I agree with Mrs. Obama in saying that much of America is overweight to Obese and should have a healthier diet I'm all for eating fruits and vegetables and eating a healthier , but I think it's a little strange with all the articles I've read on newsnet14 and other sites across the net on Monsanto call it a hunch but I must speculate there is something to Mrs. Obama pushing for eating more fruits and veggies.
As far as I've always known you had to be of a certain physical condition (weight, strength, etc.) to even be considered for the military. I know it's always been that way with family and friends who served, it was a requirement to be a certain weight to even get into a branch of the service. shera
First lady Michelle Obama said Thursday that poor nutrition in the military was a "national security issue," and praised the armed forces for taking steps to bring healthier options onto bases.
"Our military leaders know that this is not just a diet issue; it's not just a health issue. This is truly a national security issue," Obama said. "According to a recent Army study, more than a quarter of our nation's 17- to 24-year-olds are too overweight to serve in our armed forces today. And even those who make the cut often struggle in basic training."
Obama was in Little Rock, Ark. to announce a new healthy food initiative within the Department of Defense that will bring more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat options to 1,000 military dining facilities, affecting nearly 1.5 million troops
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Among the toxic substances that you are exposed to on a daily basis, pesticides are one of the most ubiquitous. Second only to genetically modified ingredients, pesticides inhabit the majority of conventional produce and have been repeatedly found to wreak havoc on your body. New findings have pinpointed growing exposure to pesticides as a contributor to the obesity crisis that is currently sweeping the globe. What’s more is that the study reached these conclusions when studying one of the most commonly used pesticides in the world.
Avoiding Pesticides | The GMO Pesticide Trap
While pesticides are quite prevalent among the food supply, it is very possible to avoid the large majority of pesticides lurking in your diet. Perhaps the largest pesticide trap has to do with genetically modified foods (GMOs). Touted by Monsanto as requiring less pesticides, GMO crops actually require significantly more pesticides! This means that the GMOs you may be unknowingly consuming are actually loaded up with obesity-causing pesticides, as if the GMOs themselves weren’t damaging enough to your health. As you probably know, a review of 19 studies announced that consumption of GMO corn or soybeans may lead to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice – particularly in the liver and kidneys.
In an effort to boost exports, the Obama White House has entered into a joint venture with the agricultural biotechnology industry to remove barriers to the spread of genetically engineered (GE) crops, even on national wildlife refuges, according to documents posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Today, PEER sued the White House Trade Representative, Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and the State Department to force release of documents detailing their partnership with industry.
Recent successful lawsuits brought by PEER with the Center for Food Safety have underlined the incompatibility of GE crops with refuge habitats, which has strengthened objections from GE-averse nations. The Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO), whose most prominent member is Monsanto, the world’s biggest source of GE crops, approached the Obama White House for assistance. In late 2010, the White House formed an interagency “Agriculture Biotech Working Group” consisting of more than 35 officials from ten agencies to promote GE agriculture. This Working Group includes officials from the White House and its OMB, Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Trade Rep. It also has officials from State, Justice, Agriculture, EPA and FDA.
Monsanto gave $186,250 to federal candidates in the 2008 election cycle through its political action committee (PAC) – 42% to Democrats, 58% to Republicans. For the 2010 election cycle they gave $72,000 – 51% to Democrats, 49% to Republicans.[122]
Lobbying
The company spent $8,831,120 for lobbying in 2008. $1,492,000 was to outside lobbying firms with the remainder being spent using in-house lobbyists.[123]
Former Monsanto lobbyist Michael R. Taylor was appointed as a senior adviser to the Food and Drug Administration (United States)Commissioner on food safety on 7 July 2009.[124]
Public officials formerly employed by Monsanto
- Justice Clarence Thomas worked as an attorney for Monsanto in the 1970s. Thomas wrote the majority opinion in the 2001 Supreme Court decision J. E. M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.[125] which found that "newly developed plant breeds are patentable under the general utility patent laws of the United States." This case benefitted all companies which profit from genetically modified crops, of which Monsanto is the largest.[27][125][126]
- Michael R. Taylor was an assistant to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner before he left to work for a law firm on gaining FDA approval of Monsanto’s artificial growth hormone in the 1980s. Taylor then became deputy commissioner of the FDA from 1991 to 1994.[27] Taylor was later re-appointed to the FDA in August 2009 by President Barack Obama.[127]
- Dr. Michael A. Friedman was a deputy commissioner of the FDA before he was hired as a senior vice president of Monsanto.[27]
- Linda J. Fisher was an assistant administrator at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before she was a vice president at Monsanto from 1995 to 2000. In 2001, Fisher became the deputy administrator of the EPA.[27]
- Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was chairman and chief executive officer of G. D. Searle & Co., which Monsanto purchased in 1985. Rumsfeld personally made at least $12 million USD from the transaction
- First, we spit out our coffee over President Obama’s appointments of formerMonsanto goon Michael Taylor as Food Safety [sic] Czar and ‘biotech governor of the year’ Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture. Then we choked on our grits when he made Monsanto lobbyist, Islam Siddiqui , the US Ag Trade Representative. Now, the real food movement has completely lost its appetite with Obama’s nomination of Monsanto defender, Elena Kagan, to the US Supreme Court. In December 2009, in her capacity as Solicitor General, Kagan intervened in the first case on which SCOTUS will rule involving genetically modified crops, Monsanto v Geertson Seed. She defended Monsanto’s fight to contaminate the environment with its GM alfalfa, not the American people’s right to safe feed and a protected environment.
On Tuesday, January 31st, in Foley Square, NYC at 9:00 am, there is a rally to support.family farmers who will enter a courtroom in Manhattan in the first phase of their landmark court case challenging Monsanto’s abusive patent infringement lawsuits against America’s family farmers. They seek to protect themselves from Monsanto’s unwanted genetic trespass of their crops, which exposes organic and non-GMO farmers to needless patent liability and frivolous lawsuits.
