Vegetarian Star » Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama Wants Better Food Access In Food Deserts

Vegetarian Star — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:28:59 +0000

First Lady Michelle Obama recently announced she would like to expand her Let’s Move! campaign to help provide fresher food to certain regions of the United States known as “food deserts.”

Food Deserts can be defined as areas or communities where people have difficulty accessing healthy and affordable food. The idea is to improve the selection at grocery stores and building up healthier options at smaller retailers that sell food, such as convenience stores.

“We can give people all of the information in the world about healthy eating… but if parents can’t buy the food they need to prepare those meals… if their only options for groceries are in the corner gas station or the local mini mart, then all of that is just talk… and that’s not what Let’s Move is about,” Mrs. Obama said.

There are two different ways a community can qualify as a food desert. Poverty is considered, but distance from a grocery store is also a factor.

A low-income community may have a poverty rate of 20% or higher OR a median family income at or below 80% of the area’s median family income. A low-access community may have at least 500 people and/or 33% of the population must live more than a mile from a supermarket or large grocery store.

A map showing food deserts is available on the USDA website.

Photo: PR Photos

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Michelle Obama Unveils Let’s Move! Childcare Guidelines

Vegetarian Star — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:17:58 +0000

Michelle Obama has expanded her Let’s Move! campaign to get America’s kids fitter to places where many children spend much time outside of school.

The Let’s Move! Child Care program provides daycare centers a checklist of standards to implement, from reducing television time during daycare to not serving sugary sodas to offering fresh fruit and vegetables with every meal.

“Everyone is going to see that these small changes can make a big difference. If our kids get into the habit of getting up and playing, if their palates warm up to veggies at an early age, and if they’re not glued to a TV screen all day, they’re on their way to healthy habits for life,” Mrs. Obama said. “That’s why I’m so excited about Let’s Move! Child Care – because I know that childcare facilities and home-based providers can be a real building block for an entire generation of healthy kids.”

Daycare centers may be the best places to target children. The Childhood Obesity Task Force says about 60% of children under age 5 are in some form of care, spending on average 29 hours a week there. During the past four decades, obesity rates among preschoolers aged 2-5 have doubled and 1 in 5 children are overweight or obese by the time they reach their 6th birthday.

More information on the Let’s Move! Childcare initiative can be found at HealthyKidsHealthyFuture.org.

Photo: PR Photos

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Michelle Obama Unveils New USDA Food Plate

Vegetarian Star — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:04:04 +0000

The old USDA food pyramid came toppling down not long ago and officials have recently unveiled an updated version of food recommendations for daily nutrition.

First Lady Michelle Obama said of the new guidelines, “We’re all bombarded by so many dietary messages, it’s hard to find time to sort through all this information. When it comes to eating, what’s more simple than a plate?”

The new guidelines look promising, as they recommend filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables and a fourth of it with grains.

Even better, the protein component does not specify that portion of the meal come from animal products. Finally, dairy is pushed to the side of the plate, hinting that if you’re an omnivore, it shouldn’t be a major source of calories, especially considering its cholesterol and fat content.

Ideally, the plate would list items under each category that fit the requirement and many of those items would be plant sources. Additionally, it would have been nice to say that calcium can be obtained from numerous plant sources like kale.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which sued the U.S. government for not honoring a vegetarian food pyramid in its eating guidelines, has also crafted a food plate that tell exactly what plant sources to get protein and calcium from.

After examining both the USDA Food Plate and the Power Plate, which one do you think has more power to change America’s eating habits?

Photo: PR Photos

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Michelle Obama Receives Faux Leather Jacket Gift

Vegetarian Star — Wed, 25 May 2011 00:43:50 +0000

Michelle Obama has been recognized for her great sense of style she since moved in the big white house on Pennsylvania Ave. in the U.S. Her fashion sense is also compassionate, as she’s pledged never to wear real fur. Now, PETA is asking the First Lady to take an additional step in dressing cruelty-free by shunning leather. To show her what she could be missing, the group sent her a complimentary faux leather jacket found on Asos.com.

PETA’s President Ingrid Newkirk personally wrote a letter to Michelle after the jacket was chosen.

It is time for a change in the way that animals are killed for their skins. Every year, most of the millions of cows slaughtered for the leather industry endure castration, tail-docking, and de-horning—all without being given any painkillers. Because of the cruelty inherent in this industry, a rapidly growing number of designers—including Stella McCartney and Natalie Portman—have chosen to create wonderful work without using animal skins. Leather is also bad for the environment: In order to preserve the skins, companies use toxic chemicals that can end up in nearby soil and water supplies.

Asos.com is a great stop for faux leather clothing for both men and women. The online retailer sells faux leather dresses, skirts, jackets, pants and even hair accessories.

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Michelle Obama May Add Flowers To White House Garden

Vegetarian Star — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:22:06 +0000

Michelle Obama is considering greening the White House even more by planting a garden of flowers to be used for decorating the halls and rooms of the president’s home.

The First Lady would use the flowers to brighten up the decor in the East and West Wings.

“In terms of using things from the garden, I feel like that’s in the works,” White House chief florist Laura Dowling told U.S. News & World Report. “We all know about her organic vegetable garden, and all she’s done to promote healthy eating and living. I think the next step then is a cutting garden.”

Dowling said the flowers can do more than decorate. Depending on the color and species, flowers can also symbolize a “diplomatic role.”

They can also help create a tasty and decorative dish. An edible flower garden could be Mrs. Obama’s next step in demonstrating cooking and seasoning with healthy, plant-based sources.

Vegetarian Times has an article that discusses types of edible flowers, their flavors and what dishes they go best in. Chrysanthemum, a flower with a mild peppery flavor, is a great addition to soups, dips and cooked vegetables. Marigolds can be added to pasta sauces, yogurts and flavored butters. And with their sweet flavors, Violets go great as a syrup in any vegan ice cream.

Photo: PR Photos

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Beyonce “Get Me Bodied” Song Anthem For “Let’s Move!” Campaign (Video)

Vegetarian Star — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Beyonce has filmed a different version of her “Get Me Bodied” song, titled “Work That Body,” to promote Michelle Obama‘s Let’s Move! campaign to get kids physically active and eating more fruits and vegetables.

The video, which features school children shaking it in the cafeteria, will be used in “dance-ins” that will take place in middle schools across the United States, starting May 3rd.

The website for the First Lady’s campaign has some startling comparisons about our lifestyles three decades and now:

Thirty years ago, most people led lives that kept them at a healthy weight. Kids walked to and from school every day, ran around at recess, participated in gym class, and played for hours after school before dinner. Meals were home-cooked with reasonable portion sizes and there was always a vegetable on the plate. Eating fast food was rare and snacking between meals was an occasional treat.

Portion sizes have also exploded- they are now two to five times bigger than they were in years past. Beverage portions have grown as well- in the mid-1970s, the average sugar-sweetened beverage was 13.6 ounces compared totoday, kids think nothing of drinking 20 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages at a time.

In total, we are now eating 31 percent more calories than we were forty years ago–including 56 percent more fats and oils and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners. The average American now eats fifteen more pounds of sugar a year than in 1970.

In this case, a return to the “good old days” isn’t just nostalgia. It’s a must to prevent a nation where diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease are as common as a winter cold

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White House Easter Egg Roll Is Hen Friendly

Vegetarian Star — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:32:53 +0000

The annual White House Easter Egg Roll is taking place on Monday, April 25.

Following in the footsteps of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move!” initiative for better fitness, this year’s roll has a theme of “Get Up and Go!” and will feature live music, cooking demonstrations, sports courts and some pretty cool animal-free eggs.

Children competing in the roll will use environmentally friendly wooden eggs, according to Ecorazzi.

The eggs are made from “FSC-certified hardwood and painted with vegetable-oil based inks and a water-based coating.” The eggs will come in a variety of colors and feature President Obama and Michelle‘s stamped signatures on them.

Promoting physical fitness while having fun with eco-friendly eggs that don’t involve animal cruelty? How can an adult get invited to this hunt?

According to the Humane Society of the United States, the majority of egg-laying hens are confined in battery cages. The space inside the cages gives them less room to move that the area of a single sheet of letter-sized paper, rendering the hens unable to perform natural behaviors like spreading their wings, nesting and perching.

Use fake eggs this year and keep your Easter Egg Hunt or Roll animal-friendly.

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“First Garden” First Children’s Book About White House Garden

Vegetarian Star — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:09:27 +0000

April is National Garden Month and what a better way to celebrate than releasing a children’s book about the White House Garden.

First Garden: The White House Garden And How it Grew from Clarion Books, is a 48-page hardcover edition aimed at 6-8 year olds, filled with recipes and colorful pictures in addition to text that traces the history of the garden, from the first dig to the harvesting of hundreds of pounds of vegetables served to the First Family and guests in the White House Kitchen.

Michelle Obama‘s desire to teach children about the origins food was accomplished through her inviting children from D.C. area schools to participate in the planting, maintenance and harvesting of items from the garden and First Garden makes references to these experiences as well.

A children’s book that celebrates gardening may be an important step in another initiative Mrs. Obama is pushing, the move towards healthier, fitter children through her Let’s Move! campaign that pushes exercise while choosing wholesome foods. Regular gardening activities may make children increase their fruit and vegetable intake.

“As First Lady and as a mom, Mrs. Obama was concerned about the health of the American people,” Robbin Gourley, author of the book, writes. “She believed we should think about what we eat and where our food comes from. And she wanted her family–all families–to become healthier by eating more vegetables and fruits together at the table.”

First Garden contains a forward from sustainable food champion, chef and cookbook author Alice Waters.

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