Posted on 07/18/2014 1:09:13 PM PDT by jazusamo
After having made her mark on school lunches, you know, replacing mac n’ cheese for quinoa salad thereby leaving kids across the nation hungry and unhappy, first lady Michelle Obama is moving on to bigger and better things, it seems.
Via The Washington Free Beacon:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is suggesting major changes to grocery stores to “nudge” Americans to purchase healthier foods when they shop.The agency commissioned an “expert panel” to make recommendations on how to guide the more than 47 million Americans on food stamps into spending their benefits on fruits and vegetables.
The group released an 80-pagereportthis month presenting their ideas, which include talking shopping carts and a marketing strategy for grocery chains that would feature better store lighting for healthier items.
To encourage Americans, including food stamp recipients, to purchase and eat healthier foods, USDA has come up with a few suggestions, including “SNAP-Ed cooking classes,” and consultations with dieticians in grocery stores, a point system whereby shoppers could receive perks like movie tickets for buying healthy food, and of course, the talking shopping cart:
The “MyCart grocery cart” would provide dividers for shoppers to make sure they are selecting enough items in each “MyPlate” category, the USDA’s food icon.“MyCart is a nonfinancial approach that would use behavioral economics to encourage healthier purchases by any consumer, including SNAP participants,” the report said.
The cart would be color-coded, physically divided, and have a system installed so that when the shopping cart reaches its healthy “threshold” it would congratulate the customer.
“The algorithm would group the purchases to classify them using the MyPlate designations and to provide consumers with a message of support or encouragement (e.g., “You achieved a MyCart healthy shopping basket!”),” the report said.
And the cost? Oh, a measly $30,000 for every store.
Whether or not you’ll find yourself using a talking shopping cart in the near future remains to be seen. More likely, shoppers will be confronted with one of the agency’s other, more realistic nanny state marketing schemes, which is sure to make Michelle O happy.
The USDA said the ideas are “intended to change the choice architecture of the food retail environment to make healthier choices more prominent,” which is in line with first lady Michelle Obama’s stated second term agenda to “ impact the nature of food in grocery stores.”
Having your husband appointed President makes you queen of the world, you know.
Be sure and request some obscure language...
Oh boy, talking shopping carts...How many different languages will be required?
The talking shopping carts will be a hit with the homeless crowd!
How ‘bout putting restrictions on the types of foods the gimme-class can purchase with their bridge cards and leave the rest of us the Hell alone?
“how to guide the more than 47 million Americans on food stamps into spending their benefits on fruits and vegetables.”
you mean before the inner city welfare queen sells the food stamps to the Pakistani who owns the variety store?
I be stokin strong, beeyotch.
Translation:
I have a wonderful self-image, health, and love the world, because my shopping cart told me so.
Costs of approved items will....skyrocket
Got no problem with something like this.
I think they ought to have a special store to purchase their food and they should get very little that comes in a box.
I am regularly astounded at the crud people put in their shopping carts.
Their skin and their girth are impacted by the crappola they consume.
mooshel has been watching demolition man.
the scene where the loser is at a phone booth and whining...
the machine responds..
“you looook gre8 2 day!!! and are a joy joy” (or words that that effect)
can we just hack the carts to say “losers vote Democratic Party”?
I want a shopping cart that points me to the ice cream.
Second that and I’d include eclairs, I love em.
O.K., Moochelle—we know you’re not renown for your brilliance, but do you really think an EBT card recipient is going to choose arugula over pig knuckles just because a shopping cart with your canned voice is lecturing them to eat healthy?
Bwahahahabwa.
All they have to do is program their EBT cards not to accept lobster or beer-only spinach and carrots.
They would probably starve to death before they got off their asses and cooked a meal.
Many years ago, I went to the grocery store with my son. He was about 7. I asked him to put the cart back up by the entry to the store. He left it on the ramp and when he turned to walk back, the cart turned and started following him. The faster he went, the faster the cart went. It seemed to be targeting him. I wished I had a video camera to record that. He was terrified that the cart was coming after him.
That would scare the **** out of me.
Because having my ego stroked by a shopping cart is going to modify my behavior. *rolls eyes*
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