Michelle Obama on Childhood Obesity…
March 29, 2010
In this interview, we see images of Michelle Obama working on the White House vegetable garden. The planting of this garden is an important step, as children are now so disconnected from real food. With less time for working parents to cook at home and fried finger foods being served in schools, how are children supposed to know that real food does not come in a bag, but from the ground? The First Lady’s garden is very much a statement on the importance of reconnecting with our food.
The first lady also makes the point in this interview that small changes are all it takes for big improvements. The problem, I believe, is that small changes take time, and time is a hot commodity in our instant gratification society. (Comcast commercials feature a turtle couple, “the Slowsys,” to poke fun at dial-up internet connections, pizzas are free if it takes longer than thirty minutes to deliver them, and even our banks have drive-through window options!) But with our health, we have to accept that the right way is not always the speedy way.
March 29, 2010 at 6:41 pm
The internet is being a little slow so I couldn’t watch the video but I think you bring up some interesting points (and I guess my first comment goes to show just how much our society values speed and time). Kids nowdays are raised with fast food locations everywhere and their school lunches come on trays. I’m sure most of their parents don’t grow any food, because not to many people take the time anymore to grow their own fruits and vegetables. I wonder if kids just think food is produced from factories like everything else.
April 2, 2010 at 3:16 am
I don’t know if you mentioned this at any point yet, but what is your perspective on how much responsibility parent’s have in these choices? If parents are feeding their kids fast food and snacks chock full of fat and preservatives, at what point should they be held accountable for this? If a parent allowed their child to consume nothing but McNuggets, pizza, and candy bars, does this constitute a form of neglect?