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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Personal Is Political In Food Issues: First Lady Discusses Nutrition,
Eating And Health Care Reform
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2009/06/personal-is-political-in-food-iss
ues.html

Food Consciousness And The First Family

The First Lady has gone on the record again about health and nutrition, as
a way of encouraging change in the nation's eating habits, something which
must be altered in order to make any kind of health care reform effective.
As she's done in previous remarks, Mrs. Obama is suggesting balance and
moderation, rather than a yogi-like abstinence when it comes to food. In an
interview that aired today with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, shot
on the same day the First Lady hosted a picnic to celebrate the first big
summer harvest from the White House Kitchen Garden, Mrs. Obama discussed
the huge challenges of changing personal eating habits, but noted that
small changes can lead to big effects--and she's very aware that none of
the President's health care policy reforms can be accomplished without
this. (Above: Mrs. Obama with Robin Roberts in the Grandchildren's Garden
at the White House)

Mrs. Obama stressed that the struggle to eat properly and exercise
regularly was as much of a problem for her own family as it is for many
other families; she's couching the issue in her ongoing conversation about
work-life balance, and making references to the First Family's journey
toward food consciousness, as a way of highlighting the issues.

"The truth is, people are busy and they're stressed and they're tired,"
Mrs. Obama said. "That I know. And far be it from me to be a part of adding
any more stress to any one's lives because 'Michelle Obama did it; that
means I have to do it.' I have a lot of help. I've got a mother here, I've
got resources. I would be remiss in not acknowledging that. But I would
also urge people to think about the small things that they can do within
their control."

It's the work-life balance issue that led to Mrs. Obama's focus on
nutrition; she was employed full time before leaving her job to go on the
campaign trail with then-candidate Obama:

"Probably like most moms, working mothers, working parents, there is a
period when you struggle to figure out with a busy schedule, how do you
feed your kids and make sure that they are eating healthy?" Mrs. Obama
said.

Processed And Fast Foods: Off The Menu
In the same way she spoke out against low-nutrition processed and fast
foods during a recent visit to Bancroft Elementary School, Mrs. Obama hit
on this theme again. Mrs. Obama came to this awareness a few years ago,
when the family pediatrician pointed out that daughters Sasha and Malia
were both at risk for food-created disease such as diabetes and obesity,
due to weight gain.

"We were eating a lot of easy, fast foods, and I saw it starting to take a
toll on my kids' health," Mrs. Obama said.

Mrs. Obama said the family began eliminating processed food and adding
fruits and vegetables to their diet, and started to cook more and eat out
less. Mrs. Obama stressed that "little, incremental changes" like walking
more and limiting soda consumption are critical for personal health as well
as health care reform, for her own family as well as everyone else who
eats. In advance of the President's Wednesday Health Care Town Hall in the
White House, Mrs. Obama is stressing the fact that no matter what
government does to promote health, personal food choice--and personal food
education--becomes a critical issue, at the end of the day.

"Government can't do it all," Mrs. Obama said.

Eliminating low-nutrition and processed foods from every one's daily diet
is the most logical place to begin. "Those things will eliminate obesity
and cut down on costs. I mean, we're spending about $120 billion additional
a year on our health care system as a result of these sort of chronic
illnesses that you see that are connected to obesity. We already know
that," Mrs. Obama said.

Th family focus on healthier foods has continued in the White House,
obviously, with the advent of the White House Kitchen Garden, and the new
opportunity to eat together each night as a family, something Mrs. Obama
has frequently mentioned in other interviews. At the same time, she notes
that the whole focus on nutrition doesn't exclude occasional indulgences.

"I love french fries: my favorite food," Mrs. Obama said. "That's part of
what we try to teach our kids. It's not about never, ever. There are some
people who make that choice. We're not one of those. I love food. It's
really about balance and choices." She added that Sasha likes peas and
Malia is "a pretty big broccoli fan."

School Lunches And Eliminating Food Deserts Is A Critical Issue, Too Mrs.
Obama has emerged as a strong advocate for changes in the federal nutrition
programs that are run by USDA, particularly the school lunch program, which
has a huge amount of annual funding, but which has conflicting regulations
that allow for processed and low-nutrition foods to be served. She's
recently gone on the record about the importance of the nation-wide feeding
programs.

"Through the lunch programs, more and more kids, particularly in this
economy, are getting breakfast and lunch at school," Mrs. Obama said "And
we need to do a better job of making sure that those meals are as healthy
as they can be."

It's an unfortunate and terrible circumstance that many American kids only
eat at school, but one that can't be overlooked. Mrs. Obama said the
administration will be focusing on improving the nutritional value of
government-provided meals for children during the upcoming child-nutrition
re-authorization this fall. Getting fresh and healthy foods into nutrition
programs is a path-breaking idea, believe it or not, because historically
the federally sponsored nutrition programs have been loaded with
commodity-food dumps from large food processors.

There's new interest among those on Capitlol Hill to change this, and this
is also causing an outpouring of hope among the many advocacy groups that
have long worked to ensure more nutritionally sound school lunches.

Meantime, the huge uptick in gardens inspired by the White House Kitchen
Garden, and the drive to plant more gardens at schools and in communities
that have no- or limited access to fresh produce will be a huge foodscape
changer, too. The United We Serve project being coordinated by Serve.gov is
an excellent way of encouraging local and school gardening, as well as
service in food banks.