Day 43: Food Fascism And The GOP’s War On Poor People’s Plates

Billionaires say no more cookies for you, peasants!

Only yesterday morning, we discussed “Healthy Tomorrow for Texas.” By the afternoon, Lois Kolkhorst (R-SD18), joined by several other Republicans, held a press conference to discuss how they plan to make Texas healthy again. But, WOW, their press conference was totally unhinged.

On its face, it seems like a great idea, and there are aspects of this initiative that even leftists will support, like improving food labels. However, as the press conference went on, it became clear that it was much more complex than that.

It all started with a simple premise: Kolkhorst discussed the links between diet, chronic diseases, and cancer. You know, food is medicine. That sort of thing. Something that most of us already know.

Kolkhorst highlighted her bill, SB25, which will:

• Improve Texas school’s P.E. curriculum.

• Mandate a nutrition curriculum.

• Creates the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee.

• Improve food labels.

Next, Bryan Hughes (R-SD01) spoke about his bill, SB314, which bans certain additives in school lunches for children on reduced or free lunches. According to Hughes, 3 million students in Texas receive reduced or free lunches, about 70% of all schoolchildren. 

Hughes believes that changing how children in poverty eat will incentivize the free market players to make significant improvements. (Market manipulation?)

Mayes Middleton spoke about his bill, SB379, which bans cookies and juice with sugar for people on food stamps. We discussed this bill a few months back and how egregious it was from someone as wealthy as Middleton. See:

• Wealthy Senator Targets Programs That Help Low-Income Texans

But we saw his thinking yesterday when he said, “Taxpayer-funded junk food turns into taxpayer-funded healthcare.”

Several guests were there to back up the Republican’s claim, and as Kolkorst introduced Calley Means, she said (paraphrasing) that controlling how poor people ate wasn’t a Democrat thing. It wasn’t a Republican thing. It was an American thing.

Means, a former food and pharmaceutical consultant turned food activist, is close to RFK Jr. and is reported to be “in his ear.”

Means took to the mic and talked about how (paraphrasing) controlling what children in poverty ate is spiritual. He also spoke about how what RFK Jr. is doing with the Trump Administration is spiritual and historical.

A statistic that Means mentioned, giving further insight into the rationale behind Republicans’ thinking, was “90% of people on SNAP then go to Medicaid” (SNAP = food stamps).

Means then said, “There is nothing conservative or liberal about poisoning children.”

Poisoning children.

Food is medicine. Food is poison. We get it. However, if Texas Republicans cared about “not poisoning children,” they would do something about the dozens of cancer clusters around the state due to oil and gas pollution. They refuse to do that, proving they don’t care about whether children in poverty are poisoned or not.

Several other statements were made at this press conference to indicate Republicans’ true intentions.

Near the end of the press conference, during questions, Means took to the mic again and said:

• The SNAP incentive creates food deserts.

• The NAACP will tell you it’s racist not to poison children.

• It’s criminal to subsidize ultra-processed garbage for children, and this is the moral place to be.

It should be noted that in this press conference, the people circled in yellow are multi-millionaires:

The real issue here isn’t nutrition. It’s the GOP’s long-standing war on welfare programs. By restricting what low-income families can buy, they are expanding government control over the poor while pretending to champion “freedom.”

Instead of expanding access to healthy food, they want to restrict what poor people can buy, reinforcing classist and punitive welfare policies. It’s a repackaged culture war disguised as a wellness campaign, and Texans should be very concerned.

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services is meeting today to discuss some of these bills. I’ll have a full update for you about this hearing tomorrow.

For the literary fans.

It’s probably not lost on you that the GOP’s wellness crusade resembles Gilead’s in The Handmaid’s Tale. Gilead promoted the idea of a clean society, where food and air were supposedly purified and free from harmful influences. Gilead talked about eliminating toxins, reducing cancer, and ensuring a healthier future, just like Republicans are doing now.

Gilead decided what women could eat, where food came from, and what was considered “acceptable” nutrition. Handmaids had strict diets based on what was deemed best for fertility. The wealthy, of course, will still have access to whatever they want, just like how the Commanders in Gilead secretly enjoyed contraband luxuries while enforcing strict purity laws on everyone else.

However, we don’t always have to look to fiction for comparisons of the Republicans’ food crusade.

The Nazis in 1930s Germany promoted a nationalist ideal that linked racial purity to farming, diet, and health. Women were expected to follow specific “wholesome” diets to produce strong, racially pure children. Junk food and processed foods were demonized, not for actual health reasons but as a moral argument about national purity.

Mussolini’s fascist government used food policy to enforce economic discipline, nationalism, and control over the lower classes. Italians were encouraged to eat what the government approved.

Throughout history, fascist regimes have used food policies as a means of control, moralizing nutrition and enacting class-based food restrictions.

All Republicans are doing is reviving a long history of authoritarian food control. They aren’t banning sugar and processed foods for everyone, just for poor people. That’s not health policy. That’s class warfare.

Brian Harrison screeches at the Texas Medical Board and gets spanked by Armando Walle.

While the rest of yesterday was mainly uneventful, one standout moment happened in one of the House Appropriations Subcommittees. Harrison (R-HD10) was in the process of screeching at two witnesses from the Texas Medical Board about how Attorney General Ken Paxton (not a doctor) said that gender affirming care was child abuse. Harrison wanted to know why doctors would provide gender affirming care to their patients, even though Paxton said it was child abuse.

Chairman Walle (D-HD140) had to interrupt and ask Harrison to settle down, stop screaming at witnesses, and show a little decorum.

And as Harrison always does, he took to Twitter to cry about how Democrats are secretly in charge. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Brian Harrison throwing a tantrum at the Texas Medical Board is about as predictable as the sun rising. The man hears the words “gender-affirming care” and immediately transforms into a budget-store Alex Jones, flailing about like he’s just discovered gluten in his keto shake.

Instead of taking the L like a grown-up, Harrison did what he always does. Ran to Twitter to cry about how Democrats are secretly controlling everything. Buddy, if Democrats were actually in charge, you wouldn’t even have a microphone.

At this point, someone needs to start a Brian Harrison Bingo card. Screeching about gender? Check. Misunderstanding basic governance? Check. Crying on Twitter? Check. Honestly, it’s almost impressive how committed he is to the bit. Almost.

Today and tomorrow, multiple hearings will dig deeper into these topics.

From the GOP’s push to control what low-income Texans can eat to their ongoing war against gender-affirming care and basic bodily autonomy. This is the fascist playbook. They don’t just want power. They want control over every aspect of your life, from grocery lists to healthcare decisions.

What we’re seeing now is just the beginning of their broader agenda, and if history is any guide, they won’t stop here. So, stay tuned. I’ll follow these hearings closely and have all the updates tomorrow.

• March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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