In a recent interview, United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signaled a new wave of regulatory scrutiny headed for America’s largest food, beverage, and retail brands.
What Happened: Speaking on the All-in Podcast on Sunday, Secretary Rollins discussed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), highlighting its $123 billion annual cost.
She noted that SNAP accounts for 70% of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's budget and roughly 2% of the entire federal budget.
Rollins further adds that roughly 10% of this budget, or $15 billion a year, is spent on soda, with 75% of the population on SNAP being clinically obese. “Taxpayer dollars be[ing] spent on sugary drinks and junk food that’s making our kids sick? Absolutely not,” she says.
She blames this squarely on the lobbyists, saying that “the amount of money that is at stake is reflected in the amount of lobbyists that are out and about,” but adds that the program will not be eliminated, and will instead be realigned to “make America healthy again.”
Several leading food, beverage, and retail brands too face a top-line hit if these changes come into effect, with a substantial portion of their revenues coming from purchases made using SNAP.
According to analyst Alexia Howard from Bernstein, a wide-scale cut to SNAP could hit General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS) the hardest, given its cereal line-up.
Read More:
Photo courtesy: New Africa / Shutterstock.com
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.
