I’ve been trying to keep track of what’s happening with SNAP, but it hasn’t been easy.

Fortunately, Jerry Hagstrom’s Hagstrom’s Report “Ag News As It Happens” does the heavy lifting.

But first, a brief recap.

The current government shutdown is about SNAP benefits.  Republicans want to cut benefits; Democrats don’t.

The Trump administration said it could not use emergency funds to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown, because Congress has not appropriated money for SNAP for fiscal year 2026.

Friday, October 31

Two federal judges disagreed.  They said USDA should issue at least partial benefits through November.

• Commonwealth of Massachusetts v U.S. Department of Agriculture: Memorandum and Order
•  Speaker Johnson and Secretary Rollins Remarks on Day 31 of Government Shutdown (video)
• The New York Times : Government Ordered to Pay Food Stamp Benefits During Shutdown

Also, President Trump said he wanted SNAP benefits paid.

Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.

In the meantime, the USDA issued a sharp edict to retailers: Do not give any special discounts to SNAP recipients.

Saturday, November 1

Leah Douglas writes in Reuters:  As US federal food aid lapses, most states unable to fill the void

Just five states, Delaware, New Mexico, Louisiana, Virginia and Vermont, and the District of Columbia have said they will pay for some or all of the November food aid, according to a Reuters review of state websites and public statements. The rest have said they will not pay for the benefits due to technical or cost barriers, or provided no explanation.

The USDA said in an October 24 memo that it will not reimburse states if they cover the cost of benefits.

• CNN: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent won’t say whether Trump will use emergency funds to restore SNAP benefits
• NBC News: Trump administration faces Monday deadline to respond to judge’s SNAP order
• Associated Press: SNAP benefits cut off during shutdown, driving long lines at food pantries
• Politico: Trump admin will partially fund November SNAP benefits

Tuesday, November 4

Here is President Trump on Truth Social:

SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly “handed” to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before! Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yes, SNAP benefits increased—during the pandemic.  No, they were not haphazardly “handed” out for the asking.

If Trump will not provide benefits during the shutdown, let’s hope the courts intervene.

Tomorrow: the McCarthy-era rhetoric

I first read about this in Food Business News: New coalition targets ‘ingredient transparency’

Major food, agricultural and consumer products trade groups and companies have given their support to Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT), a new policy advocacy coalition seeking a uniform national standard for ingredient transparency…With many states now enacting or considering their own ingredient transparency laws, the goal is to avoid the emergence of “an ever-expanding patchwork of disjointed food, beverage and personal care regulations” that would sow confusion among US consumers, the coalition said.

Specifically, AFIT said it will focus on reform of the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) process, front-of-package labeling and QR codes….The group also said it seeks to amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to establish the US Food and Drug Administration as “the sole entity setting the floor and ceiling for regulations on the marketing and sale of foods, beverages and over-the-counter products in the United States.”

Translation: The coalition wants a weak federal law to preempt (block) tougher state standards for GRAS qualification and front-of-pack labels.

US Right to Know explains what this is really about:  Americans for Ingredient Transparency: Product defense for unhealthy ultra-processed foods.  It shows:

Sarah Sorscher in Food Safety News calls this out for what it is: a front group aiming to weaken food safety rules.

But wait!  84 organizations have called on Congress to block preemption of states’ rights to regulate food chemicals .

I’m for this group.

Which side are you on?

Let your congressional representatives know.

Now.

Several readers have sent me Instagram posts that include videos of me arguing in favor of not eating breakfast , fasting, or promoting wellness products.  These more-or-less look like me speaking, and more-or-less sound like me.

But they are not my words or opinions.

They are fakes produced by Artificial Intelligence.

If you run across such videos of me on Instagram or elsewhere, please

• Do not try to rebut them by spreading them around or reposting them.
• Do not interact with the post, even to rebut it.
• Do not share the post.

Instead:

• Do report the post as spam or fake.
• Do report the site account as spam or fake.

If enough people report the posts as spam, they have a good chance of being removed.

Thanks very much for your help with this.

Halloween, no matter its origins and promotion of costumes, means only one thing to the candy industry: sales.

And plenty of detailed research helps that along.

America’s Halloween Sweet Tooth: Instacart’s 2025 Candy & Decor Trends: Who loads up on candy the most? Since Utah’s first full year on the Instacart platform, Utah has once again decisively claimed the crown, buying candy 50% more often than the national average in October 2024.

And if you ever wondered which candies sell best?

Selling Halloween candy

• Halloween scare: Candy costs are soaring: Trick-or-treaters may get fewer sweets this year as high cocoa prices haunt the candy aisle.
• Halloween candy sales soar: Trends & treats driving growth:  Halloween is no longer just for kids, it’s a confectionery goldmine… Read more
• Confectionery market to hit $278bn by 2032 as candy sales surge: The confectionery market is entering a new growth phase, driven by evolving consumer preferences, seasonal demand, and innovation in non-chocolate formats… Read more
• No trick: Halloween 2025 candy sales to hit record highs: After Summerween comes the real deal: Halloween, which expects to see recording spending… Read more

Enjoy!

The Institute for Food Technology , which publishes Food Technology, has been exploring

the growing challenge of misinformation and the importance of building public trust in food science. Alongside highlights from IFT FIRST sessions on myth busting and consumer trust, it features Food Technology contributors and thought leaders examining how transparency, empathy, and effective communication can help bridge the gap between scientific evidence and public perception.

Here are some of the articles.

• Fighting Food Misinformation:  To counter science denial, lead with empathy, communication experts advise.
• How Food Companies Can Win Back Trust: Drawing on insights from the IFT FIRST session “How Can Food Companies Earn Trust While Combatting Misinformation?” Linda Eatherton outlines why credibility is the true currency of food innovation and how companies can strengthen reputation through empathy, transparency, and sustained communication. Read more
• A ‘Clear’ Path to Regaining Public Trust in Food and Beverage: Concerns about public trust in the food system have been part of the conversation for years—surfacing even at an IFT FIRST Scientific & Technical Forum in 2023 where experts from Edelman and IFIC discussed how fear and misinformation shape consumer confidence. They emphasized that transparency, speed, and empathy are essential for rebuilding credibility. Read more
• Building Relevance and Trust in the Food Sciences: IFT Immediate Past President Christopher Daubert calls for a balanced, evidence-based approach to debates over ultra-processed foods and reminds food professionals that facts alone are not enough—trust is built through transparency and shared values. Read more
• The Messy, Fine Art of Science Communication: Laura Lindenfeld of Stony Brook University’s Alan Alda Center discusses why empathy, storytelling, and listening are critical tools for scientists seeking to make their work heard and believed in an age of skepticism. She explains how communication grounded in trust and connection—not jargon or defensiveness—can help bridge the gap between scientific expertise and public understanding. Read more
• The Transformative Power of Positivity: Food scientist Kantha Shelke advocates for an “appreciative inquiry” approach to food communication—focusing on what’s strong, not what’s wrong—to shift public perception and reinforce trust in food science. She encourages food professionals to highlight innovation, progress, and the positive impact of scientific advances rather than emphasizing fear or limitation.  Read more
• ‘Ultra-Processed’ Foods and the Question of Consumer Trust:  Food scientist Matt Teegarden questions the Nova food classification system’s broad definition of ultra-processed foods and its influence on how consumers perceive healthfulness and trust in the food system. He calls for more precise, science-based frameworks to guide research, policy, and communication around diet and processing.  Read more

Comment: Here’s some simple advice to food companies worried about why the public doesn’t trust them or their products.  If you want to be trusted, behave in a trustworthy manner.

• Put public health and nutrition first.
• Don’t advertise ridiculous health claims.
• Don’t market ultra-procesed foods to kids.
• Don’t use your ingredient lists to obfuscate what’s in your products (e.g., sugar synonyms).
• If something is wrong, own up to it.
• Don’t condescend to your customers.
• Don’t try to convince them your products are healthy and environmentally sustainable if they are not.

Trusted companies have these rules built into their culture.

Their stockholders respect them for it.

So will their customers.

From last week’s The Guardian: “Inside the Republican network behind big soda’s bid to pit Maga against Maha: A Guardian investigation finds the US soda and snack-food industries, threatened by RFK Jr’s movement to change Americans’ eating habits, have turned to a group of well-connected strategists, shadowy pollsters and ‘anti-woke’ influencers.”

The ongoing influence campaign is being spearheaded by the American Beverage Association with help from the Consumer Brands Association, two prominent trade groups in the food industry. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper, the three largest soft-drink corporations in the United States, as well as packaged-food conglomerates like General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Mondelēz and Nestlé, are among those that pay dues for the right to have a say in either or both of the trade groups’ strategies.

All three soda-makers identified the Maha efforts as significant threats to their bottom lines in their most recent annual reports, delivered to investors after Trump nominated Kennedy to be secretary of US Health and Human Services. Coke and Dr Pepper went as far as to suggest such risks would be compounded if unnamed “government officials” were to voice health concerns about their products.The three soda makers did not respond to questions about the lobbying effort.

The article goes on to explain the lobbying methods and paid influencer campaigns, at the federal level but also in states considering legislation on food dyes (which take care of many ultra-processed foods) and restrictions on sodas in SNAP.

Whether the MAHA food agenda is real or a smokescreen (see yesterday’s post), anything useful it tries to do will come up against this kind of concerted, well-funded effort, which may be why the second MAHA report backed off on so many issues.

The September 22 New Yorker had an article titled “Mommy Issues,” a profile of an influencer in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.

I was stopped cold by its quoted comment from Del Bigtree, “an anti-vaccine activist who had served as the communications director of [Robert F.] Kennedy’s Presidential campaign.” At a MAHA Action dinner in Washington, DC, Bigtree offered a toast to RFK, Jr, and

thanked the assembled group, singling out [Calley] Means, who, he said, deserved credit for “reaching out and bringing in the food issue, which was such a great cover to get Bobby all the way through.” The room erupted with guffaws.

The real agenda?  Getting rid of vaccines.

Will the MAHA movement make any real progress on major food issues?

I consider food dyes and closing the GRAS loophole to be long overdue improvements, but minor.

If MAHA wants to improve the nutritional healthy of American children, it needs, for starters, to enact policies to:

• Stop marketing unhealthful foods to kids
• Reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods
• Make school meals universally available
• Improve the quality of school meals
• Make sure every child has access to sufficient, high-quality food

When I see a study with a title like this, my first question is “Who paid for this study?”

The title:  Association of Egg Intake With Alzheimer’s Dementia Risk in Older Adults: The Rush Memory and Aging Project. The Journal of Nutrition Volume 154, Issue 7, July 2024, Pages 2236-2243.

The study: It collected dietary data by food frequency questionnaire from older adults (average age 81) and assessed Alzheimer’s dementia after nearly 7 years of follow up.

Results: Eating 1 or 2 eggs a week was associated with decreased risk.

Conclusions: “In conclusion, these findings suggest that more frequent egg consumption is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s dementia, and this association is partially mediated through the effect of dietary choline on Alzheimer’s dementia…Once replicated in other prospective cohorts and confirmed by clinical trials, these findings may have important public health implications for reducing the population’s risk of AD.”

Funding: Funding for the Rush University qualifications of choline intake was provided through an unrestricted investigator-initiated grant from the Egg Nutrition Center to Think Healthy Group, LLC…The authors and sponsor strictly adhered to the American Society for Nutrition’s guiding principles for private funding for food science and nutrition research.

Conflicts of interest: One author is the Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Dietary Supplements and has received past research support from the Egg Nutrition Center.

Comment: At first glance, this is a standard egg industry funded study with an outcome favoring frequent egg consumption.  But egg consumption in this study—one or two a week—does not seem frequent to me.  What this study may really be about is choline, a conditionally essential nutrient (we make our own, but not always enough).  The “important public health implications?” Eat more eggs and take choline supplements, I guess.  If only.