An interesting article in today's StarTribune about a University of Minnesota researcher who is on a mission to educate children and families about healthy eating habits. The need for Americans to improve their diet and exercise habits is extraordinary. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures that 34 percent of adults in the US are obese, while another 34 percent are overweight. Big gulp!
Maybe it is time for schools to teach nutrition and meal preparation. Many, perhaps most kids don't know how to prepare a well balanced meal. Isn't this just as important to their health, and the health of our nation, as reading, writing and math, which thanks to our testing systems have become the preeminent subject matters?
It is extremely difficult to change habits, especially when those habits are being developed and reinforced in the home. Questionable eating habits are also feed by a corporate marketing machine that has encouraged us all to "super size". Seems we have. Perhaps they can now move on to a "down size me" campaign?
Thankfully many schools have been removing pop machines from their buildings, despite their roles as cash cows. If only they produced milk ;-)
Pictures from the garden, above and below
Come on Dan, identify the plants, kohlrabi, basil?
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