Image Problem

The L.A. Times Opinion section asks, "is America ready for a president who, frankly, doesn't look healthy?" They're referring to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who must really scare the MSM/liberal establishment because they're already starting up an "unhealthy" narrative against him even though he's not a candidate and, officially at least, denies that he's going to run in 2012.


The idea that excess cellulite would make you unfit for high office is a symptom of our Hollywoodized culture, in which style and substance have become indistinguishable in many people's minds. And who says that anyone really looks up to the President as an example of how they should eat and take care of themselves?


If Herman Cain was not seen as such a long shot in the presidential race, I'm sure the media would be making more of his selling of fattening foods as former CEO of Godfather's Pizza.

9/1 Update: The Wall Street Journal has an editorial on "Our Obsession with 'Looking Presidential'" that proves that many great leaders didn't 'look the part,' at least by today's standards.  

Hot Dog Alert

First they came for the trans fats. Then they came for the french fries. Now, the food police are coming after hot dogs. Read the rest at LauraIngraham.com ...

 

War on Fries: McDonald's Reduces Fries in Happy Meals

L.A. Times: "Under pressure from health and children's advocacy groups, McDonald's Corp. is making changes to its famed Happy Meals."


"The fast food chain will add a serving of fruit or vegetable to all of the meals, which are aimed at children, and shrink the portion of French fries."

Hey, we thought fries counted as a vegetable?

Is That A Real "Food Desert" Or A Mirage?

What’s a “food desert”? It’s not a barren place without vegetation; that would be an actual buzzards-and-cactus desert. It’s an ominous term for an urban area so deep, deep in the heart of the inner city that it’s devoid of convenient sources of healthy food. Only greasy-spoon joints, fast-food chains, and quickie-marts can be found in these wastelands. Or at least that’s how First Lady Michelle Obama makes it sound. The fact that Walmart and other chain stores are joining in her efforts to help the food deserts bloom indicates that there’s something to this; these companies must think that there are markets to tap in these areas (and let's remember that there have been cases where Walmart has been blocked from building stores in urban areas).

But wait, you might be thinking, aren’t farmers’ markets all the rage in many big urban areas? Are there really no fruit stands or community gardens downtown? Ah, but you see, “the USDA bureaucracy defines ‘access to fresh food’ as access to a large supermarket with more than $2 million in annual sales,” writes Manhattan Institute senior fellow Dr. David Gratzer in the Washington Examiner. Shockingly, according to Gratzer, this government-declared crisis is rather overblown.


To the extent that food deserts really are a problem, the contention that government needs to make healthy food convenient for you is debatable, to say the least. Personal health is either a priority or not, whether it is convenient or not. Presumably other measures need to taken for those of us who live in food non-deserts yet are still overweight. It could be argued that car-owning suburbanites are victims of their easy access to drive-thrus. Just don’t argue that personal responsibility has anything to do with these matters: that would be very upsetting to the big-government types who are working so hard to organize your life for you.


7/22 Update: It turns out the First Lady misstated the number of Americans living in food deserts by about, oh, 10 million in her speech Wednesday. The official USDA estimate is 13.5 million.

Bureaucracies Getting Fatter

As I've mentioned before, childhood obesity is often used as the reason why government should step in and regulate food choices. Of course, this makes little sense, since a healthy lunch is not going to do much for kids who pick up unhealthy habits at home. As Iain Murray writes in Stealing You Blind, (excerpted and adapted here for National Review), "The real beneficiaries of such programs are not the children, who don’t want them, but the bureaucrats who are employed to check the schools’ progress, tabulate and file results, produce 'performance indicators,' issue reports, and, most important, demand more funding."


Of course, it's good to strive for a healthy lifestyle and it's only right to be concerned about the well-being of kids. But that makes us more susceptible to accepting government meddling in those areas of life. Parents have to step up at some point and stop letting bureaucrats and busybodies intrude on their turf.

Swanson Meals

The Emmy nominations were announced today and one of the most noted snubs was Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson on NBC's Parks and Recreation. Could it be that the character, beloved as he is by the show's viewers, is just too politically and dietarily incorrect for the Emmys? He's a steak, bacon, and eggs-loving, government-hating, old-school, man's man who certainly isn't going to let the state regulate his plate.

I remember that I almost gave up on Parks after the first three episodes, and the Swanson character was one of the main things that kept me watching, which I'm glad I did because the second season was miles better than the first. And, of course, the Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness is a cultural contribution that will surely outlast us all.

Big Kids & Big Brother

Okay, We'll Eat Our Peas

If we've all got to eat our peas now, Mr. President, this is how I'll take mine.


(In a tart w/ bleu cheese)
Or maybe this way:



I guess Obama is now officially an "Eat Your Peas politician."

(Photos/recipes: Peas.org)

No Solo Mayo

Over the years, I've given certain family members a hard time about putting mayonnaise on hot dogs. But I've recently revised my personal policy forbidding the use of mayo on hot dogs. To put it in a nutshell: I make an exception for street dogs.

I've always found mayo to be an unacceptable hot dog condiment; in fact, I even have reservations about putting ketchup on a dog. Neither mayonnaise nor ketchup should ever be the sole condiment on a hot dog; they are only acceptable in moderation and in the presence of mustard or BBQ sauce, and even then the inclusion of items like bacon, cheese, onions, and relish is highly preferred.

What do you think: Is mayo ever OK on a dog? Or have you always eaten it that way?

Food Industry Fights Back, w/ Former WH Comm Director On Their Side

National Journal/Washington Post report: "Foodmakers, fast-food chains, and media companies have teamed up to battle government efforts to create voluntary nutritional guidelines for foods marketed to children ... And the group is being managed by former White House communications director Anita Dunn."

P.S. Dunn caused a media ruckus in 2009 when she cited Mao as one of her favorite political philosophers. She claimed later that she was being ironic.

Making Healthier Choices for You

This news about rising rates of obesity is alarming, but so are the responses coming from certain "experts." Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, the organization behind a new obesity-scare report, says, "If we're going to reverse the obesity trends, willpower alone won't do it. (Translation: Americans can’t be trusted to manage their own diets.) We're going to have to make healthier choices easier for Americans." (“Easier”? How do you make choices easier without reducing them or taking them away? Who has the power to determine others' choices?)

The article goes on to say: “Some groups say such behavioral initiatives are not enough, arguing that food manufacturers and restaurant chains need limits on how they market to children.” (Uh, Happy Meal-age kids don’t take themselves to McD’s. And who's to say that what the parents feed them at home is any healthier.) Behavioral initiatives (i.e., government propaganda) aren't enough, huh? Does this mean that the First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign hasn't gotten the job done? (An ineffective Obama initiative? I know--perish the thought!)

Obesity is a real concern, but so is protecting individual liberty. Reading between the lines of such comments, it's hard not to feel that certain forces are not only after your "freedom fries" but your freedom. Period.

"The Pie Chart That Doesn’t Want You to Eat Pie"

The Daily Caller has a good, tongue-in-cheek editorial on the new ChooseMyPlate.gov by Walter Olson.

(Speaking of pies, Marie Callender's has been closing a lot of restaurants in the region lately. Sad.)

My Plea to the Makers of Zoi Yogurt

Please, please expand your distribution! I have to drive an hour round-trip to the nearest Winco to get this delicious Greek yogurt, passing probably 10 other grocery stores that should be carrying it. I'm not usually a fan of yogurt but this stuff is just spectacular.



Give it a try and help make it more widely available!

Just Don't Wash It Down with Chocolate Milk

Speaking of Jamie Oliver, I wonder what the calorie count on this meat pie is ...

We Don't Want Kids Enjoying Milk Too Much, Do We?

I love Jamie Oliver's cooking shows (the "Mushrooms" episode of Jamie At Home is one of the most enjoyable half-hours of TV I've ever seen), but his "Food Revolution" show rubbed me the wrong way (i.e., it was a preachy, only semi-entertaining attempt to turn food policing into a reality show/social movement). Apparently, he helped inspire the recent yanking of flavored milks from L.A. school-lunch menus. As if the sugar obliterates the other health benefits of milk, or as if juice isn't very sugary. The schools have already expelled soda machines, so they need a new target. It's all for the kids, of course--it always is.


Or maybe they could switch to this brand, which is supposedly healthier than normal chocolate milk.

Slate Off Their Plate

This blog comes at you from a conservative/libertarian perspective, but it's also good to see when liberal/left-leaning folks take notice of how far the food police are going in their crusade. This old article from Slate is a good example. (Sorry, I just started this blog and I'm catching on a lot of this stuff.)

Dark of the Pudding

If you haven't tried Fresh & Easy's Dark Chocolate Pudding, it's really good.