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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...

Complete title: Judicial Watch Obtains Documents Revealing White House Role in the Controversial Firing of USDA Employee Shirley Sherrod White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs Denied Obama White House was Involved in Firing Documents Show Obama White House Approved Statement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Accepting Sherrod’s Forced Resignation (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents suggesting the Obama White House approved of the decision to fire U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod on July 19, 2010, based on what were thought to be racist...

The next time you shop at the grocery store, you may see something new– nutrition labels on meat. The same types of labels you already find on other foods. In 1993, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made nutrition labeling voluntary for many types of raw meats. The labeling becomes mandatory on Thursday. The new rule affects all ground meat and poultry and 40 of the most popular cuts of meat in the United States such as chicken breasts, steaks, pork chops, roasts, lamb and veal. If the nutrition facts are not on the package, as in the case of some...

RUSH: This is from Rayford, North Carolina. Carolina Journal. I'm gonna read it to you exactly as it printed out here: "A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious. The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice did not meet US Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day." Again, let me read this to you again: "The...

Vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in our foods, we expect. But information? According to recent research from China’s Nanjing University, when people eat rice, tiny sequences of microRNA from the plant-based food can survive the body’s digestive process and end up absorbed in human tissue where — and here’s the reason why we need to know about this study — plant microRNA may actually affect how our cells behave and function. In the study, Exogenous plant MIR168a specifically targets mammalian LDLRAP1: evidence of cross-kingdom regulation by microRNA, published in the Journal Cell Research, the genetic material from rice showed up...

Less salt and fat. More whole grains, fruit, veggies and low-fat dairy. This is what kids can expect in the school lunchroom soon, according to new nutrition standards for school meals announced today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and first lady Michelle Obama. "When we send our kids to school, we expect that they won't be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we try to keep them from eating at home," Obama said in a statement. "We want the food they get at school to be the same kind of food we would serve at our...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging. The new rules, to replace guidelines thrown out by a federal court in 2009, are set to take effect in early March. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the rule change on Thursday. Vilsack said in an interview that the rules reflect more than 300,000 comments received since a draft plan was released last year. The new rules strengthen a requirement that decisions be based on the best available science...

SUPPLEMENTAL VOL. 1 USDA Unveils New Plant Hardiness Zone Map The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released the new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map, updating a useful tool for gardeners and researchers for the first time since 1990 with greater accuracy and detail. The new map — jointly developed by USDA's Agricultural Research Service and Oregon State University's PRISM Climate Group — is available online at http://www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov . ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA. For the first time, the new map offers a Geographic Information System based interactive format and is specifically...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced his second bio-fuels loan guarantee in a week, revealing that the Agriculture Department (USDA) is slated to loan an Oregon biorefinery $232.5 million for a project expected to create 65 jobs and support 38 others. "This project and others like it will help to establish a domestic advanced biofuels industry that will create jobs here at home and open new markets in the Pacific Northwest and across America," Vilsack said in a statement. ZeaChem Boardman Biorefinery, LLC (ZBB), "must meet specific conditions before the 60 percent loan guarantee can be completed."

A free meal at school for breakfast, lunch — and dinner? About 450 city students have been eating supper in school cafeterias as part of a government-funded meal program that may expand in Hartford and also to other Connecticut school systems this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gives schools about $2.99 per dinner to serve students in after-school activities that involve academics.

USDA-backed biofuels plant in Soperton, Georgia has lost taxpayers nearly $60 millionWASHINGTON D.C.—Upon reports Tuesday that a USDA-backed biofuels plant in Soperton, Georgia has lost taxpayers nearly $60 million, IER President Tom Pyleissued the following statement:“Apparently U.S. taxpayers have yet to discover life after Solyndra. Today’s announcement that a USDA-backed biofuels plant has been sold for pennies on the dollar—at a loss of nearly $60 million to U.S. taxpayers —further underscores the point that the federal government should not be in the venture capital business.The Bush administration secured the Range Fuels loan, and the Obama administration doubled down on the...

Are you ready for the vegetable census? Yesterday I received the “2012 National Agricultural Classification Survey” from the US Dept. of Agriculture. It was accompanied by a cover letter stating (in large, bold font) that my response is required by law; and, if I do not reply, I “may be personally visited.” I am not and have never been a farmer or rancher. My land has never been farmed or ranched. I do, however, have a vegetable garden that I built in 2009. This garden is private and noncommercial. There is no illegal activity whatsoever on my property. The survey...

Someone mentioned this movie earlier today in another thread. I watched it on Amazon streaming video this afternoon(also avaialble on Netflix) and it was excellent! Its motivating me to lose some weight and there are stunning facts that literally made my wife get up and grab a hunk of peperoni from the fridge and eat it! She hasn't eaten pepperoni or bacon in over two years because she worries about cholesterol. This is essentially a response to the Super Size me movie. It debunks the the twisted information in that movie as well as the whole government anti-obesity movement. The...

The cancer of environmental justice, social justice, transportation justice (every justice but equal justice) are metasticizing throughout the body politic. The USDA has put out a document for public comment on it's Environmental Justice Strategic Plan. Page 14 of the draft specifies that the purpose is to help minority and/or low income populations including American Indian or Alaskan Native populations. It's time to put an end to all these "special classes" of people. We are all Americans. Let's not let our government put us in categories and play us off against each other. There are 6 major goals outlined in...

USDA Environmental Justice Strategy request for public comments USDA has recently completed a draft revision of the Department's Environmental Justice Strategy. We value your input very highly and would appreciate receiving your comments and suggestions during the 30-day comment period, open from December 7, 2011 through January 7, 2012. You can view the draft strategy here: http://www.dm.usda.gov/hmmd/USDADraftEJStrategicPlansigned.pdf. Kindly send your written comments to EJStrategy@osec.usda.gov by January 7, 2012. In addition to comments on the Strategic Plan itself, please identify USDA programs that have been the most beneficial to your community. At USDA, environmental justice refers to meeting the needs of...

Earlier this year, the USDA made a decision to allow the commercial use of “Roundup Ready” genetically modified sugar beets. The decision came a week after the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture approved the planting of a yet another genetically modified plant, alfalfa. Michael Gregoire, deputy administrator of APHIS, a biotechnology regulatory service claims genetically modified sugar beets are safe and should be deregulated. “After conducting an environmental assessment, we have determined Roundup Ready sugar beets could be partially deregulated without posing a plant pest risk or causing significant effects on the environment,” says Gregoire. APHIS claims the partial deregulation of...

The Southern Nevada Health District has raided an organic farm picnic destroying the organic produce, which was classified by them as bio-hazard material. The raid at the highly regarded and reputable Quail Hollow Farm, which sits in the picturesque Moapa Valley of Southern Nevada took place place after a tip off of the event because some of the food was not ‘certified’ in the correct state.

WASHINGTON — The government has some thoughts on how to make the federally financed school lunch program more nutritious: A quarter-cup of tomato paste on pizza will no longer be considered a vegetable. Cut back on potatoes and add more fresh peaches, apples, spinach and broccoli. And hold the salt. The proposed changes — the first in 15 years to the $11 billion school-lunch program — are meant to reduce rising childhood obesity, Agriculture Department officials say. Food companies including Coca-Cola, Del Monte Foods and the makers of frozen pizza and French fries have a huge stake in the new...

The USDA has released their projections for food price inflation in 2011/2012, showing troubling forecasts that may send you to the grocery store today, before paying higher prices tomorrow. The report shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food increased 0.8 percent between 2009 and 2010, and is forecasted to increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2011. Items that are expected to inflate the most include beef, cooking oils, and seafood. Processed vegetables and beverages were projected to to see smaller changes in the CPI. The Wall Street Journal notes that “the midpoint of the new USDA outlook...

BEREA -- Locally-grown food was on the table at Grindstone Elementary School today. The Berea school district is part of an initiative with the Cleveland Clinic, a local farmer and other entities to bring a healthy menu to elementary schools. The Cuyahoga County Fair Board is considering an agreement with a local farmer to lease about 3/4ths of an acre behind its Junior Fair building. The farmer, who now has two plots in Cleveland, will grow fresh fruits and vegetables for the district. Members are expected to approve the agreement Oct. 27. Beth Spinks, the Berea school district's supervisor of...