Electronic music pioneer Moby is no stranger to writing op-eds. He’s written about the beef industry for the LA Times, about migrating from New York to LA for The Guardian, about veganism for Rolling Stone, and about the 2016 election for Billboard. And while it is respectable to be such a concerned citizen, his latest endeavor into the writing world is creating a bit of an uproar.
In an essay titled “Food Stamps Shouldn’t Pay For Junk” for the Wall Street Journal, Moby writes about the US’ SNAP program. He talks about how his family relied on food stamps growing up, and calls for reform so that the program stops paying for items like “candy, soda, cheese products, energy drinks, processed meats” and other unhealthy items. He argues that the health detriments are costing taxpayers even more money in addition to the effects on the well-being of the people eating them. He wants to focus the program on “cheap, healthy foods like beans, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains.”
The controversy here is that it feels like Moby is calling for legislation to control what people choose to consume. Some are calling it out of touch and even classist, with the rich rock star not really being sympathetic to the plight of people who rely on food stamps:
https://twitter.com/alexisgoldstein/status/983682419361533952
https://twitter.com/fart/status/983740656609734656
bf and i have SNAP, and we have also made a commitment to eating healthier. our grocery bills are now 50% higher on average than when we bought cheap, sale foods from the middle aisles. lots of produce ain’t cheap, clean meat can bankrupt you. $75/mo in SNAP gets us about a week.
— bink (@theweakestbink) April 10, 2018
Moby has yet to respond to the widespread criticism of his stance on social media. In fact, he hasn’t even shared the op-ed yet on social media. We suspect that Moby will be in for a rough run through his mentions when he logs in for the day.
