Issues in the News

Michelle Obama and Child Obesity

By Mimi Hall and Nanci Hellmich, via USA Today

Her daughters were 6 and 9, and Michelle Obama was like any other working mom — struggling to juggle office hours, school pick-ups and mealtimes. By the end of the day, she was often too tired to make dinner, so she did what was easy: She ordered takeout or went to the drive-through.

She thought the girls were eating reasonably well — until her pediatrician in Chicago told her he didn't like the weight fluctuations he was seeing.

"I was shocked because my kids looked perfectly fine to me," Obama says. "But I had a wake-up call." Like many parents, however, "I didn't know what to do."

Today, the self-described "mom in chief" is launching Let's Move, a campaign to help other parents deal with a national health crisis she describes in epic terms.

The goal: to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation.

"It's an ambitious goal, but we don't have time to wait," the first lady said in an interview with USA TODAY in her spacious office in the East Wing of the White House. "We've got to stop citing statistics and wringing our hands and feeling guilty, and get going on this issue."

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The Dark Side of Nitrogen

by Stephanie Ogburn via Grist

While many of us know the importance of eating healthy food and are quite aware of our carbon 'foodprint', we may not understand the basics of soil chemistry, fertilizers and what is involved in growing the food we eat. As a grower for 40 years now, the interaction between soil, fertilizer and water has always held my interest and I often spend extra time in my class on Growing Herbs in Florida, going over this relationship.

Nitrogen, one of the 'big 3' in fertilzers, as in 10-10-10 ( N-P-K ), is a key element in the growth of our food crops, however, as agriculture has changed since WW II, natural forms of nitrogen have been replaced with synthetic nitrogen. This doesn't come without a price.

This series on nitrogen will open up the secrets of what is behind the use of synthetic nitrogen and the true price we pay for that use. A link to these articles will remain in the right sidebar under 'Fertile Ground' until the series finishes. Thanks to Ed Brown, a GFF contributor for sending this article my way.

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