Congress continues to drill down on proposed consumer restrictions for people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a concerning expansion of government intrusion into consumer choice about which HLF has expressed concerns.
Leaders in agriculture across the country are also speaking out. Jason Frerichs, a fourth-generation farmer, rancher, and former lawmaker recently wrote an op-ed for the South Dakota Plainsman breaking down why proposed restrictions and pilot programs are detrimental to his state’s thriving agricultural economy and the freedoms that underpin it.
He wrote:
“South Dakotans and all Americans have always supported free enterprise and the right of individuals to make personal choices. The proposed SNAP changes infringe on these rights, dictating which products are available for purchase based on the arbitrary definition of ‘nutrient dense.’ Such a change can strain and disrupt our free market system, which should be shaped by consumer demand and supply, not government.”
In addition, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association recently sent a letter to Congress to ring the alarm bell on SNAP restrictions, writing:
“The livestock industry is already under attack by the false rhetoric of those that choose to exclude animal products from their diets, and it is critical that there is no room for subjectivity when it comes to defining the term “nutrient dense” as utilized in the House Agriculture Appropriations legislation… These proposals would open the door for interpretation and potential bias when put into real-world practice, as the weight of enforcement would be placed upon the grocery store cashiers to decipher what should go in and out of a SNAP recipient’s grocery cart.”
Frerichs echoes these concerns, noting how our livelihoods would dramatically change if bureaucrats in Washington decided to restrict recipients from buying red meat and whole milk. South Dakota ranchers and cattlemen raise about 3.7 million cows. Cutting beef products from SNAP by implementing unfair and overbearing restrictions would be economically damaging and open the door for future bureaucratic overreach across all industries.
