Vote with your fork.

     Did you read the June 7 AP article about obesity in America?  Two Public Health groups released state-by-state statistics on the increase in obesity from 1995 to 2010.  In 1995 no state had an obesity rate (defined as a Body Mass Index of 30 or more) greater than 20%.  Now obesity is greater than 20% in all states but Colorado, which is at 19.8%.  Colorado's current rate of 19.8 % would have been the highest rate back in 1995.  One dozen states, mostly in the South, have obesity rates greater than 30%.  Mississippi is the worst, because much of the state is poor and rural. 
     Could it be because in the last 100 years Americans have increased their meat intake from 124#/year per person to more than 200#/year?  Or because they increased cheese intake from less than 4#/year to more than 33#/year per person?  Americans eat 20# more ice cream per year, each.  Soda sizes have gone from 6oz. to humongous big gulps, and there is much controversy about the addition of  High Fructose Corn Syrup to sodas and most processed foods.
     Our government subsidizes the worst dietary foods, as well.  I am tired of paying taxes so others only have to pay $5 for what should be a $30 hamburger.  I would love for the government to subsidize the prices of fruits and vegetables. 
     Grocery stores track your buying patterns with your club card usage.  Restaurants note what their customers buy.  Vote with your fork. 

"The correlation between poverty and obesity can be traced to agricultural policies and subsidies."     Michael Pollan

"Obesity now contributes to the deaths of more than 360,000 Americans a year.  The incidence of childhood obesity is now at epidemic levels.  Alarm bells are going off all over the place.  But our government has done virtually nothing."     Tom Harkin

"My health journey began as a desperate attempt to win my own battle against obesity, and to avoid, for myself and my siblings, the degenerative diseases that prematurely claimed the lives of our parents."     Marilu Henner