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Michelle Obama Gets Even More Direct About Healthy Eating
Michelle Obama held the White House’s first garden harvest party yesterday, and this time the event was more than just a photo op with fresh veggies. While the First Lady has spoken several times about the importance of nutritious food and healthy school lunches, this was the first time she really delved deep into the connection between food and public health, addressing the obesity epidemic, healthcare reform and the child nutrition reauthorization. “The President and Congress are going to begin to address health care reform, and these issues of nutrition and wellness and preventative care is going to be the focus of a lot of conversation coming up in the weeks and months to come,” she said at the start of her speech. “And these are issues that I care deeply about, especially when they affect America’s children.”
Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other diet-related illnesses cost taxpayers over $120 billion every year, Mrs. Obama told the students from Bacroft Elementary School who joined her for the harvest and prepared a garden lunch. “While the dollar figure is shocking in and of itself, the effect on our children’s health is even more profound,” she said. “Nearly a third of the children in this country are either overweight or obese, and a third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lifetime. In Hispanic and African American communities, those numbers climb even higher so that nearly half of the children in those communities will suffer the same fate. Those numbers are unacceptable.”
Mrs. Obama praised the millions of Americans who have planted vegetable gardens like hers, but she made it clear that more systemic change is needed. “For too many families, limited access to healthy fruits and vegetables is often a barrier to a healthier diet,” she said. “In so many of our communities, particularly in poorer and more isolated communities, fresh, healthy food is simply out of reach. With few grocery stores in their neighborhoods, residents are forced to rely on convenience stores, fast food restaurants, liquor stores, drug stores and even gas stations for their groceries.”
Of course, Mrs. Obama didn’t end her remarks without touching on school lunch and the responsibility of the USDA to ensure the children eat nutritious meals in school. And this time, she specifically mentioned the child nutrition reauthorization, highlighting the major chance we have right now to improve school meals. “We’re approaching the first big opportunity to move this to the top of the agenda with the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition programs,” she said. “In doing so, we can go a long way towards creating a healthier generation for our kids.”
I’m glad the First Lady is getting a little more direct about her cause. The White House garden is a huge statement in itself. But that statement will become so much more powerful when Americans get the connection between diet, health and the cost of healthcare reform.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
We need a garden in every school! Teaching the USDA food pyramid to students is completely ineffective in creating the behavior change we need - kids eating more veggies and less junk.
How about we all demand that the Child Nutrition Reauthorization includes adequate funds for school gardens and the right kind of cafeteria kitchens!
June 18th, 2009 at 6:00 am
What would alternatives be for schools in northern areas, where the growing season is short, corresponding to summer break?
Would there be food safety issues with food grown on site? Or are the gardens intended mainly an education tool (valuable!) as opposed to an actual food source for the school meals?