USDA Secretary: We Must ‘Create Appropriate Transition’ for What Americans Eat

OK. The USDA has clearly exploded well beyond the original scope of their duty. Just like the EPA. This is very troubling to me

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told members of the National Restaurant Association on Monday that Americans need to “adjust” their tastes so that they like the kind of food the government believes they should eat—and “we have to make sure that what we do is create the appropriate transition.”

I could not make this stuff up if I tried. Where is our nation headed when you have people like this running agencies that have morphed out of control. We have become a Regulation Nation. That's all

They want to change our taste buds over time slowly but surely. If you want to change your own taste buds than so be it. Stay out of my kitchen!!! Its all about options and choices . Give those to people and let them decide on their own.

Vilsack’s remarks about Americans’ taste buds came in response to a question about the best way to deal with food waste. He said the Agriculture Department has ongoing research projects to determine how to make nutritious food more appealing so that less of it is wasted.

Yes, they are paying people in Texas to study and measure food waste in the trash cans at selected schools.

cnsnews.com...

He was talking to the Restaurants Association and not talking about making a law.

I guess the strategy is to persuade the restaurant owners to slowly change the taste of the food served at restaurants. If you don't want it, don't go to a restaurant, cook and eat at home.

I have an even better idea of how to better control food waste and encourage people to eat better. Produce, sell, and buy all foods locally! It is not an incredibly difficult thing to do, hell we could even try tax right-offs for vegetable gardens. Encourage healthy eating without government social engineering. I believe we are on the verge of an environmental catastrophe because of our way of living that we believes has acceptably allowed us to be separate from the ecosystem itself, as if we are above it. Fact is we are all interconnected with every plant and animal. But that should be a philosophical point of view encouraged, not forced through government meddling.

Yet I do not hear Mr. Vilsack mentioning anything about tax breaks or special incentives to produce locally, no I am quite sure he is going to only give more money to big food producers and shippers. Government cannot be trusted in this department because these bureaucrats are bought and sold, he is working for someone who has plenty of money and against the American people.

Originally posted by Observor
He was talking to the Restaurants Association and not talking about making a law.

I guess the strategy is to persuade the restaurant owners to slowly change the taste of the food served at restaurants. If you don't want it, don't go to a restaurant, cook and eat at home.

edit on 21-9-2011 by Observor because: (no reason given)

Restaurants are private entities and there are establishments to satisfy every niche and taste bud. If I want vegan i know where to go. I want a greasy burger I know where to go for that as well. They want to educate people on making decisions I can live with that to a degree. We all have choices. I switched to cooking with sea salt or kosher salt. I don't use a salt shaker, I season by the pinch. I buy as much locallly as I can in the Summer months and go from there.

Talk like this is just the precursor to federal mandates and more regulations. 200 + new regulations and counting under the current POTUS' administration. It's just not necessary to nanny the nation at every turn.

reply to post by jibeho


Makes sense if you think about it. This Federal Government has the same objectives as Mao, but is just a bit more subtle. Instead of making it illegal to prepare food in your own homes (even a cup of tea) because that was a level of independance that would ultimately foster anti-government thoughts, which is what Mao did, they will change what you're allowed to eat.

They already have schools in this country where the kids are eating all three of their meals on the government dime and where it is actually strongly discouraged for kids to bring their own lunches to school (not OK for some kids to have something tasty when the other kids are eating the bland government chow).

Last year my friends 5th grader was asked to record a log of everything he ate at home as a project. The results would then be tabulated and the kids were to have a discussion about healthy eating, environmentally friendly eating and the rest of it. They did not inform the parents. My friend found out, and simply wrote "none of your business. Call me if you have a problem xxx-xxx-xxxx" with his phone number for every meal.

Ultimately they'd have us eating in community forums where the food, energy used to create the food, disposal, recycling of waste controlled, and the rest of it.

Seems far fetched? Not if you read history. The start of every journey is a single step and we're many steps into this journey.

They may take our lives! But they'll never take our BACON!!!!!!!!!!



Sorry, that's about as much give a crud about this as I could muster. I say, good luck USDA, we Americans will like what we like and there's not a whole lot they can do about it.

Originally posted by jibeho
Restaurants are private entities and there are establishments to satisfy every niche and taste bud.

Sure. He wasn't trying to coerce them, only make them partners in the plan to make the nation eat healthier.

The fact of the matter is that when it comes to choosing food at a restaurant, most people tend to choose unhealthy rather than healthy. Sure, it is their choice and they end up paying for it. What this guy is proposing is to make all available options in a restaurant tend towards the healthier side, which would eventually make it a healthier nation. In other words, he is encouraging restaurant owners to take some responsibility for offering bad food choices in the first place. If they all agree to it, no one will be losing their customers to another just on that point. If they do it slowly over a period of time their customers too won't realise it.

People can still eat unhealthy food except it won't be as easy to get.

Talk like this is just the precursor to federal mandates and more regulations. 200 + new regulations and counting under the current POTUS' administration. It's just not necessary to nanny the nation at every turn.

If there is a regulation regarding it, or a regulation is being contemplated then I would agree you have a point. Going by the obesity figures it sure appears those eating the food could use some help making the choice. The choice in a restaurant is mostly an impulsive decision, not a well-reasoned and thought out decision. So education doesn't really help many. Don't see anything wrong with the government making the restaurants partners in making the nation a healthier one, all on a completely voluntary basis.

All it takes for this to be a success is the largest fastfood chains to agree to the plan.

Originally posted by Observor
He was talking to the Restaurants Association and not talking about making a law.

I guess the strategy is to persuade the restaurant owners to slowly change the taste of the food served at restaurants. If you don't want it, don't go to a restaurant, cook and eat at home.

edit on 21-9-2011 by Observor because: (no reason given)

In a way it doesn't really matter if he is threatening with legislation or just telling restaurateurs what to serve their customers. Government has been way overstepping their bounds. How long has this guy benn in that position? Is he planning to implement restrictons on what they can serve based on someone's opinion of what's healthy?

reply to post by Observor

What this guy is proposing is to make all available options in a restaurant tend towards the healthier side,

See, this is exactly the kind of thing which is ruining our lives. Some guy says it's unhealthy to eat white pasta( I just had this conversation with hubby tonight) and so the govt decides to make some mandate that restaurants can only serve whole grain pasta to protect the consumer. Pretty soon, the govt is putting all the white pasta producers out of business(we import a lot of pasta from Italy so their producers would suffer). Govt needs to keep their hands off private businesses. This has just gone too far.
What about eggs? Are eggs good or bad? It used to be eggs were bad for cholesterol, then they changed that. Coffee was bad and now its good. Chocolate, suddenly it's got antioxidants. It also leaves the door open for private food producers to lobby govt to keep their hands off their product.
And yet, some products which are genuinely unsafe or are neurotoxic are allowed to stay on the market.
I see terrible things in our future if this is pursued.

The nanny state continues to grow. Why do they even bother educating us, after all according to them we are just too plain stupid to know what's best for us.

Unethical
Socialist
Dumb
A**es