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Trump Officials Want to Ban Junk Food From SNAP. Past Efforts Show It’s Not Easy to Do
A push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the U.S. program that helps low-income families pay for nutritious food has been tried before — but it may soon get a boost from new Trump administration officials.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary, and Brooke Rollins, the new agriculture secretary, have both signaled that they favor stripping such treats from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Kennedy has been most vocal, calling for the government to stop allowing the nearly $113 billion program that serves about 42 million Americans to use benefits to pay for “ soda or processed foods.”
“The one place that I would say that we need to really change policy is the SNAP program and food stamps and in school lunches,” Kennedy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week. “There, the federal government in many cases is paying for it. And we shouldn’t be subsidizing people to eat poison.”
US Health Agencies Delay Decision on Definition of ‘Healthy’ on Food Labels
U.S. health agencies will delay by more than two months a decision on updating the definition of the nutrient content claim “healthy” that manufacturers can voluntarily use on food packages. The final rule is delayed until April 28 from Feb. 25, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday, citing a freeze implemented on new rule proposals by President Donald Trump.
Recently confirmed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously called for removing ultra-processed foods from school lunches as part of a goal to reduce the incidence of diet-related chronic diseases. The final rule updates the requirements for when the term “healthy” can be used and also establishes parameters for its use.
The temporary delay is necessary to give agency officials the opportunity for further review and consideration of the new regulation, according to the document.
Is Bird Flu the Only Reason Egg Prices Are Soaring?
The calls, texts and emails start coming in before 6 a.m.: restaurants, bakeries and others desperate to find eggs. Brian Moscogiuri is an egg broker. A vice president for the wholesale company Eggs Unlimited, he works the phone in his home office in Toms River, N.J., until late into the evening, trying to connect hopeful buyers with farms that have eggs to spare.
But as avian influenza has led to egg shortages and record wholesale prices — an average of more than $8 a dozen, up from $2.25 last fall — Mr. Moscogiuri’s job has been less making matches and more providing therapy, he said. “The buyers are struggling,” Mr. Moscogiuri said. “They’re looking at eggs that cost three or four times the typical amount.”
But there is at least one winner in the current shortage, which began in 2022: the country’s biggest egg producer. Cal-Maine Foods, which controls about a fifth of the egg market and sells to Walmart and other large retailers, reported that its revenues jumped to $954 million in the quarter that ended in late November from $523 million from the prior year — an increase of 82%.
The company said those numbers “were primarily driven by an increase in the net average selling price of shell eggs as well as an increase in total dozens sold.”
The company’s net income surged more than 500%, to $218 million, from year-earlier levels, thanks to higher prices, the lower cost of feed and acquisitions of other operators. And prices have shot up even more since the company released its quarterly financial statement.
Sludge Laced With PFAS Goes on Virginia’s Farms. Fisherman Fear the Run-Off.
Richmond Times-Dispatch reported:
From his boat, Lee Deihl can see the hills of Essex County sloping into his oyster farm in the Rappahannock River. Lately, those hills feel a little too close. That’s because the county’s farmers are prolific users of a fertilizer known to contain PFAS, the toxic “forever chemicals” linked with cancer.
PFAS never seem to disappear, travelling into crops, animals and groundwater. For months, he’s read stories of farmland needing to be condemned and cows needing to be euthanized because of the chemicals. Do those chemicals drain into his bay?
Deihl is one of a cohort of Virginia watermen fighting to halt the practice of applying the sewage sludge from wastewater plants onto farmland. The watermen are asking state agencies to pause the practice as a way to protect their own crop: the oysters, crabs, clams and fish that turn the economic gears in these shoreline counties.
Antioxidants in Fruits and Flowers Seem to Counteract Harmful Effects of Microplastics, Study Shows
Antioxidants that give fruits and flowers their vibrant colors seem to counteract some of the most dangerous reproductive system effects of exposure to microplastics, such as decreased fertility, and could ultimately be used in developing treatments, new peer-reviewed research shows.
The paper focused on microplastics’ reproductive toxicity and plant compounds called anthocyanins, which are widely found in nuts, fruits and vegetables. The new review of scientific literature on anthocyanins found that the compounds are probably protective against a range of plastic-induced impacts on hormones, reductions in testosterone and estrogen, decreased sperm counts, lower sperm quality, erectile dysfunction and ovarian damage.
“The search for natural compounds to counteract these harmful effects is ongoing, with anthocyanins emerging as a promising candidate,” wrote the study’s authors, who are with the Finland-China Food and Health Network. “[Anthocyanins] have demonstrated potential protective effects against reproductive toxicity induced by microplastics.”
FDA, CDC Investigating Multi-State Listeria Outbreak
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday the agencies were investigating a multi-state outbreak of listeria infections linked to frozen supplemental shakes manufactured by Prairie Farms Dairy Inc.
As of Feb. 24, a total of 38 people infected with the outbreak strain of listeria monocytogenes have been reported from 21 states, according to the FDA, which added that 37 people have been hospitalized and 12 deaths have been reported. Prairie Farms Dairy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The frozen supplemental shakes under brands Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial have been recalled, the FDA said. They were distributed to hospitals and long-term care facilities nationwide, according to the agency. Listeria are bacteria that can contaminate many foods, with symptoms including fever, muscle aches and nausea.
Symptoms usually start within two weeks after eating food contaminated with listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after. As part of the investigation, the FDA conducted an onsite inspection and collected environmental and product samples at Prairie Farms in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Never Buy This Popular Food From the Grocery Store, Doctor Warns: ‘It Leaches Chemicals’
Rotisserie chickens are on grocery shopping lists all across America. Real Simple reports that Costco sold 137 million rotisserie chickens in 2023, and it’s easy to see why. They’re affordable and convenient and make meal prep a breeze — just shred and add to salads, casseroles, burrito bowls, soups, wraps, and more. But while rotisserie chickens may be an excellent source of protein, they’re packed with unfavorable ingredients as well. Keep reading to see why board-certified internal medicine doctor Tania Elliot, M.D., never buys rotisserie chickens from the grocery store.
Rotisserie chicken packaging is a big health issue.
Before you look at a rotisserie chicken’s ingredients label, you should consider the packaging. You’ve probably heard that microwaving food in plastic containers is bad news, but what about buying pre-cooked warm food in plastic bags? “The bag the chicken is stored in is plastic, and it leaches chemicals that get into the food when it’s sitting under the heat,” warned Elliott in a viral TikTok video.
Rotisserie chickens are packed with additives and preservatives. To increase shelf-life, many grocers inject their rotisserie chickens with additives, revealed Elliott. Additives are sourced from plants, animals, and minerals, or they can be chemically produced to enhance the taste, smell, texture, and appearance of food, per the World Health Organization. However, natural and synthetic food additives can pose health risks.
Egg Prices Soared After Bird Flu, but Federal Price Controls Kept Milk Prices Steady — at Farmers’ Expense
America’s dairy industry is being ravaged by bird flu, leading to a significant decline in milk production in many states, including California, the nation’s largest dairy-producing state that hit a 20-year low in 2024. But unlike eggs, which spiked in price due to the bird flu’s impact on poultry flocks, consumers aren’t likely to see a similar increase in milk prices because of federal price control laws.
However, while those price controls save grocery store shoppers money, dairy farmers say it’s pushing them out of business. “I can’t see how any dairy farm is going to sustain this,” said Brenda Cochren, a Pennsylvania dairy farmer and agricultural reform advocate.
For decades, dairy farms have shrunk under the pressure of corporate consolidation and price caps lobbied for by large milk processors. Now, with bird flu spreading through dairy herds across the country and recent updates to how milk is priced taking effect this year, Cochren said small dairy farmers are facing a crisis.
Backyard Chickens: Floridians Start Raising Hens to Combat Rising Egg Prices
Katie Whalen’s backyard in the Florida city of Port St Lucie is testament to her journey towards a life of self-sufficiency. She grows mangoes, avocados, starfruit, jackfruit and coconuts. She is cultivating a tropical tree spinach known as chaya.
What she really wants, however, is a chicken coop and hens to provide eggs that are becoming increasingly unaffordable in stores. As bird flu worsens across the U.S. and commercial suppliers struggle to keep up with demand, the keeping of fowl and production of eggs in home environments has surged in popularity, and Whalen is keen to join the revolution.
Nationwide, an estimated 84 million chickens are kept privately, broadly similar to the numbers of cats and dogs kept as pets. “[It’s] the news reports of bird flu, the scarcity of eggs, the high cost, really,” she said. “I’ve been wanting for a while to get chickens because I’m into gardening and the whole permaculture stuff that I’m learning about. And obviously chickens are very beneficial in that system.”
