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Ted Cruz says he will refuse to provide gluten-free meals to military

The Republican lambasted a 'culture of political correctness' - despite the fact that gluten intolerance is already enough to disqualify US citizens from military service

 

Rachael Revesz
New York
Wednesday 17 February 2016 19:58 GMT
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Ted Cruz's comments are aimed to gather votes from military supporters
Ted Cruz's comments are aimed to gather votes from military supporters

Republican candidate Ted Cruz has already voiced his views on being pro-life, anti-Obamacare and anti-immigration, and now he has a new enemy - gluten-free food.

Speaking at a stump rally in South Carolina just a few days before the next primary, Texan Senator Cruz took a hard line against a “culture of political correctness” to gather votes from military supporters.

Mr Cruz told his supporters that military leaders should not have to worry about poor reviews from “some plush-bottomed Pentagon bureaucrat for political correctness or social experiments — or providing gluten-free MREs."

MREs are ready-to-eat meals - prepackaged food that soldiers consume whilst on duty or out on the field.

Newsy.com reported that any kind of gluten intolerance or celiac disease is enough to disqualify someone from serving in the military, so gluten-free MREs are not a problem to begin with.

In December, former US Army Installation Management Command Soldier of the Year Kevin Mulloy was told he could no longer serve when he found out he had celiac disease.

Celiac disease affects up to 1 per cent of the American population. Intolerance to wheat is one of the most common food allergies in the US.

Mr Cruz’s stance against political correctness might come back to haunt him. If he were to provide more gluten-free meals, millions more people would be eligible for the army and fulfill his goal of bulking up the forces.

The Senator has already come under fire for several outlandish reasons recently, including the fact that he hired an adult film actress Amy Lindsay in his latest campaign video.

He has also been threatened with legal action by rival Donald Trump for sending out mailers to voters in Iowa, saying they would face a tarnished record if they did not turn up at the polls.

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