Soda stocks are taking another leg lower as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reiterated that he supports a ban of using food stamps to purchase the beverage.  

At an event in West Virginia with Governor Patrick Morrisey, Kennedy doubled-down on previous remarks that “taxpayer dollars should be targeted toward nutritious foods,” and not on foods that contribute to obesity. His comments were echoed by USDA secretary Brooke Rollins, whose agency administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”), more commonly referred to as food stamps.  

While Kennedy’s stance on “Making America Healthy Again” is supported by many state governors who have introduced legislation to tackle obesity and chronic disease, the soda industry has pushed back on any efforts to limit what SNAP subsidies can be used for.

“The fact is, beverages are not driving obesity and chronic disease in America,” said the American Beverage Association in a blog post on their website.

“While adult obesity is up 37.4% since 2000, beverage calories per serving are down 42% and full-calorie sodas are down 22.9%. So, cutting beverages from SNAP won’t make a pound of difference on the scale today or a $1 in taxpayer Medicaid costs down the line.”

According to industry data, American households spend an average of $850 per year on soft drinks, for a total of $65 billion each year. And each American consumes ~53 gallons of soda per year, making soda the third most consumed beverage.

The development sent shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) and Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) all into the red.