Michelle Obama makes obesity campaign personal and my take on her efforts

This will take you to the article about Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama makes obesity campaign personal | ajc.com

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Here is my take:

Interesting. Michelle Obama admits that she was surprised that her own daughter's BMI was higher than it should have been. She said she then made changes to their diet to help them by offering low fat milk, more water, more fruit on the table and smaller portions. Admirable.

But, Michelle Obama lives in the White House with a chef and kitchen staff to feed and shop for her family. So, if she is having a problem providing good food for her kids, then we are all doomed!

But I think that she is on the right track by leading with a good example.

I have been, among other things, a summer camp nurse. I have see hundreds of kids. As soon as you see the parents arrive, you know immediately which kids will be heavier. It is not uncommon to see a heavy-ish parent with heavy-ish kids. Is it genetic? Probably to some degree. Some people are just bigger than others. Is it environmental? Of course. If the parents are eating large portions of processed and sugary foods, their kids most likely are being fed the same.

So what is Michelle Obama doing besides talking about more PE in school and portion control? Is she in fact talking to her husband about the agribusiness lobby that is doing so much harm to our health? Does she talk to her husband about how our food is manufactured using very inexpensive high fructose corn syrup? And how the corn subsidies that the government doles out are part of the problem?

I know that Mrs. Obama has a really nice organic garden and is friends with Alice Waters. And that is a very positive thing. But is she friends with Michael Pollan, who talks about how cheap, processed food is killing us? Does she understand that processed food is made cheaply and that produce and milk are too expensive for many underprivileged families? Does she ever ask why that is so? Does she realize that many of the obese and unhealthy kids are fed this diet because their parents cannot afford to purchase fruit and vegetables? And does she further understand why fruits and vegetables are so expensive? (The answer is, of course she does)

But, do you?

Here is a quote from a NYTimes article from a real farmer in Minnesota to explain:

"The commodity farm program effectively forbids farmers who usually grow corn or the other four federally subsidized commodity crops (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit and vegetables. Because my watermelons and tomatoes had been planted on “corn base” acres, the Farm Service said, my landlords were out of compliance with the commodity program.

I’ve discovered that typically, a farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future. (The penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables — if the farmer decides to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at all, there’s no problem.)"
(Jack Hedin)

Small wonder then, why we, the consumer, have to make up the difference.

We all think that the FDA and others in government are protecting us and making sure that we all eat right and have safe food. Not true. Look into it. Educate yourself. Follow the money. It leads to big corporations. Not farmers.

What really blows my mind, and it should yours as well, is that right now, Washington is all over the Healthcare bill. And it is going to cost a fortune. But they are not dealing with what is actually make us all ill. Our food.

I just don't get it. But, what can we do?

Perhaps Michelle Obama can put two and two together. I hope so. For our kids future.