The use of government regulation to change consumption
prompted reservations based on a perceived dichotomy with equitable
access to healthy food:
‘‘There is such a powerful socioeconomic gradient associated
with obesity and access to healthier alternatives, both in terms
of foods and in terms of life circumstances between lower
income communities and upper income communities. [. . .] So,
I would prefer a world for obesity in which we were in the position
[of providing] more positive assistance for people eating
more healthily.”
[Interviewee 4, Board of Health]
‘‘The Mayor looked a lot at this through the concept of food
choices in a somewhat punitive way, let’s limit access to this
and that. [. . .] Where we saw things slightly differently is I’m
a big advocate, as was the Council, for food access. I believe that
partially why people make bad choices is [. . .] because they
don’t have any other choice.”
[Interviewee 6, City Council]
Similarly, the federal Department of Agriculture ultimately
rejected the SNAP exclusion request by reference to its ‘‘longstanding
tradition of supporting and promoting incentive-based