Free Republic

Newly proposed federal regulations aimed at the snack foods and drinks served in the nation's schools could come with a hefty price tag. The American Action Forum estimates the regulations, which include caps on serving sizes and calorie counts, will cost schools $127 million and require more than 926,000 hours of paperwork. Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the institute, says the proposals amount to yet another unfunded federal mandate for state and local governments, "at a time when many of their budgets are still struggling." The Food and Nutrition Service regulations would be administered by the U.S. Department...

(CNSNews.com) – First lady Michelle Obama is praising what has often been one of the left’s biggest targets, Walmart, for helping to fight obesity and “food deserts” in the United States. “At Walmart, you can believe that as America’s largest retailer, you have an obligation that goes far beyond the bottom line,” Obama said Thursday at a Walmart in Springfield, Mo. “You know that every day, with the products you sell, you’re helping parents get by on a budget -- which is what everybody in this country is trying to do. You’re helping kids get the nutrition they need to...

Your schools did hard work. They replaced their fryers with steamers,” the First Lady said. “Hallelujah!” Obama also praised faith communities and churches for their efforts noting that some groups “declared their congregations ‘no-fry zones’ where only healthy food was allowed.”

As part of her anti-obesity Let's Move campaign, First Lady Michelle Obama is now presenting a brief online course: “Supermarket Shopping 101.” The course, which now appears on the letsmove.gov website, provides novice shoppers with tips such as “steer clear of the cookie, snack and soda aisle.” “Supermarket Shopping 101: Read This Before You Hit the Grocery Store,” written by Lisa Cericola, was first published among the materials the first lady presented online last week when she was a "guest editor" at iVillage.com. Now, it has been republished on the Let’s Move blog. As CNSNews.com previously reported, iVillage.com, which featured...

Last week, as I entered Union Station Metro station in Washington, I saw ads for what appeared to be First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. It was a series of three ads, the first said: “Let’s move hot dogs out of school lunch.” Okay, fine, because, let’s face it, while hot dogs may be scrumptious and all-beef, they look like small batons of questionable meat. The second ad said: “Let’s move cheese out of school lunch.” I mean, I guess. Cheese, while a good source of calcium (and delicious), is not necessarily the healthiest thing in the world. I...

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg loves us. He wants us to be healthy. So he’s taken it upon himself to pass laws to stop people from eating too much salt, trans fats, and big sugary drinks. He believes these new laws will make a difference. Of course, they might, but so will passing a law that requires everybody to eat only 1800 calories per day. When Mayor Bloomberg gets a hold of the new exercise study, there’s no telling what new laws will be passed. According to the medical journal The Lancelot, “a third of the world’s adults are physically...

Obama, on ice cream run, orders hot fudge sundae and offers to treat shop patronsBy Alicia M. Cohn - 06/25/12 04:36 PM ET President Obama made an ice cream run to a local shop in New Hampshire on Monday between campaign stops, recording a birthday greeting and offering to treat patrons to sweet treats. The president ordered a hot fudge sundae for himself and a banana split for White House press secretary Jay Carney, according to press pool reports. He also teased that Carney has a serious sweet tooth. "You guys are going to witness him eating the whole thing,”...

Unionized cafeteria workers in one western Pennsylvania school district have won the right to eat expired food for free - at their own risk. The Herald of Sharon, Pa., reports Monday (http://bit.ly/LDdM6d ) that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a grievance against the Sharpsville Area School District last year after school officials "violated established past practice" by no longer allowing workers to eat the expired food for free. SNIP Under the agreement, food items that are past their expiration date or reheated in a way that they can no longer be served to students may...

America's First Lady Michelle Obama today announced a new competition, under her "Let's Move" childhood obesity-fighting initiative, that gives children an incentive to come up with healthy, nutritious, delicious and everyday meals. The prize will be to attend "a 'State Dinner' just for kids" at the White House in Washington in August 2012. "Calling all kid chefs: Here's your chance to share your favorite delicious and nutritious lunch recipe with First Lady Michelle Obama," a letter from the White House to children via e-mail said. Obama hopes to "solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation," and invited parents...

First lady Michelle Obama tells the Associated Press that she wouldn't want a federal ban on big sugary drink, but applauds Mayor Michael Bloomberg's effort to fight obesity: Asked about Bloomberg's proposal during an interview with The Associated Press, Mrs. Obama said there's no "one-size-fits-all" solution for the country's health challenges. But she said, "We applaud anyone who's stepping up to think about what changes work in their communities. New York is one example." And asked whether the nation's obesity epidemic warrants taking a more aggressive approach, such as Bloomberg's, she said: "There are people like Mayor Bloomberg who are,...

he conglomerate's child-focused radio stations and websites will also launch strict standards for food ads, which CEO Bob Iger is expected to unveil with first lady Michelle Obama. Disney on Tuesday will unveil plans to keep junk food ads off its child-focused TV networks, radio stations and web sites, The New York Times reported.

Michelle Obama to Announce Food Initiative With Disney Theme Parks First lady Michelle Obama will appear with Disney CEO Bob Iger in Washington Tuesday to announce an expansion of the media company’s food guidelines. Disney representatives say the corporation will be making health-conscious revisions to menus at their theme parks and resorts, though the details and scope of their implementation are yet to be revealed.” Disney is the parent company of ABC News. Michelle Obama has made promotion of nutrition and exercise a major theme of her tenure as first lady, particularly concerning children. The administration says her “Let’s Move”...

The theme for the Easter Egg Roll at the White House may have been 'Let’s Go, Let’s Play, Let’s Move!', following the First Lady's campaign against obesity - but the menu on offer would have satisfied any couch potato. The Obamas welcomed thousands of children and their parents on to the South Lawn this morning to feast on a brunch menu that included waffles, French toast and slurpees. Later in the day, visitors were offered choices of cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, hot dog and curly fries, egg salad or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Beginning next school year, students across the country may be in for a shock when they purchase their lunch in the cafeteria. In an effort to fight childhood obesity and diabetes, the federal government is requiring students of all ages to buy at least one serving of fresh fruit or vegetable for lunch. Even if they toss the produce into the garbage. Fresh fruit and vegetable portions will double next year. “Some students don’t take one now, but they will have to,” Eileen Faustich, Milford’s food services director, said Friday. “We can’t let a child go by the cashier without...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wendy's is taking a bite out of Burger King in the fast food business. Dave Thomas's restaurants became the No. 2-selling hamburger chain in the country last year, industry research firm Technomic said Monday, pushing Burger King back to the No. 3 spot. Burger King had been No. 2 spot since at least 1972, the earliest year for which Technomic has data. Wendy's (WEN) U.S. sales totaled $8.5 billion last year, edging out Burger King and its $8.4 billion. Wendy's has roughly 5,900 locations in the U.S. compared with Burger King's 7,200. McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500),...

The video featured above captures one of those rare, “out of the mouths of babes” moments. In an interview released Monday, an 11-year-old reporter named Topanga Sena challenged the first lady Let’s Move! anti-obesity program. Michelle Obama was asked to respond to critics of the program who say the government has no business telling people how to eat. Miss Topanga is certainly showing promise as a reporter and, according to the Free Beacon, is currently reporting for Scholastic News Kids Press Corps in Florida. Below is a transcript provided by the Beacon: TOPANGA SENA: How do you respond to critics...

In a new interview made available Monday, first lady Michelle Obama defended her “Let’s Move!” anti-obesity program against critics who call it a government intrusion. “‘Let’s Move!’ is not about having government tell people what to do, because government doesn't have all the answers,” Mrs. Obama said in an interview with Topanga Sena, age 11, a reporter for Scholastic News in Florida. “A problem that's this big and affects so many people requires everyone to step up. So we're asking everyone to step up.” Obama has toured the country for the second anniversary of her anti-obesity initiative, leading school groups...

It’s a useful distinction to consider. A particular moral idea governs left-wing views on social and health matters, and the left’s purpose with political advocacy is to put the power of government behind that view. By examining the left’s very different policy approaches to eating and sex, we can discern the features of the morality at work.The left’s governmental approach to sex today involves, among other things, the following:1. Advertising it to children through the public schools and encouraging them to explore and participate in it.2. Basing policy on the assumption that no solution to any problem lies in individuals...

Michelle Obama's campaign to transform school foodguidelines is not your typical first lady literacy or "just say no to drugs" project. No, hers is an all-out insidious plan to use food, a basic biological need and foundation of the mother-child relationship, to nudge parents out of the way at the ground level.The first lady's deceptive initiative has closely followed the Center for American Progress' policies set out in their 2008 report Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44 th President. Led by John Podesta and funded by George Soros, CAP began working on the plan for President Obama's...

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama reacts to an errant swing from a boy as they play mini-tennis during a "Let's Move!" faith and communities physical activity at Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida February 11, 2012. The first lady is concluding a three-day trip to mark the second anniversary of her "Let's Move" initiative. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama speaks during a "Let's Move" faith and communities event at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida February 11, 2012. The first lady is on a three-day trip to mark the two-year anniversary of her "Let's Move" initiative.