The Politics of Food and the Cost of Your Education

Wow. There is so much going on in the world of politics this week. The Florida state session has 3 weeks left and the budget battle is heating up. Higher education is on the chopping block. FAU is poised to lose one-third of its state funding while at the same time the Governor is opposed to tuition raises. So how exactly are public universities supposed to deal with huge budget cuts while admissions are soaring? This is an extremely personal issue given my job as a professor at FAU. I recommend students  call their Senators and Representatives and urge them not to pass cuts in higher education budgets.
To read the New York Times article go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/us/florida-set-for-new-cut-in-spending-on-colleges.html?_r=1

On a national level there has been interesting movement in the fight for marriage equality with Washington State adopting a marriage equality law.  While at the same time New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R) vetoed a bill passed by the NJ legislature and Maryland's is on the brink of passage.  I have never understood how opponents to marriage equality think that gay marriage is a threat to the sanctity of marriage. It seems to me that it's a testament to the belief in the value of marriage. To read an insightful opinion piece on the matter go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/opinion/bruni-value-our-families.html?ref=opinion

Now on to the politics of food...It seems that the Food Stamp junk food ban may be close to dead in the Florida House which has stripped the ban from HB 1401 (still seeking to stop welfare recipients from withdrawing cash from ATMs in liquor stores and strip clubs though). It is still in the Senate bill which means a conference committee may have to work out the differences in these two bills. On a national level the fight against junk food continues with the Obama administration putting together new guidelines on snack food sold in vending machines in schools. This is will undoubtedly be a big fight between health food advocates (parents often) and the snack food industry. Research shows that there has been little change in the snacking habits of children even though some progress has been made to reduce calorie contents, sugar, and fat in snacks. One of the reasons may be that while healthier options are being offered it's often alongside less nutritious ones. How do you get kids to make healthier decisions? Is the solution to stop offering junk food all together at school?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/us/politics/new-rules-planned-on-school-vending-machines.html?ref=politics

On a personal note the debate about food politics is alive and well in our household. As a reminder I have a 3 year old and a 7 year old. My husband is a runner. He runs so much that he can eat all he wants all day everyday. In fact he's thin and I am telling him all the time to eat more. My kids are little too, always have been. They are the kids who fell off the regular growth chart at like 6 months and our pediatrician had to create their own growth chart. For anyone with kids you remember how obsessive you track their weight as they grow. At the same time I am a Crossfit addict (a gym that offers pretty extreme cross training). My trainers and most of the people I work out with advocate for (and I have just started following) a paleo diet of unprocessed foods (lots of meat, vegetables and nuts). So this means that I eat a much more restricted diet than my family. I have shopped at Whole Foods for years buying all of our meat there. I only give my kids organic diary products as I worry about the effect hormones might have on them. I grow our own vegetables (not all of them as my community garden plot is small). When this conversation about banning junk food purchases by food stamp recipients came up it was pointed out to me by a student that I had somewhat confusing stance on it (I thought it was silly to ban the purchase and worried about the effect on kids) given my concern over the health of the food my kids eat. I agreed that it was confusing. But my kids for the most part do get to snack on junk food. Ruby will tell you her favorite chip is a Funyon. Her dad buys all kinds of stuff (Doritos, powdered donuts, trips to Dunkin Doughnuts on Saturday morning). And finally what I think is unfair about the ban is that it was just targeting poor families. Why shouldn't we ban the purchases by everyone? This is why the Obama administration's attempts to change what is in school vending machines seems like a more egalitarian response to the crisis of childhood obesity.

This debate continues when we make decisions about where to go out to eat. I have for a long time banned chain restaurants mostly in favor of small local businesses but also because the nutritional quality of the food offered is so poor. This drives my husband crazy as he pines away for a trip to Fridays or Applebees. I gave in last night. He was over the moon. At one point at dinner he said to my daughter, "This night is good for you Ruby. It's a cultural journey for you to learn what is ordinary for most people." As we walked out he said, "Maybe we'll come back in another 2 years."

So I guess this debate is a personal one. We have friends whose 7 year olds are on diets already. I just happen to have little kids and a small commitment to healthy eating. For anyone who knows us you also know that we severely limit their screen time (no commercial tv, some days 30 minutes no more and often no screen time) and we value lots of sleep. We spend most of our free time outside, riding bikes, and going to the beach. The introduction of an IPad in the house is starting to challenge the limits as the kids learn to play with lots of different aps. My son woke up in the middle of the night this weekend asking to play the game Water. My husband walked his little behind right back to bed. It's amazing how addictive computer games can be. I know as my own obsession with Words with Friends grows. So it seems important to remember how linked physical activity is with the issue of obesity too.

It's an exciting time to be interested in policy. Have a good week. Be engaged in something you believe in.

Dr. D.