Obama’s special garden

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Douglas Powell

Michelle Obama wants to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables.

“My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

That is so retarded.

Oh, I thought that was OK after Barack told Jay Leno last night that his 129 in bowling was Special Olympics-like.

I compost. I garden. I know that berries (left) don’t magically come in the first year.

“Bill Yosses, the pastry chef, is looking forward to berry season.”

Growing food requires skill; farmers are professionals, not hobbyists. There is room for both. And I’d like to see some genetically-engineered Bt sweet corn grown in that garden. It’s more sustainable.

Below, our polar scarebear protects seedlings in the Kansas sunshine.

Obama makes food safety statement: forms committee

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Douglas Powell

U.S. President Barack Obama used his weekly radio – and YouTube – address today to bolster and reorganize the nation’s fractured food-safety system by forming a committee — the Food Safety Working Group.

President Clinton had a similar group 13 years ago.

Obama said,

“In the end, food safety is something I take seriously, not just as your president, but as a parent.”

Me too. But when it comes to the safety of the food supply, I generally ignore the chatter from Washington. If a proposal does emerge, such as the creation of a single food inspection agency, I ask, Will it actually make food safer? Will fewer people get sick?

In the initial parsing of the speech, the N.Y. Times reported,

Experts have long debated whether the F.D.A. should increase inspections or rely instead on private auditors and more detailed safety rules. By calling the limited number of government inspections an “unacceptable” public health hazard, Mr. Obama came down squarely on the side of increased government inspections.

Government inspections have a role. But it’s minimal compared to what industry can do. And FDA has no authority over farms, so problems with tomatoes, spinach and sprouts are not going to be solved by increasing inspections at processing plants.

Obama is excellent at setting tone, and that is the best that can be expected from this committee formation. Maybe it will send a message that everyone, from farm-to-fork, needs to get super-serious about providing microbiologically safe food. Maybe that will increase the safety of the food supply and result in fewer sick people.

Obama wants Sebelius to seek out the science of health

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Casey Jacob

Being that I’m living in the middle of Kansas, I just caught a live broadcast of President Obama announcing his nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Media sources emphasize that, as Secretary of HHS, Sebelius would be implementing the president’s plans for health care reform, along with Nancy-Ann DeParle – an American expert on health care issues and Obama’s pick for “Health Reform Czar”.

However, Obama pointed out in his announcement that it’s not all about health insurance; the position is also responsible for the oversight of several agencies that serve as protective forces, including the FDA and the CDC.

The president alluded to changes in that area of the department as well, and noted the importance of science over politics when determining the best approaches to protecting the health of Americans.

Sebelius will have her work cut out for her on many levels, so I hope she holds that mind: Keeping the poop out of food safety policy is a great way to keep poop out of food.

Salmonella recalls grow; Obama orders review of FDA operations

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Douglas Powell

As the number of recalled products topped 800, U.S. President Barack Obama said this morning he is ordering a “complete review” of the Food and Drug Administration after it failed to detect shipments of salmonella-contaminated peanut products.

In an interview taped Sunday and aired this morning on the television gabfest, Today, Obama said the agency’s failure to recognize and intercept the products was only the latest of numerous “instances over the last several years” in which “the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch.”

“At bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter.”

USA Today today reported that the recall, one of the largest ever, started with bulk peanut butter, spread to crackers and cookies and has engulfed products as diverse as kettle corn, pad Thai and trail mix, with over 800 recalls and many more expected this week.

Robert Brackett, senior vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said anecdotal evidence indicates that sales of all peanut-related products, even unaffected peanut butters, are slipping, adding,

"All it takes is a little company, and it has a huge ripple effect.”

The GMA says Peanut Corporation of America supplied less than 1% of peanut products sold in the U.S. Still, the FDA says the company has more than 300 customers, many of whom used PCA’s products as an ingredient.

Brackett fears consumers will tire of checking recall lists and begin shunning anything with peanuts. Past food scares have shown that to be true.

When asked by CBC Radio in Sudbury, Ontario this morning, “what’s a consumer to do,” I said,

“Avoid the stuff for now. It may not be fair, but the recall list is growing so fast, it’s prudent. And now folks have an idea what people with peanut allergies have to go through.”

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A nation fed on local food?

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Casey Jacob

The political power of the U.S. president just sets the stage for the presidential family to influence American culture.

I think one of the most interesting galleries at the Eisenhower Museum–dedicated to our 34th president who hailed from Abilene, Kansas (about an hour from where I write)–is the gallery filled with outfits worn by his wife Mamie. Plaques near the outfits describe the impact the former First Lady had on women’s fashion during her husband’s presidency–like many First Ladies before and after her.

Purpose-minded people everywhere hope that their cause will be picked up by a member of the presidential family and instantly regarded as fashionable.

This, of course, includes proponents of local food.

As reported by the New York Times,

“The nonprofit group Kitchen Gardeners International wants to inspire people to grow their own food in home gardens. More recently, its “Eat the View!” campaign has targeted the ultimate home garden — the White House lawn.”

According to the group’s website,

Kitchen Gardeners “are self-reliant seekers of "the Good Life" who have understood the central role that home-grown and home-cooked food plays in one’s well-being.”

Across the pond, the Japan Times reports that, “public trust in food, packaging and labeling [is] crumbling across the nation,” and it’s leading consumers to “tak[e] a healthy interest in vegetables and other locally made produce.”

The article asserts,

“The vegetables and fruits are not necessarily cheap compared with supermarket prices, but people are apparently buying them because they feel safer eating products made by farmers who aren’t afraid to be identified.”

It can’t hurt to know who supplies your food. However, without microbiological evidence of the safety of products and processes, there’s really no guarantee that food produced nearby—or even in your own yard—will be safer to eat than food that’s been in transit for a while.

Sick people just get the comfort of knowing who it was that let the poop get on their food.

What does Obama eat?

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Ben Chapman

In a fantastic combination of celebrity and food porn, the Globe and Mail reports on U.S. President-elect Obama’s favorite foods — sort of.

There was a lot of guessing that went into this hard-hitting investigative journalism:

Early last year, when the Obamas said pizza from Italian Fiesta Pizzeria in Chicago was their favourite, co-owner Patti Harris-Tubbs says people called her up to say, "I’ll have whatever Obama likes." But Ms. Harris-Tubbs isn’t sure which pie that is.

"Our most popular is cheese and sausage," she tells them. "I guess I would have to go with that."

Eddie Gehman Kohan, the Los Angeles freelance writer behind the Obama Foodorama blog, says she doesn’t know, either.

She points to a New York Times interview with Reggie Love, Mr. Obama’s right-hand man, who was quoted as saying the boss’s favourite foods are Dentyne Ice, Nicorette, pistachios and MET-Rx chocolate-roasted peanut protein bars.

"Part of the fascination with food is trying to pinpoint who is he? How can we define him, how can we understand him?" Ms. Gehman Kohan says.

One thing the food paparazzi does know is that Obama likes his hot sauce. Ms. Gehman Kohan was cited as saying, "He puts it on everything, he carries a bottle with him.He’s shown he can handle the heat. At least so far."

Here’s a nice clip of food critic Barack from a 2001 local TV food show in Chicago.

Obama: Forget the fashion and focus on food safety basics

Posted on December 25, 2008 by Douglas Powell

Baby Sorenne woke up around 4 a.m. and, after nursing, hung out with daddy and watched Mallrats until she went back to sleep.

Daddy – that’s me – started prepping for the Christmas meal: boneless leg of lamb marinated in fresh rosemary – the one herb that seems to flourish indoors – and lime-garlic sauce. And some other stuff, which I could describe in pornographic detail, but will instead call side dishes.

As I prepare the lamb, I’ll keep in mind the World Health Organization’s factors that contribute to foodborne illness:

• improper cooking procedures;

• temperature abuse during storage;

• lack of hygiene and sanitation by food handlers;

• cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods; and,

• foods from unsafe sources.

Yet increasingly, food safety is used as a catch phrase to encompass whatever political goals some group wants to achieve

The N.Y. Times yesterday encapsulated what has been circulating on the Interwebs for weeks, stating that,

“From the moment it was clear that Barack Obama was going to be president, people who have dedicated their lives to changing how America eats thought they had found their St. Nicholas. It wasn’t long before the letters to Santa began piling up.

“Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet magazine, wants a new high-profile White House chef who cooks delicious local food. Wayne Pacelle, head of the Humane Society of the United States, wants policies requiring better treatment for farm animals. …

“Not only does (Obama) seem to possess a more-sophisticated palate than some of his recent predecessors, but he will also take office in an age when organic food is mainstream, cooking competitions are among the top-rated TV shows and books calling for an overhaul in the American food system are best sellers.”

Running through all of this is some kind of food snobbery that assumes whatever is fashionable is somehow safer.

Even the groups advocating more food safety are reeking of political ambition rather than focusing on the things that make people sick.

Like Brody in Mallrats, no one wants a stink palm.

Obama needs more food safety specifics

Posted on August 3, 2008 by Douglas Powell

Barack Obama is generating lots of interest in the U.S. Presidential process. Especially about whether he is too thin to be voted President by fat Americans.

I can’t even vote but, like Tom Hanks, share an interest in presidential history.

On Friday, Obama introduced the “Improving Food-borne Illness Surveillance and Response Act of 2008, which would improve information sharing and collaboration between public and private agencies and other organizations to effectively address food safety challenges. …

“The Obama food safety legislation would strengthen and expand food-borne illness surveillance in order to better inform and evaluate efforts to prevent these illnesses. This bill would also enhance the identification and investigation of food-borne illness outbreaks, which would assist officials to respond appropriately. In anticipation of future challenges, this bill would require a survey of state health departments to determine critical needs as well as the development of strategic plans. …”

Sorry, I must have dozed off there.

Sure Obama is offering up more than McCain. But Obama is creating expectations. Hopefully they are not too unrealistic; he’s already fallen into the safest food in the world rhetoric.

And it’s spelled foodborne, not food-borne.

This sorta reminds me of Les Nessman advising station manager and local council candidate, Arthur Carlson, on how to answer tough questions during an episode of WKRP. Something like:

(Food safety) is an important issue for all Americans. I take this issue seriously and will be appointing a blue-ribbon fact-finding commission, to issue a position paper on (food safety) very soon.

And since there’s not much on youtube about WKRP, I’ll leave you with, The Dungarees versus the Suits.

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