC), and was designed to assist low/no-income families who struggled with "food security" (not knowing when the next meal would be, something that is highly correlated with poverty). But when the program was developed, many poor families were undernourished and often sick due to "food insecurity," so this was a way to provide solid meals and ultimately improve health. Quite a switch from the nutritional needs of the modern poor person. Food stamps has remained a controversial program, since the "approved" food list is extremely liberal. Pretty much anything edible is covered under the program. I remember as a child standing in line behind a man who has apparently saved up his stamps to buy lobster. Others were more "frugal" with their stamps, spending them on cartsfull of chips, soda, and candy. What is wrong with this picture?

With the switch to the EBT card (from paper stamps) in 2004, the SNAP program began being accepted at farmers' markets around the nation. This received much praise, as it was an effort to increase fruit and vegetable intake in a population known to have very poor intake which has likely led to a disproportionate number of poor being afflicted with obesity (and related diseases). In 2008 over 750 farmers' markets accepted EBT cards.

Over 40 million people currently benefit from the SNAP program, which is why it angers me that in the wake of an obesity epidemic the government program is basically encouraging its beneficiaries to consume fast food. Counter-intuitive, anyone?? In fact, the banner on the SNAP website says "We help put healthy food on the table for over 40 million people each month." REALLY? Are you sure about that? Because last time I checked people can and are buying fast food with their EBT cards. Is this really what I want my tax dollars to be spent on?

This program has been in existence for nearly 80 years and has remained virtually the same in those 80 years, despite drastically different nutritional needs of the population served. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, since apparently our own elected leaders can't manage to make a difference. Case in point: it takes a Brit to come to this country to instill change in the American food system, starting with notoriously bad school food. Why can't we attenuate this sort of change on our own? Where's all the change we were promised???

REALLY!? McDonald's ad in local dietetic association newsletter

I've come across many disturbing/ironic nutrition-related things of late, and sometimes I wonder if the people who come up with these ideas think I am/the average person is... an idiot. Here I introduce to you a weekly column called "REALLY?!"

On page 5 of the California Dietetic Association newsletter, I came across this advertisement from McDonald's. The tag line "wonderfully wholesome" refers to the four menu items pictured on the ad: fruit and maple oatmeal, fruit and walnut salad, fruit and yogurt parfait, and apple dippers (um, where are the vegetables?). That's four items...FOUR...from a menu of over 145 items. We all know there are more than four "wholesome" offerings on their menu (let's not forget all of the veggie salads which come complete with artery-clogging dressing), but one would assume these four to be some of the healthiest options out there.

REALLY, California Dietetic Association, REALLY?! Am I, and other dietitians/health professionals, that stupid to think that McDonald's actually serves wholesome food?? Could you not have found a different company from which to earn advertising income?

Let's start with the least egregious thing pictured here: fruit and walnut salad, two of nature's bounties, right? Not when McD's gets its hands on them. At 210 calories and 25 grams of sugar for a *snack size* serving, you might want to shy away. But the worst part is that the "yogurt dipping sauce" is full of sugar. Next up: the apple dippers. Fresh apple with...what's that?? artificially flavored caramel dipping sauce. What's wrong with just plain apple? sigh... Let's now tackle the fruit and yogurt parfait. "Parfait" is French for "perfect" so this must be the perfect snack, non? Guess again. 160 calories (not bad), 85mg sodium (why do they insist on putting salt in a sweet product?!), and 21 grams of sugar. Doesn't sound so bad! Except when you compare it to vanilla ice cream, which has less calories, less sodium, and less sugar per serving. Speaking of sugar, two out of the top three ingredients in the parfait are sugar and fructose (sugar). I saved the best for last: fruit and maple oatmeal. Mark Bittman tore this apart in his NYT article. He talks about how this "oatmeal" has more sugar than a candy bar per serving, and has virtually no fiber (real oatmeal contains quite a bit of soluble fiber per serving--the reason why it's so good for your cholesterol). With nearly 300 calories, 180 unnecessary milligrams of sodium (twice that of the parfait), and 32 grams of sugar, you're better off ordering a bowl of ice cream for breakfast.

So, again I say to you, dear California Dietetic Association: REALLY?! Do you really think I'm so dumb that I'm going to give you my money so you can stay "in bed" with industry? Do you really think McDonald's is in the business of offering healthy food? Do you really think I'm going to recommend my clients patronize a multi-billion dollar industry that has single-handedly destroyed the health of America because you made some money off of selling a few square inches of ad space? Guess again.