Candian-born senator Ted Cruz is hoping that he’ll win over voters by denying the American military gluten-free MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat). According to CNN, Cruz “lashed out” yesterday against the “culture of political correctness in the Pentagon” during a speech in South Carolina. Cruz declared: “The last thing any commander should need to worry about is the grades he is getting from some plush-bottomed Pentagon bureaucrat for political correctness or social experiments—or providing gluten-free MREs.”
Equating gluten-free meals to a culture of “political correctness” is incredibly far fetched. While the idea of eating gluten-free has become trendy for many people, especially those suffering from Celiac disease, the need to avoid gluten is medical, not made up. If someone with Celiac does eat gluten, it can cause a number of physical problems, which is dangerous—especially for someone in the Army. Not to mention, the number of people who suffer from Celiac disease is a small fraction of the population, so why make it one of your platforms?
Cruz’s declaration and promise is even more ridiculous considering that currently, those with Celiac disease can’t technically serve in the military. The disease is considered to be a “non-waiverable medical condition.” While the Army does provide vegetarian MREs, which are the meals eaten out in the field, those who must avoid gluten are currently out of luck.
This isn’t the first ridiculous thing Cruz has done while on the campaign trail. Last August, the senator demonstrated how to cook bacon with a machine gun. Amurica.
[via CNN]