Next week, the Senate Appropriations Committee will decide whether to allow special interests — rather than science — to determine which foods can be provided through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

WIC, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, currently serves more than half of all infants born in the United States and more than 146,000 women and children here in Maryland. The WIC food package provides nutrition and breastfeeding support to low-income and nutritionally vulnerable pregnant and breastfeeding moms and children up to five years of age. The effect of nutritional deficiencies on young children can be devastating and enduring. Whether children are well-nourished during their first years of life can have a profound effect on their health, as well as their abilities to learn, communicate, think analytically, socialize and adapt to new environments and people.

Yet, the scientific integrity of the WIC program is at risk of being derailed by special interests.

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