A little pillow talk please!

For many years now I’ve been reading contradicting surveys; on the one hand consumers claim they want to eat more healthfully and yet at the same time studies indicate that their food purchases in both the foodservice and retail sectors tell another story. The nation’s obesity rates speak for themselves; according to the American Medical Association about one-third of US adults are obese and the Obesity Association estimates that at least 15% of children and teens weigh too much. Closely related are the soaring rates of diabetes II and the healthcare costs to the nation.

And it’s not like the health and well being of the country’s citizenry has been ignored. Government organizations like the USDA and noteworthy organizations such as American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association as well as food industry non-profits like the Produce for Better Health Foundation all have instigated comprehensive educational programs and who’s to say their combined efforts have not had a positive impact! Actually, isn’t that a scary thought?

Earlier this year, First Lady Michelle Obama announced an initiative to eliminate childhood obesity within a generation; that’s right…one generation! It’s an very ambitious goal but unlike many other projects, Let’s Move actually has set itself a tangible and measurable goal. At the onset of the initiative the First Lady made it quite clear that this was to be a collaborative effort; she said, “This isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight, but with everyone working together, it can be solved.”

And what a collaboration Michelle appears to be building. Earlier this month on June 4th, my Twitter stream was all a flutter with comments from chefs, nutritionists and educators who were all in Washington DC for the launch of Chefs Move to Schools , another piece of Michelle’s Let’s Move campaign.

As I read Rachel Ray’s blog post  on the topic, I thought how clever to bring celebrities on board, after all we do have a celeb-obsessed culture and I couldn’t help but wonder did the program executives at ABC have any idea what the First Lady was planning when they agreed to air Jamie Olivier’s Food Revolution or did they just get incredibly lucky?

As I watched an episode with Chef Jamie expressing his frustration with Huntington’s high school Foodservice Director (apparently his ‘healthy’ lunch menu did not meet the required government nutrition quotas), I was reminded of a former client explaining to me why canned pears in heavy syrup were more popular with school foodservice operators than the healthier option of canned pears in juice; canned pears in syrup enable them to meet the required carbohydrate quota easily

and stay within budget. Ironic uh?

Michael Pollan puts it perfectly “we need a food bill not a farm bill”. That is, we need our government to shift its priorities and make it economically attractive for agriculture to produce foods that are both good for people and our planet so we can all buy and eat healthy food.

Maybe, just maybe, Michelle can have a word with husband to get moving on that!