Government Control: A Hectoring And Lecturing Michelle Obama Becomes One-Woman Regulator Of Grocery Industry

Politico:

First lady Michelle Obama had tough words for grocery manufacturers Tuesday, telling them to “step it up” in their efforts to provide healthier foods to children and curb obesity.

At a conference at Washington’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, Obama talked about her own efforts on the childhood obesity front, explaining that her goal was to “finally make this national public health threat a national priority.”

“I’m here today to urge all of you to move faster and to go farther, because the truth is we don’t have a moment to waste,” she said in a 20-minute address. “So, we need you all to step it up.”

In recent weeks, most of the first lady’s public appearances have been centered on her “Let’s Move” initiative, launched last month.

She recently penned an essay for the cover of Newsweek on her efforts and has traveled to highlight success stories in addressing childhood obesity. And she’s used her roles as a mother and as a fitness fanatic, to urge parents, school officials, mayors and governors to get more involved.

“Let’s move to give parents the information they need to make better decisions for their kids,” she said in her statistics-laden speech. “Let’s move to get healthier food into our schools. Let’s move to get more supermarkets into underserved areas so that all Americans have access to fresh, nutritious foods.”

Officials from the Grocery Manufacturers Association – 300 food, beverage and consumer product companies, including McDonald’s, General Mills, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Del Monte – met with Obama before her speech.

About a dozen of the member organizations have agreed to tougher standards on marketing food to children. But Obama asked for more.

“We need you not just to tweak around the edges, but to entirely rethink the products that you’re offering, the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children,” she said. “That starts with revamping, or ramping up, your efforts to reformulate your products, particularly those aimed at kids, so that they have less fat, salt, and sugar and more of the nutrients that our kids need.”

“I want to challenge each and every one of you to go back to your companies, take a look at your marketing budgets and ask some questions,” she went on. “For example, when you put money into reformulating a product to make it healthier, do you then invest enough in marketing that product to kids and parents? Or is most of the marketing budget still going to the less healthy versions?”

The association’s officials called Obama a “new partner” in their efforts to market, produce and label healthier foods.

“The first lady’s leadership transcends the public policy debate over the obesity issue,” said the association’s vice president for communications, Sean McBride. “There’s lack of finger pointing. Everybody agrees on the goal. Everybody agrees on how to get there. This is the type of leadership that has rallied all the stakeholders.’