Diane Sawyer's report about the American Indian reservation whose main source of fresh veggies is, supposedly, a Subway restaurant pretty much confirms two things:
1. Subway really is everywhere. (They recently surpassed McDonald's for number of locations.)
2. Private industry will solve the problem of 'food deserts' better than Big Government will.
I'm still suspicious about the whole concept of a food desert--it strikes me as an easy excuse for why certain areas have such an obesity problem and why government must step in to solve it.
That said, it seems more plausible to me that a food desert could exist on a reservation than in an urban area. Reservations just seem more ... deserted. But they have a lot of open land on them ... the residents could plant some fruit and veggie gardens, right?
- Olive Garden is starting to tick me off. Last month, they lamely agreed to cut fries from their kids menu. Then, an OG in Alabama told the Kiwanis Club not to display the American flag at an award banquet they were to hold there. Now, after ensuing the media firestorm, OG has apologized. It's nice to know that the star-spangled banner can again wave o'er the land of the refillable salad and the home of the greasy breadsticks, but I'm sure many groups will now think twice before meetings at an OG anytime soon.
- The 'cones' (Ben & Jerry) are trying to be the Kochs of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
- France bans ketchup from its public schools.
- Here's evidence that the food-truck fad, like all fads, is getting less cool with time.
- Hmmm, did he run this statement by the big boss first?
- Man vs. a grilled cheese and blueberry donut.
When First Lady Michelle Obama admitted she has "a good relationship with French fries" at a press conference, it was one of the few times I thought she seemed humorous, approachable, or empathetic. We all have our guilty pleasures, don't we? What we don't all have are a federal program dedicated to pushing a certain lifestyle and diet on the little people who we think need us.
We've heard about Michelle's chow-down at the Shake Shack, and maybe wondered why she couldn't have had the burgers, fries, and shakes brought in to the White House where she could have indulged privately (seeing how she's supposed to be setting a great example and all). Now, we have word from Paula Deen that Michelle was enthusiastically eating fried foods at a taping of her cooking show, even between commercials.
Given all that we know about her eating habits and contrasting that knowledge with her public stance on health, it's hard not to tag the First Lady as a hypocrite, considering that just last month she got a major restaurant chain to take fries off their kids' menus. The message seems to be "Yes we can, but no you can't" when it comes to eating indulgent foods.
In the spirit of eat-and-let-eat, I say let her enjoy her fries and toasted-marshmallow milkshakes. Let her also stop telling people what to feed themselves and their children.
Here’s a mind-blowing factoid for you: America currently has 50% more czars than Russia ever did (Obama has 45, Russia had 30), according to a new report from conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch. One of them is Michael R. Taylor, Obama’s food safety czar, who ordered an FDA raid on an Amish farm in Pennsylvania in April for selling unpasteurized milk. (Reason.com has more on the farm raid here.)
I don’t know about you, comrade, but when I think about dangerous forces imperiling our great-nation-gone-soft, I put 'Amish farmers' and 'edgy dairy products' near the top of the list, right under ‘Too many czars’ and ‘The possibility that Rebecca Black will record songs for the other six days of the week.’
While Americans are clearly losing their appetite for Obama, someone in China must think he's still marketable. By now, you may have seen this photo around the Internet of a restaurant in China called Obama Fried Chicken.
It warms my heart to think of how it must disturb the liberal food police to see their Dear Leader be associated with icky, evil fried foods. I imagine KFC's legal department is also less than amused.
Seeing this sign made me think of a few other ideas for Obama-themed chains:
Tac-O Bell
Slogan: Think Outside the Constitution
In-N-Out
Slogan: That's What A One-Termer's All About
Biz-no's
Mmmm ... small businesses are toasted!
McO'Bama's
Classic slogan: You Deserve Universal Health Care Today
Can't-I-Just-Eat-My-Waffle House
Slogan: If You Have Any Dough, We'll Stick It To Ya
Subway (You wouldn't need to change the name because Obama is in love with public transportation schemes like light rail)
Slogan: Eat Fresh from Michelle's White House Garden
DreamsFromMyGodfather's Pizza
Slogan: I Think I'll Trade Jobs with Herman Cain
O-by's
Slogan: It's Get-The-Nation-In-A-Good-Mood-By-2012-Or-Else Food
(Other names and slogans are welcome in the comments. Or tweet them to #ObamaRestaurants)
12/8/11 Update: Another Obama-themed restaurant has popped up overseas, this time in Sweden. (Hat tip to The Wall Street's Journal's James Taranto, who humorously classified the headline "Hungry Swedes queue up for Obamas sausage" as "Too Much Information.")
- Thomas Sowell takes down "the hunger hoax."
- Rob Long, a Hollywood writer/producer and contributor to National Review and Ricochet.com, gives a somewhat surprising shout-out to Mark Bittman, the liberal New York Times food writer. "It's one of those tiresome left-wing cliches -- people eat junk food because it's cheaper than regular old supermarket food," writes Long, praising Bittman "for kicking that old left wing shibboleth to the curb." (This summer, this blog and many others criticized Bittman for his editorial calling for a tax on junk food.)
- The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) put up an anti-cheese billboard in Wisconsin which depicted a Grim Reaper figure wearing a cheesehead hat. The PCRM later obscured the cheesehead after a company that manufactures foam "cheeseheads" threatened legal action.
- Shhh, don't tell the food police, but I recently tried some chocolate-covered bacon ... is it as good as it sounds?
