The Farm Bill 2013 allocates $760.5 billion to the food stamp program, and many corporations have gone to great lengths over the years to ensure their share of that pie is as large as possible.
One of the best examples is the soda industry. The Center for Science in the Public Interest estimated that $4 billion in SNAP money was spent on soda purchases in 2010 (this despite that the primary purpose of SNAP is to make sure low-income people can purchase nutritious food).
That's a significant incentive. And sure enough, two All-American companies - Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) and Pepsi Co, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) -- helped get soda eligible for food stamps back in 1964, and continue to spend large sums on making sure it stays that way.
Back in 2008, Coca-Cola spent $513,000 lobbying the Farm Bill; Pepsi spent $437,000.
The fight to keep snacks and sodas on the list of SNAP eligibility is a running battle, and big corporations are definitely winning.
Several states, including New York, Florida, California, and Illinois have tried to modify SNAP eligibility at the state level to try to get more of the benefits spent on healthier foods, but objections from corporate lobbyists halted every effort.
Florida bill 1658 would have prohibited a long list of junk foods, including sodas, sweet foods like ice cream, cupcakes, pies and pudding, and salty snacks like pretzels, popcorn and potato chips.
Companies that fought against the Florida bill - and helped defeat it - included Coca-Cola, Kraft, and the Florida Retail Federation.
"The biggest opponents I have right now are Coca- Cola, the soda companies, the chip companies, and the convenience store operators. Why is that? Because they know they are raking it in from food stamps," Florida State Sen. Ronda Storms, a Republican, told Fox News at the time.
Farm Bill 2013: Corporate Welfare on Steroids - Money Morning
