The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
April 01, 2010

Remarks by the First Lady, Senator Bill Frist, Mayor Cory Booker and Dr. Jim Gavin at Foundation Chair Announcement Conference Call

Via telephone

11:02 A.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, good morning, everyone.  This is Mrs. Obama.  It’s good to have you all on the line.  Thank you so much for joining us as we take another very important step forward in the work to address America’s childhood obesity crisis.  This is a very exciting step for us.

As all of you know, nearly two months ago we launched this magnificent campaign, “Let’s Move.”  The nationwide goal of the effort, as all of you know, is to rally this country around a single and very ambitious goal, and that’s to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation so that children born today will grow up at a healthy weight.

And with this initiative, we’ve issued a call to action for the nation.  We said let’s move in so many ways.  We said let’s move to give parents the information that they need to make good decisions for their kids’ health.  We said let’s move to get healthier food into our schools.  Let’s move to get more supermarkets into underserved areas, so that every single American in this country has access to fresh and nutritious foods.  And we’ve also said let’s move to help our kids be more physically active –- not just in school but outside of school as well.

But we were also clear from the very beginning when we launched this effort that the solution to this problem isn’t going to come from Washington.  I have had the pleasure of talking to a number of experts around this issue, and not a single one of them has said that the answer to this problem is for the federal government to tell people what to do.  This is going to take all of us getting involved. 

It’s going to require a non-partisan effort because there’s nothing partisan about this issue.  There’s nothing Democratic or Republican about wanting our kids to lead active and healthy lives.  And there’s really nothing liberal or conservative about wanting to reduce the billions of health care dollars we spend each year treating obesity-related conditions. 

Ultimately, this solution is going to be about families and communities making manageable, commonsense changes that fit with their budgets that fit with their needs and their individual goals.

But we all have to play a role in making this happen.  Families can’t do this alone, which is why we’re bringing together governors, and mayors, and parents, and educators, and doctors, and businesses, community groups, all of us.  And I’ve spoken to almost all of these groups over the last month asking them to come together to tackle this challenge once and for all.

And that’s why a new foundation that we’ve created along with this movement -- the Partnership for Healthy America -- is going to be so critical to these efforts.  And I’m very proud of the work that's been done to pull this foundation together.

The Foundation is going to serve as an independent, non-partisan player that’ll mobilize the private sector, foundations, government officials, the media and others around the goals of the “Let’s Move” campaign.

The Foundation will seek truly meaningful commitments from all of these players, and will do something very critical -- and that is measure the success of these efforts and hold us all accountable.

The Foundation is going to also connect potential partners from the public, private and non-profit sectors, working to support the best, the most innovative programs in our communities -– and working to replicate these success stories all across the country.  And that's really the key to this.  As I’ve traveled around, we have many of the answers already at our fingertips.  If you go into states and cities across this country, many are already working to bring their local solutions to this problem.  We need to highlight and elevate those successes.  This Foundation is going to be critical in playing a role in that.  So it’s very exciting.

I have agreed to serve as the honorary chair of this Foundation.  And today, I am pleased and very proud to announce that two incredibly outstanding individuals –- Mayor Cory Booker and Senator Bill Frist -– have agreed to serve as the Foundation’s honorary vice chairs.

As all of you know, Senator Frist and Mayor Booker are both distinguished public servants who are passionately committed to the health and well-being of not just our young people but this country.

Over the past four years, Mayor Booker has made tremendous strides transforming the city of Newark.  He’s done work to increase affordable housing, doing a fabulous job of reducing crime in the city, renovating the parks, playgrounds and recreation centers to provide safe places for children in the city to be active.  And he’s committed to making Newark a model for what a city can do to address childhood obesity.

So I’m so happy to have Mayor Booker with us.  I’m thrilled that he’s agreed to bring the kind of energy, that contagious energy that he has, to focus on this issue and lead this new Foundation.

 In addition to being a renowned heart surgeon and lung transplant surgeon, Senator Frist served, as you all know, as the Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007.

Since he left the Senate, he’s devoted himself to health and humanitarian efforts around the world, leading medical mission trips to Africa and founding an organization called Hope Through Healing Hands to improve health care in developing nations.

In the Senate, he took the lead in sponsoring legislation to address childhood obesity, and I am truly delighted that he’s agreed to bring his passion and expertise to this Foundation.

I also want to recognize the diverse and talented group of advocates, business leaders, dedicated philanthropists who have come together to serve on the board of this Foundation.

Specifically, I’d like to thank the Board’s Chair, James Gavin, for offering his strong leadership to ensure that this Foundation attracts the kind of commitments that are going to be essential to reach our goals.

And I also want to end by thanking the extraordinary organizations that have come together to organize the fund, and fund this new Foundation.  We would not be here if it weren’t for these organizations, and they include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Nemours, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Brookings Institute, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

This is a phenomenal group of organizations, people, of leaders that represent all of America.  I am thrilled that all of you have come together to support this effort.  This is why I’m confident that we can move the mark on this issue, because this effort and this issue means so much that we’ve just been able to bring together a group of individuals that has been working on this issue for decades, that understands these challenges in a very powerful way, and will have the commitment and the passion that we need to move this issue forward. 

So I am grateful, truly grateful, to all of you -- not just for being on this call, but for taking the time that it’s going to require to get us to our goals.

So with that, it is now my pleasure to turn this meeting over to Senator Frist.  Senator Frist, I know you’re there.  Thank you, it’s good to have you onboard.  I’m very excited.

SENATOR FRIST:  Well, thank you, Mrs. Obama, and I just, with everybody on the phone, want to thank you and really applaud you for your vision, for your leadership, your commitment, and your demonstrated understanding that this is a solvable problem and that we can do this and we can end this epidemic within a generation. 

It’s an issue that was not an issue in my early childhood years, so it is generational in the way it’s been created, to where it is a true epidemic today.  But also it is a solvable problem, and we can do so, just as you outlined, through partnerships, working together.

And it’s an honor for me to join you and Mayor Booker and Jim Gavin as leaders on this initiative, an initiative that has been important to me.  As you mentioned, as a heart surgeon, when I’ve dedicated my professional healing aspects of my life to dealing with heart disease, which has a direct causal relationship to obesity, and as a former public official and current public health advocate, this is a huge problem to individuals, their individual lives, to children, and to our health care system broadly in terms of the costs that it imposes. 

It is reversible.  We know that obesity is associated with more chronic conditions than smoking or excessive drinking.  Data suggests that health care costs of obese adults exceed the health care costs by other healthier people by 91 percent -- almost a doubling in health care costs; clearly an issue, as we look ahead in terms of health care costs and the impact they have on individuals and the fiscal state of our country.

The obese patients consume more health care resources, and we see this across the entire continuum of health care, from hospitals to ambulatory care centers to pharmacists. 

The problem is increasing, so it’s not a static problem.  So our first goal is going to be flatten it out and then eliminate it over a generation.  The United States is expected to spend over $340 billion on health care costs attributable to obesity just 10 years from now -- 10 years from today.  That’s a cost of about $1,425 per person -- four times what it is today.  Today it’s about $361.

Just by holding the current rate of obesity steady, we can save $55 billion in projected health care costs, much of which could be passed along to the American taxpayer, or invested in other aspects of quality of life issues.

And lastly I just thought I'd mention -- because this -- and I say this as a physician, as someone who has dealt regularly with obesity in my own practice -- this is an issue about individuals, as well -- maybe even predominantly individuals; their dignity, the stigma, the self-esteem, the prejudice that’s associated with being overweight today.

You know, I made this whole fight against childhood obesity a priority, as the First Lady mentioned, during my days in the Senate, championing such legislation as the Childhood Obesity Reduction Act.  And I think, as the First Lady says, this is not going to predominantly be a government solution.  It’s going to be partnerships with businesses and families and parents and children and philanthropists and organizations and foundations all working together. 

I’ve extended my work in the Senate, since I’ve been out of the Senate, and focusing on kids -- more recently through efforts to provide simple things like athletic shoes to children in Tennessee and indeed in the developing world.

So the challenge is achievable, but only through this broad-based participation.  And as I think both Mayor Booker and I demonstrate on the surface, it’s something we all know that it is no one political party or sector that can solve this problem.

It’s important that this issue not get swept up in all the partisan politics of Washington.  The fact that Mayor Booker and I are outside of Washington mean in part our responsibility to join the First Lady as we get the message out across the country.  But it is clearly a target that we all strive together and address in these partnerships in working in public and private sectors together.  We need to get out of Washington, take this message to people all across the country.  And both Mayor Booker and I have expressed our willingness not just to be names on the masthead, even though we’re called honorary vice chairs of the partnership, but to be on the ground to work it, to travel, to give voice, to study it, and to work with the Foundation.

So I enthusiastically join the First Lady and the partnership and this cause, and I truly believe that together we can end this epidemic within a generation.

So thank you, Mrs. Obama, and I will turn it over to Mayor Booker.

MAYOR BOOKER:  Hey.  It’s so fantastic to be on this call, and I’m deeply grateful for my partner who just spoke, Senator Frist, who has been an inspiration to me on many levels for quite some time.  Dr. Gavin, who will speak next, is just, again, is a great relationship for me personally to make through this partnership.  And exciting things are going to happen by, I believe, the leadership that we’re bringing together.

     But more importantly, we can’t lose focus about what this is about.  This is about young people.  This is about our families.  It’s about our neighborhoods.  It’s about our communities.  Those are the fundamental building blocks for America.  And what we are seeing here on the local level, what we all know, is that this is an epidemic problem within our nation, and we see it in urban areas in particular. 

     And it’s very difficult, as I deal with many children every day, to see the impact that obesity has on self-esteem, self-confidence, the kids’ prides in themselves, kids’ love of themselves.  And I tell you, I know more than anything that if our children don’t love themselves, don’t have pride in themselves, we can’t ask them to love their neighborhoods, their communities, their cities, or for their nation.

     And we see that not only is it hurting those seminal parts of our very being and our soul, but it means decreased academic performance, it means a loss of productivity.  We even see connections between obesity and violence.

     And so we know ultimately that it’s about our children, but as the great American writer James Baldwin said, children are never good at listening to their elders, but they never fail to imitate them.  And so we as adults within communities and within families and neighborhoods and cities really have to start setting examples, being the role model, doing more -- but empowering.  This is not about finger pointing to what families aren’t doing; it’s about creating strong communities that nurture the kind of outcomes and habits and cultural norms that we can indeed enjoy and celebrate and create what’s important.

     And so we know in Newark and in cities all across America that there are families that don’t let their children play because there’s no safe places to play, no green spaces to play.  They want to keep their kids in the house for the basic human need of security.  We also know that there are no healthy food options for many families, either at the schools that they send their kids to, or no healthy options even because they don’t have access to supermarkets or places with even green vegetables.

     Now, these are challenges and problems, but we also know that all around America there are activists and innovators and concerned citizens who are trying to find solutions, and indeed showing and demonstrating ways to make a difference. 

Here in Newark we’re trying to do it in many different ways, not only by working in partnership with the private sector in building parks, but also creating fun activities that get people out of their homes into the communities.  Last year we started a triathlon that was about getting people to bike ride to all the city’s different recreation centers so that they could rediscover those gyms that we actually already have in our community.  We’re experimenting with urban gardens and many other things.

     And that to me is the beauty of our nation.  We have islands of excellence everywhere in America, and what this partnership is about is growing those islands of excellence into hemispheres of hope.  I was taught by my mother that African wisdom that spider webs united could tie up a lion.  And this is why I’m just so honored and humbled that the First Lady would choose to involve me in this because she -- by doing this call to our country’s consciousness, to our country’s awareness for our country to come together, she really is weaving together a lot of those great leaders and activists and foundations and businesses to try to create truly a unified nation around the issues that we all indeed agree upon, which is the welfare and future of our children.

     So I’m looking forward to celebrating the success of our efforts to be not just honorary but ornery at times in trying to push hard to get change to happen.  I’m looking forward to joining with other leaders, and the First Lady has already done a great job at shining the light on many of my partner mayors around the country, whether it’s Chip Johnson from Hernando, Mississippi, or Joseph Curtatone from Somerville, Massachusetts.  We’re going to really be making a clarion call to people all around this country to come together.

     And the beautiful thing about this is by finding those innovations that are going on in other neighborhoods, I’m a big believer and I know from my parents’ upbringing that real social change in America around any issue always happens from the grassroots up.  And by shining the light of the First Lady and our national partners and players on those local activities, we not only will be able to celebrate them but we will be able to study them, learn from them, figure out how to grow them.

     So I just want to again thank the (inaudible) of coming together, the vision of our First Lady.  This is something that we can do, that we must do, and I believe with this auspicious start that we will do.  Thank you.

     DR. GAVIN:  This is Jim Gavin.  And on behalf of the Partnership for a Healthier America Board of Directors, I want to thank the First Lady, Senator Frist, and Mayor Booker for the important support that they bring to this partnership.  We are honored to have this commitment and their leadership from these very special individuals as we chart a new course for this private/public effort. 

By setting the first national target for childhood obesity, the First Lady has taken an important step to move the nation towards addressing one of the greatest dangers facing our children today. 

     Now, along with our honorary chair and vice chairs from whom you’ve heard, we are also pleased to publicly present the first board of directors of the partnership.  The board is a diverse and powerful group of stakeholders who are committed to providing real leadership on this issue. 

Now, the partnership has been organized by the collective vision of the organization that has already been mentioned by the First Lady in her remarks.  You can expect to be hearing a lot from this new organization as we begin to mobilize for action around this important initiative.

With the First Lady’s support, we are at a (inaudible) to address these challenges from childhood obesity.  Now, many of us have been fighting the battle against childhood obesity for decades.  But some in our country are just (inaudible) to the seriousness of this obesity epidemic where one in three of our children are overweight or obese.

The rates of childhood obesity have doubled in the last 10 years, has increased fourfold in the last 40 years, and as many as one in every three of our children will develop diabetes or high blood pressure in their lifetime.  It’s a very serious issue.

     With the “Let’s Move” and the grassroots pressures that are emerging, large corporations, non-profits and public institutions are feeling the pressure to respond to the crisis. 

Now, our goal is to complement and accelerate efforts that are already underway across America to address the important issues.  In addition to the work of cities like Newark, state governments as well have enacted legislation or implemented programs to improve the nutritional quality of the lunches and snacks provided in schools and in childcare settings, or to strengthen physical education class.  Other private sector and private foundation initiatives have focused on comprehensive multi-step approaches and environmental factors that make neighborhoods more conducive to healthy eating and regular physical activity. 

     There are a lot of community intervention, such as those funded by the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership, that includes increasing access to park, sidewalks and fresh groceries, including (inaudible) and educating caretakers of children about nutrition.

As a doable, independent, nonpartisan foundation, the Partnership for a Healthier America -- PHA, as we will refer to it in shorthand -- will (inaudible) in the large ecosystem of communities, state, and nationally based efforts in that it will focus not only on identifying the solutions to this challenge, but also on creating new norms across all sectors and levels of our society.

     PHA does not seek to compete with (inaudible) or grant-making foundations who are doing important work of their own around these issues, but rather will serve to facilitate partnerships with meaningful and scalable programs at the community, state and national levels and lift up and help scale and replicate their success.  It will do so by convening private, public and non-profit sector members to facilitate meaningful and substantial commitments and hold them accountable by measuring their impact.

     Now, as you heard from the First Lady, we have given ourselves an aggressive mandate and we expect to meet it.  Over the next year, and throughout the lifetime of the foundation, you can expect us to negotiate directly with those organizations and individuals most equipped to bring measurable impact to the First Lady’s target, even some CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, national bank leaders, and the leading non-profits. 

     But we also want to celebrate local community heroes and grassroots leaders whose innovating solutions simply lack the resources needed to reach scale.  We look forward to hosting our first annual meeting with the First Lady towards the beginning of next year to take stock of our progress and recognize those that have stepped up to this cause, while at the same time encouraging those who haven’t yet joined us to do so in this mission.

     Now, we want to encourage that you get more information and updates on our progress by visiting our Web site, www.ahealthieramerica.org.  That’s www.ahealthieramerica.org.  I’d like to thank all of you for your participation in this exchange today, for your help and for your interest in this critically important health issue for our nation.  Thank you and goodbye.

END
11:28 A.M. EDT

Planting the Spring Garden

March 31, 2010 | 14:16 | Public Domain

First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the planting of the Spring Kitchen Garden. She is joined by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, and students from Bancroft and Hollin Meadows Elementary Schools.

Download mp4 (274MB) | mp3 (17MB)

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
March 31, 2010

Remarks by the First Lady at a Workplace Flexibility Conference

South Court Auditorium, Eisenhower Executive Office Building

1:34 P.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everyone.  (Applause.)  Thanks so much, everyone.  (Applause.)  Please rest.  You’re working hard enough as it is.

Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to the White House, sort of.  We’re across the street, but it’s good to have you all here.

I want to thank Valerie for that very kind introduction, for her outstanding work not just on this issue but on so many others; her friendship and support.  And I also want to thank her staff again who have done just a phenomenal job in organizing this conference and bringing us all together.  This is just a wonderful way to spend an afternoon on an important issue.

I’d also like to thank all of the outstanding members of this administration who are here for taking the time to be here today.

And I want to thank everyone who has joined us to share their ideas and expertise on this critically important topic.  Thank you for taking the time.  

As Valerie said, we’ve come here today to have a conversation about workplace flexibility: an important part of balancing our responsibilities as employees, as breadwinners, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives. 

It’s an issue that many folks have struggled with for so many years, and one that we as a society just hasn’t really quite figured out yet. 

And as the parents of two beautiful young daughters, it is an issue that is particularly important to me and my husband, as you know.  As Valerie said, I’ve talked about this so often. 

And it is true, in our current life, we are incredibly blessed.  We have amazing resources and support systems here at the White House that I could have never imagined.  Number one of them is having Grandmother living upstairs.  (Laughter.)  We all need one of those.  So can you figure that out?  (Laughter.) 

But we didn’t always live in the White House.  And for many years before coming to Washington, I was a working mother, doing my best to juggle the demands of my job with the needs of my family, with a husband who has crazy ideas.  (Laughter.)   

And as I’ve said before, I consider myself, as many of us in this room do, as a 120-percenter, which means that if I’m not doing something at 120 percent, I feel like I’m failing.  And I know you all can relate to that.  So while I did the best that I could at work and at home, I felt like I wasn’t keeping up with either one of them enough. 

And I was lucky -- I had understanding bosses, I had very accommodating jobs.  In fact, in the last job I had before coming to the White House -- I remember this clearly -- I was on maternity leave with Sasha, still trying to figure out what to do with my life, and I got a call for an interview for this position, a senior position at the hospitals.  And I thought, okay, here we go.  So I had to scramble to look for babysitting, and couldn’t find one.  So what did I do?  I packed up that little infant, and I put her in the stroller, and I brought her with me.  And I prayed that her presence wouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier.  And it was fortunate for me that, number one, she slept through the entire interview.  (Laughter.)  And I was still breastfeeding -- if that’s not too much information.  (Laughter.)  And I got the job.

But I know that I was lucky, number one.  I was interviewing with the president that had just had a child himself and was very understanding and open-minded.  But I know that most folks are nowhere near as lucky as I was.  Particularly right now with the job market the way it is, many folks can’t afford to be picky about the jobs that they take.  Many folks don’t have access to any kind of family leave policies whatsoever.  No flexible working arrangements.  Many people don’t even have a paid sick day.  So they are struggling -- struggling every day to find affordable childcare; or someone to look after an aging parent, which is becoming more the issue; scrambling to make things work when the usual arrangements fall through.  All of us have been through that.

So they spend a lot of time hoping and praying that everything will work out just perfectly.  I remember those days, just the delicate balance of perfection.  And as all the parents in this room know, it’s never perfect -- ever.

But here’s the thing:  As we all know here today, it just doesn’t have to be that way, doesn’t have to be that hard.  And that’s something that I learned for myself, not just as an employee but as a manager, when I discovered that the more flexibility that I gave to my staff to be good parents, and I valued that, the happier my staff was likely to be and the greater chance they were to stay and not leave, because they knew they might not find the same kind of flexibility somewhere else.

So it’s something that many of the companies here today have discovered, very fortunately, that flexible policies actually make employees more, not less, productive -- because as you all know, instead of spending time worrying about what’s happening at home, your employees have the support and the peace of mind that they desperately need to concentrate on their work.

You all are pioneering the innovative ideas and the best practices to make balancing work and family life easier for your employees and better for your bottom lines.

You’re doing so much -- providing discounts on childcare -- important; setting up scholarship programs to help pay for college -- amazing.

Many of you are offering compressed work weeks, you’re offering generous leave time, and mentoring programs that connect new parents or caregivers with folks who’ve been through it before.

And you’re giving employees the right to even approach you and have an open and honest conversation about how to create a more flexible schedule.  That is critical.

So here in the federal government, we’re trying to follow your lead, putting our money where our mouth is to adopt more of those best practices –- from expanding telework access to providing emergency childcare and more affordable day care.

And that’s why this administration supports the Healthy Families Act, which would let millions more working Americans earn up to seven days a year of paid sick time to care for themselves and their families.  Doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s important.

These are just a few of the examples of what we’re going to be talking about today.  And I’m looking forward to hearing more of the many ideas, the ways that you’re figuring out how to make this issue work for your employees.

We are excited today to learn about your ideas, your best practices, what many of you have done to support your employees and to boost your bottom line at the same time.

So with that, I want to again thank you all.  I want to thank you for the work that you’ve done in your companies to set the tone.  I want to thank you for taking the time to share your ideas with us today. 

So now my work is done.  I can now turn it over to Claire and the panel, and you guys will figure this all out.  (Laughter.) 

MS. SHIPMAN:  Forty-five minutes.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  That’s right, 45 minutes.  Shorter than health care, right?

MS. SHIPMAN:  A little.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  Thanks so much.  (Applause.)

END
1:40 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
March 31, 2010

Remarks by the First Lady at Spring Garden Planting event

White House Garden

4:05 P.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Hey, guys.  What’s going on?  Are you awake?

CHILDREN:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Yes!  What have you been doing?  Just sitting here?

CHILDREN:  Yes.

MRS. OBAMA:  Did they let you have an apple?

CHILDREN:  No.

MRS. OBAMA:  Sam, what are you doing?  (Laughter.)  You can have an apple.  How about that?  Way to start.

Hi, everybody.  Welcome to the White House!  How many of you have been here before?  Yes, I see my familiar faces.  What’s going on?  How was summer?  How was the start of -- how was winter break?  How was Christmas?  I haven’t seen you in a while.  Was it good? 

CHILDREN:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Are you ready to work? 

CHILDREN:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  How are my new faces?  Let me see the new people.  See some hands.  Good to have you.  Welcome.

Well, thank you.  Thanks for coming here.

I wanted to start by thanking a couple of people besides you all, right.

Okay, the first -- I want to thank the President’s Cabinet members who are here today with me:  Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary Vilsack, this gentleman to my right.  (Applause.)  And the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary Sebelius.  (Applause.)  They have done so much to help us get the “Let’s Move” campaign going, and I am so grateful for their support.  Some of you have seen these guys around.  You’ve seen Secretary Vilsack.  He’s been at stuff with us.  So they’ve been really helpful.

And I also have to thank Melody Barnes.  Is Melody here?  Melody is coming, but Melody has also been a big help.  She’s the President’s Domestic Policy Advisor, and she’s chair of the Childhood Obesity Task Force, so she’s been a big help.

And I also want to thank somebody special who’s with us today, and that’s Christy Vilsack who is Secretary Vilsack’s wife.  Raise your hand, Christy, so the kids can see you.  (Applause.)  I know that Christy is a really good cook, so she’s going to really be excited about what we’re going to plant, because she’ll really know what to do with all the stuff that we plant.

And finally I want to thank all of you -- you guys.  We’ve got our old familiar faces from Bancroft School who are here.  Yay, Elementary School Bancroft.  (Applause.)  And we also have students from Hollin Meadows Elementary School.  Hey, guys.  (Applause.)

Some of your classmates and some of you guys were part of helping us get the first garden ready, right?  You guys did all the hard work.  And this year we’re ready to do it again.  Can you believe it’s been a whole year?  Can you believe it?  (Laughter.)  A whole year!  You guys have grown so much!  But I’m excited you guys are here.

Just last year we began by getting -- what did we do first?  The first thing you did when you came here, what did we have to do?  We had to get the soil ready, because if you remember, this was all grass.  And you remember we had to create those mounds because the soil wasn’t really ready to plant; we didn’t even know if it was going to grow anything?  So you guys helped us get the soil ready.

And then we came and we did what after the soil was ready?  What did we do?  What did we put in the ground?  We put some seeds in and we put some buds in.  Last year we did broccoli.  What else did we plant?

CHILD:  Sweet potatoes.

MRS. OBAMA:  We did some sweet potatoes in the fall.  What did we do in the spring?  What were the vines that came up?  Peas!  We did some peas.  Sam knows.  Very good, Sam.  (Laughter.)  And we did some onions.  And we did a bunch of herbs.  Don’t you remember we did chives and garlic and rosemary and all that good stuff?  And for dessert, remember over there we planted all the berries?  We have blueberries and raspberries and blackberries. 

And you guys remember the beehive that’s right over there that’s still there?  We got good honey, and we used it to make a salad.

So then we did all that and we watched it grow.  And wasn’t it amazing how it went from this to -- what?  Do you remember what the garden looked like when we were tunneling through and planting?  Everything was high.  Everything gets to be about my height.

So it is pretty exciting.  So last October, with all the work that you guys did, you know what we were able to do?  We harvested over 55 different kinds of healthy foods -- 55 in that little piece of dirt -- 55.  And you know how many pounds of fruits and vegetables we harvested?  Can you guess?  Give me a guess.  What’s your closest guess?  Yes.

CHILD:  One hundred and four?

MRS. OBAMA:  No, higher.  What?

CHILDREN:  Eight hundred?

MRS. OBAMA:  Eight hundred?  Close.

CHILD:  Five hundred?

MRS. OBAMA:  Higher.

CHILD:  One thousand.

MRS. OBAMA:  One thousand pounds.  One thousand pounds of food.  Can you imagine that?  That’s pretty amazing. 

So we learned a lot about how fun gardening was -- at least I did.  I wasn’t really a gardener, and I’ve had so much fun.  No matter where you live or what age you are, you can grow stuff.  And also it’s pretty fun being outside here with all of you guys.  I look forward to being outside in the sun.  It’s getting a little hot now, but it’s good digging in the dirt, getting a little dirty, getting dirt under your nails.  Remember we were pulling up those big leeks?  What were those things we were pulling up?  Some were potatoes, but you were pulling up something heavy.  What were those big root things we -- the fennel, that’s right.  You remember the fennel that we pulled up?

So there’s nothing like watching tiny seeds grow into something amazing.  But the thing is -- and I don’t know if you guys have been watching -- but the garden was about more than just planning healthy food, right, because we were able to feed not just the staff at the White House, but we provided food to people at homeless shelters.  So we used that food to feed a lot of people.  But we also began a conversation about getting kids and parents and teachers all across the country thinking about living healthy. 

So just think, the work that you did helped start a national and international conversation.  You guys did it.  Everybody is talking about that garden, not just here in Washington, not just here in the United States, but all over the world.  And we’ve been able to start thinking about things like getting kids to try new foods that they’ve never tried, vegetables that they’ve never had.  You guys have been helpful in getting your families to think more healthy about what they eat, getting your communities to make different decisions.  We’ve also even started talking to schools about how do we make your school lunches even more healthy, right?

So everyone is really focused on this.  We’ve even talked to the grocery manufacturers, the people that make the food.  And they’re trying to figure out how do they lower sugar and salt and fats in your food so that you get healthy.  Everybody is really focused on this.

So this has been great.  And it’s because of the work that all of you guys have done.  Would you ever imagine that what you did last year would lead to all of this?  Would you?  Could you?  And we’re ready to do it again this year.  Are we ready?

CHILDREN:  Yes.

MRS. OBAMA:  So we’re going to get started this year with our new group of students, because each of you has a garden in your school.  Bancroft, you guys have a garden, and you’re doing good work, and I got to go and visit your garden.  You guys taught me some new things about planting and we worked together.  And I hope to visit your school again sometime this year or in the fall.

And you guys from Hollin Meadows, I got to visit your garden as well.  You guys are doing some really cool stuff with education and figuring out how to tie your garden in with science and math and everything.  How many of you guys from Hollin Meadows work in your garden?  How many people have helped with the garden?  And that’s probably why you’re here.

So it’s important for you all to know that with the power of what you’re doing with gardening, you’ve got the whole country talking about gardening and eating healthy.

So I am grateful to you all for the work that you’ve done.  You’ve done an excellent job, and we couldn’t do it -- I don’t think anybody would have paid much attention to this garden if it weren’t for you.

So I am so proud of you all for what you’ve done, and we’re ready to get started again.  And as a result of your efforts, we started this big campaign called “Let’s Move,” where we’re asking parents to get better information and make different decisions.  We’re working with athletes who are going to start trying to get you guys moving.  We’ve asked you all to do your parts.  We’ve asked you to make different choices.  We’ve asked you to turn off the TV a little bit and get more exercise and play outside.  Everybody is ready to do their part.

So you guys have just been a great support to us here at the White House, and I’m looking so forward to starting this garden for the second year.  And hopefully we can make some more changes, we can get more kids focused on eating healthy and we can educate the whole country and maybe even the whole world.  What do you think about that?

All right.  So now I’m going to turn it over to Secretary Sebelius -- you’re next.  And then Secretary Vilsack is going to say a few things to welcome you guys, and then we’re going to get going, okay?

All right, so here’s Secretary Sebelius.

END
4:14 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 31, 2010

President and First Lady Host White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility

Small Business Owners, Workers, Business and Labor Leaders, and Experts Join Administration Officials to Discuss Workplace Practices for a Changing American Workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House Council on Women and Girls are hosting the White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility to discuss the importance of creating workplace practices that allow America’s working men and women to meet the demands of their jobs without sacrificing the needs of their families.

Small business owners, business leaders, policy experts, workers and labor leaders are joining with senior administration officials today to share their ideas and strategies for making the workplace more flexible for American workers and families. The opening and closing sessions, as well as five breakout sessions focused on best practices and benefits for the American workplace and workforce, are streaming live on www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. In addition, much of the event is streaming on Facebook and Ustream, and the White House will include comments taken through these social networks in the feedback collected through the forum.

In conjunction with the forum, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers is releasing a report presenting an economic perspective on flexible workplace policies and practices.  The report documents some of the changes in the U.S. workforce which have increased the need for flexibility in the workplace, including the increased number of women entering the labor force, the prevalence of families where all adults work, increasing eldercare responsibilities, and the rising importance of continuing education. It then examines the current state of flexible work arrangements and discusses the economic benefits of workplace flexibility - such as reduced absenteeism, lower turnover, improved health of workers, and increased productivity.  The analysis is available online here: http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/files/documents/100331-cea-economics-workplace-flexibility.pdf.

"Workplace flexibility isn’t just a women’s issue.  It’s an issue that affects the well-being of our families and the success of our businesses," said President Obama.  "It affects the strength of our economy – whether we’ll create the workplaces and jobs of the future that we need to compete in today’s global economy." 

“Flexible policies actually make employees more – not less – productive,” said Mrs. Obama. “Instead of spending time worrying about what’s happening at home, employees have the support and the peace of mind they need to concentrate at work which is good for their families – and the bottom line.”
The Office of Personnel Management is also announcing a pilot program to incorporate flexibility in the government to provide better, more efficient service for the American people – even in the face of snow storms and other emergencies. The pilot program will build on the cost savings telework provided during last winter's snow storms and expand opportunities for federal employees, here in Washington and across America, to telework on a regular basis.

"Employers, including the federal government, will have to implement flexible work policies if they want to attract the best and the brightest," said Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. " The President is committed to making sure that the federal government can compete for talent because he knows that good people produce better work, which in turn, leads to better service for the American people."
Shortly after taking office, the President signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is delivering relief to working families across the country, including tax credits and child care assistance for working families.

The President’s Budget for FY2011 builds on those  initiatives with a series of investments to support caregivers for elderly relatives or family members with disabilities, to help families afford the cost of quality child care, to aid states wishing to establish paid leave funds, and to build the knowledge base about work-family policies.

The First Lady Talks "Let's Move" with Newsweek

Shama Hussain
March 17, 2010
07:06 PM EDT
Read the Transcript  |  Download Video: mp4 (406MB) | mp3 (30MB)

Following her cover story for Newsweek, the First Lady talked with Newsweek’s Editor Jon Meacham about her Let's Move campaign at the Newseum in Washington D.C. today. She discussed the magnitude of the problem of childhood obesity, especially during current times as a busier culture.

We’re also a culture and a society right now that snacks a lot more.  Just some of the statistics I talked about in my speech yesterday was that the average snack amount when I was growing up was one snack a day, if you were lucky.  And now it’s averaging two to three.  They say the average school-age kid is getting six snacks a day.  So we’re taking 200 more calories than we were 40 years ago, 30 years ago just from snacks alone.

She explained the importance of food manufacturing industries providing clear food labels so people can easily make decisions about what foods are healthy. “Parents have to understand what’s in the Twinkie; again, how does it fit into the overall diet.  So we don’t need a warning, we need information.  And we need information that’s easy to understand.”

The First Lady also talked about passing legislation that will set nutritional guidelines for school lunch programs and vending machines. President Obama signed an Executive Order creating the Council on Childhood Obesity that will review every program and policy regarding education and nutrition.

Visit LetsMove.gov to learn more about the initiative to address the growing health epidemic of childhood obesity.
 

Related Topics:

Battling the Childhood Obesity Epidemic

March 17, 2010 | 32:21 | Public Domain

First Lady Michelle Obama takes part in a question-and-answer discussion about the Lets Move initiative and the fight against childhood obesity at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

Download mp4 (406MB) | mp3 (30MB)

Read the Transcript

The First Lady Talks "Let's Move" with Newsweek

[[nid:9975]]

Following her cover story for Newsweek, the First Lady talked with Newsweek’s Editor Jon Meacham about her Let's Move campaign at the Newseum in Washington D.C. today. She discussed the magnitude of the problem of childhood obesity, especially during current times as a busier culture.

We’re also a culture and a society right now that snacks a lot more.  Just some of the statistics I talked about in my speech yesterday was that the average snack amount when I was growing up was one snack a day, if you were lucky.  And now it’s averaging two to three.  They say the average school-age kid is getting six snacks a day.  So we’re taking 200 more calories than we were 40 years ago, 30 years ago just from snacks alone.

She explained the importance of food manufacturing industries providing clear food labels so people can easily make decisions about what foods are healthy. “Parents have to understand what’s in the Twinkie; again, how does it fit into the overall diet.  So we don’t need a warning, we need information.  And we need information that’s easy to understand.”

The First Lady also talked about passing legislation that will set nutritional guidelines for school lunch programs and vending machines. President Obama signed an Executive Order creating the Council on Childhood Obesity that will review every program and policy regarding education and nutrition.

Visit LetsMove.gov to learn more about the initiative to address the growing health epidemic of childhood obesity.
 

Close Transcript

The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
March 17, 2010

Remarks by the First Lady at Newsweek Q&A Event

Newseum, Washington, D.C.

12:39 P.M. EDT

Q    Thank you so much.  Thank you, Ms. Weymouth, for your hospitality, and thank you all for coming.  This is our cover subject.  We tried to make the picture a little bigger.

MRS. OBAMA:  I know, right.  (Laughter.)

Q    But I will say Newsweek has been publishing for 77 years, and I believe this is the first time within six weeks or so we’ve had both a husband and a wife write the cover story.  So -- (laughter) -- I know you’ll --  

MRS. OBAMA:  So whose was better, though?  (Laughter.)  That's ultimately how spouses operate, right? (Laughter.)

Q    That’s a very good point, that’s a very good point.  So with all this “first” stuff and living in the White House, forget it.  It’s the Newsweek --

MRS. OBAMA:  This is the one.

Q    It’s the Newsweek cover.

MRS. OBAMA:  I agree.

Q    Why this issue?  Why childhood obesity, of all the things you could have picked?

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, first of all I think it’s absolutely relevant right now.  The statistics are clear, you know.  We’re seeing rates of childhood obesity go up like never before.  And I think the country is also at a point where we’re ready.  And I think that's one of the reasons why the “Let’s Move” initiative has been so well received by so many industries and parents and teachers, is because I think we know there’s a problem, and we’re going to have to come together to solve it.

Now, personally, the issue for me is a personal one.  I’ve spoken about this often, how in my busy lifestyle, before coming into the White House, I was living like most busy mothers -- a husband traveled a lot, I had a full-time job, I bought for convenience and cost.  And I saw some changes -- or my pediatrician saw some changes in my children’s diet that caused him to say, “Hold on.”  And I think I was like most mothers -- I thought I was doing absolutely everything that I was supposed to be doing.  And to me my kids looked fine.  They were perfectly -- hey, you know, they’re my kids, they’re gorgeous.

But I made some changes.  And they were very simple changes in our lifestyle, but it made significant differences -- made a significant difference in how the kids felt, how we felt as a family. 

And I started thinking, well, if I didn’t know these things -- and I’m educated, have resources, I have the support that I need -- what are other families doing?  How are other mothers, people who live in communities that don't have grocery stores -- how are they making these decisions?  How are we teaching kids how to eat?  What’s happened to our habits? 

So even before coming to the White House, this issue moved me in a way that made me think we need to explore this a little bit more.

And then we planted this beautiful garden, 1,100 square feet of pure joy.  And that gave us an opportunity in a very sort of non-confrontational way to begin exploring the questions of how do kids respond to nutritious food and vegetables if they’re part of the process of growing and getting involved.  That's one of the reasons why getting the kids in the D.C. area involved in the work was critical.  And their response really sent us the message that we might be ready to begin this conversation in a more comprehensive way.

So, you know, the time is right.  It’s also important in my husband’s administration, which is something that I try to do with the issues that I take on.  I mean, I say this a lot:  I am here to support the President of the United States, and health care is one of the most important issues that this country is facing.  We are spending $147 billion on obesity-related conditions that are preventable.  And if we can make ourselves healthier, that's going to go a long way to helping find some solutions to this problem.  And these issues intersect in a very important and compelling way.

Q    How did we get here?  What is the history of this?

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, you know, I don't think there’s any one path to how we got there.  I know I have my theories.  I think lifestyles have changed significantly.  I reminisce with people about what it was like for me growing up on the South Side of Chicago in a simple working-class community.  You went to the school around the corner from your house because all the schools were solid enough that you just went to the school in your neighborhood.  So you walked to school, number one.

And there was recess and gym.  I was talking to one of my staff members just about how lunchtime, it was an hour. And my mother was one of the mothers that didn’t work, so me and all my friends, we’d come back to our house, we’d watch soap operas, we’d eat lunch.  (Laughter.)  We’d complain about our teachers.

Q    Which ones?

MRS. OBAMA:  “All My Children,” I have to say.  (Laughter.)   That was a big one.

Q    We just made news, ma’am.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  But that was a lunchtime treat, and it was a way -- you know, I thought -- so we ate, we had time to eat our food, have a conversation with our parents, and then go back to school, catch that last minute of play.  So it was a lot of activity. 

We didn’t -- we had seven channels, not 107.  Internet, video games were not a part of the culture.  You had to go outside to play.  So I think kids were naturally more active than they are today.  And now kids are going to schools where they have to take a bus, a car ride.  Some neighborhoods are not safe.  And no matter what you say, in some neighborhoods you can’t tell parents, “Just let your kids go out and play,” because it isn’t safe.  Some kids don't even have friends in their own neighborhood because they live in different communities.

So things have changed, and we are a busier culture.  Parents -- two parents working in the household, so you’re coming home, you’re tired.  We all do it, right?  You know you shouldn’t go to that drive-thru, but you’re just tired, and you know they’ll eat the food without complaining.

We’re also a culture and a society right now that snacks a lot more.  Just some of the statistics I talked about in my speech yesterday was that the average snack amount when I was growing up was one snack a day, if you were lucky.  And now it’s averaging two to three.  They say the average school-age kid is getting six snacks a day.  So we’re taking 200 more calories than we were 40 years ago, 30 years ago just from snacks alone.

So I think some of that convenience, you know, makes it very easy.  You pick up a little bag of chips, you throw it in, the kids are hungry, they’re grabbing this, they’re grabbing that, and before you know it, they’ve snacked their way through the day.

So I think those are just some of the things.  But there are many, many, many -- physical education, the level of activity.  All of that is I think a part of it.

Q    What’s an analogous public health campaign that you think has been successful that could be a kind of model for this? 

MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, that’s a --

Q    Is it smoking?  Is it seat belts?

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, you know, I think seat belts is one of those.  And I actually was talking to Mike Huckabee about this, because he actually made the analogy that this is one of those issues where culturally folks have to be ready to make the shift, you know.  You cannot mandate, legislate seat belt wearing.  You could, but does it really work?  The same thing is true for how we eat and how we live.  You can’t tell people what to do in their own homes, and nor should you.  But there comes a point when we start seeing enough statistics, we sort of get aware of the problems in our own homes, and we start -- we get emotionally ready to make some of those changes.

So we’re at a point now where I think the society is ready for more information.  Parents are looking for the answers.  They know that something is off, and they just now want to figure out, well, what do I need to know?  What am I doing wrong?

Had a conversation with a girlfriend at dinner last night, and we were talking about, “Well, is apple juice okay?  And what about chocolate milk?”  I mean, and this is an educated woman who is confused about what beverage is actually going to be okay, outside of water, which we know is fine.  But parents, societies, schools, we’re now ready to figure that out so that we can make good choices. 

We all care about our kids -- that goes without saying, and that’s why this is not a “blame game” kind of issue.  People are just trying to figure out how to survive, how to make sure their kids are happy and healthy.  And sometimes we just don’t get the information that we need.  And seat belt laws are a similar -- one of those similar challenges, that once we were ready, we were ready to take in the information and make the changes.

Q    It has worked.  How much -- you’ve talked about the cultural shift -- how much of this is regulatory?  What is government’s role in these issues, which I suspect is both a federal and a state, even local question too?

MRS. OBAMA:  Right, right, right.  Well, as I said, there is no expert that will tell you that having government tell people what to do is going to make a difference in this issue.  So the role of government is not to mandate.  And I think the roles are different.  I think at the federal level, at this level, we can highlight and inform.  There are things that we can do at this level, with the FDA, for example, working with food manufacturers to have better front-of-package labeling, things like that.  We can finance and leverage money to try to get more groceries into underserved communities.  We can make sure that we pass legislation that gets us a strong Nutrition Authorization Act so that we get better food in our schools and that there are guidelines that the private sector and schools can follow.

But I think the real work happens on the ground.  It’s our governors, our mayors, our schools, our communities.  And that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been traveling so much, is that a lot of the answers are already out there, even in states like Mississippi who struggle more with this issue than most.  I did some visits with the governor and his wife, terrific folks.  They care about this issue; they know it’s a problem.  And they’re doing some great work to really ramp up physical education in the schools.  You’ve got teachers who are redesigning play spaces and they’re getting kids hula-hooping and jumping rope and they’re making teachers do more work and having them think about their diets.  They’ve created requirements where teachers have to eat lunch with the kids, and they’ve seen vegetable and fruit consumption go up because -- not just with the kids but with the teachers as well.  (Laughter.)

So you can go into many states and see some wonderful examples of things that work in those communities, because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.  What works in Mississippi may not work in Arizona, may not work in Connecticut.  So we really need to look to the governors and mayors who know their communities, who understand their issues, their challenges, and that we work from there, and that we highlight those things that work -- like in Pennsylvania.  They’ve done an amazing job to deal with the issue of food deserts that I’ve talked about; you know, the 23.5 million Americans that live in communities without access to a supermarket.  And there were neighborhoods like that when I was growing up. 

There’s one community in Philadelphia -- we went to visit a grocery store -- that community hadn’t had a grocery store in a decade.  So you think about -- you know, that’s a child’s life, right?  Ten years of a child’s life where their mother couldn’t walk down the street and buy some fruit and a head of broccoli. 

So they’ve structured a financing initiative that leverages government dollars with private sector dollars, and they’ve been able to incentivize getting grocery stores into underserved communities, not just in urban areas but in some of the more rural areas in the state.

So we need to -- we can highlight those successes and hopefully give other states an example of what they might try, what might work.

Q    On Tuesday, you spoke to the Grocery Manufacturers Association.  They sell not only in those supermarkets, those grocery stores, they sell vegetables and fruit; I hear that there’s also some sugary stuff around -- (laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  A few things, a few things.

Q    My five-year-old has briefed me on this.

MRS. OBAMA:  Yes, yes.  (Laughter.)

Q    And my question is, one logical extension, if the epidemic is as significant and widespread as it seems to be, what would you think about a warning label on Twinkies or Froot Loops that says --

MRS. OBAMA:  “Warning.”

Q    -- “This is known to cause obesity in the absence of other kinds of eating and exercise”?

MRS. OBAMA:  You know, that strikes me as extreme, because a Twinkie is not a cigarette, you know.  And what -- what parents need is just information about what’s in the Twinkie and how much of this can we eat.  It’s not that we can’t have a Twinkie.  And our kids would be pretty upset.  And I am not supporting that.  (Laughter.)  So all the kids out there -- right? 

Q    It’s called triangulation, ma’am.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  I’m all in favor of good snacks.  We grew up with snacks and chips.  We did.  But we have to exercise more, parents have to understand what’s in the Twinkie; again, how does it fit into the overall diet.  So we don’t need a warning, we need information.  And we need information that’s easy to understand.  That’s something that I said yesterday in the speech.  You read labels now and it’s like the small print and it’s all “oleosutomay” -- or I don’t -- the chemicals, you can’t even pronounce them, and the portion sizes compared to one, and you’ve got a small one and a big one.  And then, before you know it, you don’t know what to buy and how much to give to your kids and in what amounts.  That’s the kind of information that families need.

And I think that the Grocery Store Manufacturers who are -- they have been magnificent.  And I know that there are those who say, well, are they going to really make changes?  Look, the people who run those companies are parents and grandparents, too.  They care about their kids.  They’re trying to figure out how to meet the demand and how to give information.

And we know that they’re going to sit down -- you know, we know they’re going to sit down and help us figure this stuff out.  You know, what are the facts that parents need to know; how do we structure it in a way that they can understand; and how do they meet the demands that we are now going to make -- because it’s really up to us, as the parents and the consumers, to change the demand. 

They will make what we tell them we want to buy.  And if we want healthier foods for our kids, and that's what we’re purchasing, our power will shift their market.  We don't need much more than our own demands to change, and we need to work with our kids to also get them to change their eating habits as well.

So it’s going to require all of us to do their parts, and then we don't need the warning labels.  We just need common sense and good information.

Q    Twinkies are safe in the Obama administration.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  Yes, we are -- (laughter) -- yes, I think I'm -- I feel good going on record.  (Laughter.)

Q    Okay.  We don't have to pass a special rule.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  No.

Q    Where do you stand on a beverage tax for sugary beverages?

MRS. OBAMA:  You know, the “Let’s Move” initiative doesn’t -- we’re not -- doesn’t involve a tax.  But there are communities that believe that taxing sodas and other things works for them.  And again, because, you know, we believe that those ideas and those approaches need to come from the bottom up, there are going to be cities and states and towns who believe that that's what they need in their communities.  And, again, there is no one-size-fits-all answer.  And I think that's where mayors, governors, citizens, schools, you know, working in your own states and communities -- to figure out really what’s going to work and what’s going to move the bar on this issue.

Q    What’s your sense of posting calorie counts?  It happens in New York -- actually, where I live, and it’s very depressing, actually.  (Laughter.)  The mayor of New York has made it very hard to go to Dunkin’ Donuts.  (Laughter.)  But it works.  Is that something else that should be a weapon in the arsenal?

MRS. OBAMA:  I think the more information we can give to consumers, families, parents, the better.  There are examples outside of New York -- in Somerville, Massachusetts, the mayor there has been working with some of the local restaurant owners to get them to change their menus so that there are healthier options and customers have more information about what’s in stuff.  I think that's a good thing. 

But also in Somerville they’re going beyond just what we eat and they’re also thinking more creatively about how in every aspect of what they do to run that city, they’re thinking about the health and well-being of kids.  So that comes down to how many parks they have; and what their roads look like; and if they’re building a new street, making sure there’s a sidewalk and a place for kids to ride their bikes.  I mean, again, this isn't just about what we eat, this is about how we live.

In some of the towns in Mississippi they have to think creatively about where they don't have places to play -- you know, maybe you take an old field and turn it into a soccer field and let the city pay a dollar for it.  And you find ways, creative ways, to make sure there are spaces for families to live in a healthy way.

Those are the kind of ideas that we want to promote.  Those are the kind of things that are working.  We just need to do more of it and we need to do it faster.

Q    There’s also, both in rural areas and in urban areas, there’s an economic issue, which is -- you mentioned convenience, but often the fast food can be even less expensive sometimes than getting healthy food.

MRS. OBAMA:  Absolutely.

Q    Can you talk about that disparity and what we can do about it?

MRS. OBAMA:  That disparity is very real.  I mean -- no, I talked about it with the grocery manufacturers as well.  It’s not just making healthy food, but it’s making healthy food that's affordable.  And that's a challenge, as well, but we have to recognize that we need to move in that direction.  There are -- you know, we can't look families in the face and say, “You fix this problem,” but then you can't afford the food that they need to fix the problem; they don't have access to it.  We have to figure this out.

The school lunch program is a major -- is going to be a major player in the whole resource issue because many kids are getting the majority of their meals at school.  So that's one of those areas where we have some control over as a society because, you know, we’re going to feed these kids for two out of three or four of their meals, depending upon how many they have.  So we need to make sure that we pass legislation that makes sense, that sets clear basic nutritional guidelines, not just in the school lunch lines, but in the vending machines and a la carte lines; that we have the resources to help schools bring their standards up.

Things like -- in Mississippi, what Governor Barbour did with some of his stimulus money was to remove fryers and put in ovens.  I mean, it’s just something as simple -- the school nutritionist will tell you, we want to do better, but all we have is a fryer, which means when you have a fryer then you have to fry stuff.  (Laughter.)  So we need to make sure that the schools have the resources they need to make the changes to get healthier food into the schools.

But we also have to make sure that every single child that is eligible for free and reduced lunch actually gets it, that we reduce the paperwork to make sure that -- if you look at some of the paperwork that families get to sign up, and then they have to re-sign up and then they have to fill it out.  You know, you look at that, you're busy and, you know, you just brush it under the rug, you don't complete it.  We have to make those processes and procedures easier.  And I think we can go a long way to helping underserved families with the school lunch program.

Q    How does obesity affect classroom learning?

MRS. OBAMA:  I think, you know, this week it opened this up, right, to the audience.  I mean, we know -- in our own kids, in our own lives -- how kids respond when they have a good meal, they’ve eaten the right things.  We know what happens to kids when they are hyped up on sugar and they’re operating on too much sugar and not enough substance.  We see it in our own lives. 

So you just imagine if you send a kid to school with a sugary breakfast and a sugary drink, and they have to learn for a few hours and they stop maybe for 10 minutes for lunch -- maybe -- and they haven’t had a chance to run and run off that energy.  And then they start dropping because they’re coming down from all that sugar.  And they don't even know it.  They don't even know why they feel lethargic, why they get sleepy at about eleven o’clock during the day -- just like we all do when we don't eat right.  I mean, we all experience it.

So it definitely affects how kids feel throughout the day, which is something that we have to remember.  This issue is not about looks and appearance.  This is about how our kids feel and how they feel about themselves, because how you feel inside affects the way you approach the day; even the way you tackle the challenge.  If you feel like, you know, you're full and you've eaten some fruit and you've gotten some grains, that affects the way you think.

So this isn't an image issue.  This is truly an overall health issue.  And kids, in addition to needing to eat well, have to run.  They have to run around during the day.  They have to get the energy out, you know?  I mean, you've got kids.  You imagine trying to teach your child sitting still for hours --

Q    Oh, in our house (inaudible) the time.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  Right.  All right, okay, Jon.  (Laughter.)

Q    We read “Newsweek” aloud.  (Laughter.)  They love the Obama collection.

MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, good.  It’s very good.  (Laughter.)

Q    No, you’re right, absolutely.  But why isn't -- I mean, we’re lucky in that our kids -- where our kids go to school, they run around.  That's not true in a lot of places.  Physical education is often the first thing to go.  Recess has been cut back.  From a policy perspective, is that simply a financial issue?  Is it because the standards, classroom standards have been set at a point where they can't afford a single moment of classroom time?  What’s your analysis of the end of recess?

MRS. OBAMA:  I think that educators, administrators, parents would say it’s all of it.  Some of it feels like a resource issue.  And some of it is when you’re testing so much and you’re meeting requirements, you feel like the first thing that goes -- if your money is tied to a test score and not to recess, you know, and whether your kids can run around, then the choice is already made for you, some administrators feel.

But there are also examples where schools are figuring out how even in this current climate of testing and lack of resources, how to put that stuff back into the curriculum.  The Department of Agriculture has the U.S. Healthier School Challenge, which is an initiative that we’re promoting as part of the “Let’s Move” initiative.  We’re going to -- we want to double the number of schools in this country that qualify as U.S. Healthier Schools.  There are currently about 600 of them around the country.  Our goal under “Let’s Move” is to double that, because these are schools that are the models for what we’d like to see happening with nutrition and physical education, because without any additional resources, they figured out how to restructure their curriculum, how to use nutrition education as part of math and science; they found ways to mandate and reincorporate recess and gym back into their classrooms.

I mean, there are schools -- wonderful, public schools -- all over the country that are figuring how to restructure the day.  But what I’ve found when I’ve talked to principals, administrators who’ve made that choice, they have decided as a school community that exercise and nutrition isn’t an extra; that it is an essential part of what a good curriculum has to look like. 

So in one school that I visited in Virginia, they don’t allow teachers to take recess or gym away as a punishment because their feeling is that’s counter-productive.  So now you’ve got a problem, so you’ve taken away the one thing that may help the kid wind out of the problem.  So they’ve -- you know, they’ve said you can’t take that away, because that’s part of the curriculum.  That’s like telling the kid, well, you didn’t do well in spelling, so you’re not going to be able to do math today.

Q    In addition to the Twinkie thing, that might be a very good political move -- (laughter) -- pull them out of math. 

MRS. OBAMA:  Right, right.  (Laughter.)  But I am not -- now, I did not say that.  (Laughter.)

Q    No, ma’am, just me.  (Laughter.)  It was me. 

MRS. OBAMA:  That’s your idea. 

Q    Yes, ma’am. 

MRS. OBAMA:  But there are schools that are figuring out how to make this happen.  Our job is to give them the resources they need, hold them up, celebrate those successes and help other school districts figure out how do they do the same thing.  How have they managed in the current climate?  What’s the difference?  Why does one school manage to do it and another can’t?  Is it at the regional level?  Is it the superintendent support?  I mean, we could probably talk to educators in this room right now who are -- just they know the answer to this, and they’re ready to jump on it.

But there are schools that are doing it.  And we need to make sure that more are doing it.  This should be the standard of how our kids get an education in this country. 

Q    Last question, ma’am.  How will you measure success, as you look at the lifetime of the administration, of your own ongoing work, presumably?

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, the goal for “Let’s Move,” the whole goal of this initiative, is to end the problem of childhood obesity in a generation.  So this is a generational issue.  And our view is that we want kids born today to grow up at a healthy weight.  And it will take a generation to see how that’s going.

But one of the things that the administration is doing now -- the President signed an executive order creating the first ever Council on Childhood Obesity.  They are now reviewing every single program and policy, not just in the government but in the country, that focuses on education and nutrition.  And we need to figure out how to use the resources we have more smartly.

But we’re going to get that report in May.  We’re looking forward to that.  And part of that -- the interesting thing about that approach is that we’re saying we need real, measurable outcomes.  And the foundation that was set up as part of this initiative -- and we’ve got some wonderful foundations who have been researching and investing in this issue for decades -- RJW, Kellogg -- I don’t want to begin to name all of them, because I’ll miss some -- but they are going to be sort of the future arm of this, so that when I’m gone, when the President is gone and the next administration comes in, you’ve got an independent group that’s going to continue to look at these goals and help us figure out whether we’re reaching the goals, and keep our feet to the fire, because, again, this isn’t something that’s going to happen in this administration.

This is -- we are looking at this as a forever proposition, because fundamentally, as I said in my speech to the food manufacturers, we have to change the way we view food and health forever.  And we can start with kids, because they haven’t -- their habits haven’t been ingrained.  We can shift the way they think, even the way they taste food.  We can do that.  Us, you know, grownups -- (laughter) -- not so much.  We’re a little stuck in our ways.

But we can still guide our children.  I still think of my mother, who said -- you know, she had no problem doing things that she told me I couldn’t do.  (Laughter.)  So even though we, as parents, haven’t conquered it and maybe we don’t -- we’re not doing it, we can still help our kids get to a different place.  And it’s going to take time.  And it’s going to take patience.  And we’re going to need everyone involved.

But I think about where we started a year ago with the planting of this little garden.  And now, we have this wonderful initiative that has the food industry coming together; and bipartisan support all over the country; parents feeling excited and support it; kids -- (laughter) -- you know, they’re coming.  (Laughter.)  We’ve got the professional sports community standing by. 

This is an issue that can unite the country.  And it can unite us with the rest of the world, because the truth is there isn’t a single head of state or spouse of a head of state who I have met who has not been fascinated by our garden and our conversations around nutrition, because so many other countries are beginning to see some of the effects as they develop.  They’re seeing their rates go up.

So this is an issue for the world.  And we can truly be a leader, but we have to be patient.  And we also have to be clear that we need to work really hard and stretch.  So when we talk to the food industry, we say, you have to do more.  When we talk to ourselves as parents, we have to push ourselves.  We have to talk to Congress.  And we have to say, you have to push to ensure that we’re getting the kind of regulations and support so that our school meals are healthy.

We all have to stretch on this one.  And if we do, I think we can -- we will see a change in our kids that we can be proud of.

Q    Well, thank you so much for your work, for your piece this week --

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  Thank you for investing in this conversation.

Q    -- and for this remarkable presentation.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

END
1:02 P.M. EDT

The First Lady Calls for Industry-Wide Effort to Provide Healthier Foods

Shama Hussain
March 16, 2010
03:47 PM EDT

Earlier this morning, the First Lady spoke about her Let’s Move campaign to take action on childhood obesity at a Grocery Manufacturer’s Association Conference. She urged the manufacturers to join the effort to promote healthy eating habits by rethinking the kinds of products they offer, providing parents clear information about the products, and marketing healthier foods to children.

The First Lady speaks to the Grocery Manufacturers Association Conference

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks before the Grocery Manufacturers Association Conference in Washington, D.C. March 16, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

The First Lady called for clear, consistent labels on the products to help parents make good food decisions. “Folks just don’t have the time to line products up side by side and figure out whether these compare or not.  And they shouldn’t have to.  Parents shouldn’t need a magnifying glass and a calculator to make healthy choices for their kids,” she said.

She also asked them to rethink their marketing strategies targeted towards children, because the majority of commercials and ads promote unhealthy, fattening foods. She emphasized that it would not be enough to limit ads, but they would also need to take a strong effort to begin marketing healthy foods.

The First Lady explained that the government is taking similar steps by providing fresher, healthier food choices in all federal government workplaces.

“Today, with the issue of childhood obesity, we all face a similar opportunity.  And you face it not just as food industry leaders, but you face it as parents who love your kids and as citizens who love this nation.  And in the end, I am hopeful that you will choose to make the changes that we need not just because they’re good for your company, but because they’re good for our country. I know that you’ll do these things not just to fulfill your obligation to shareholders, but also because you have a sense of obligation to our children -- because the truth is, all of us are paying the cost of childhood obesity.  But the truth is also that we all will gain from addressing it once and for all.”

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The White House

Office of the First Lady

For Immediate Release
March 16, 2010

Remarks by the First Lady at a Grocery Manufacturers Association Conference

Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, D.C.

11:40 A.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everyone.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  And Rick, thank you for that very kind introduction.  I enjoyed our meeting, as well.  And thanks to all of you for having me here at this year’s Science Forum.  It is a true pleasure to with all of you today.  And I hope you get out and see a little sunshine, because we have some. 

I understand you’ve gathered here in Washington this week to discuss some of the most pressing issues that your industry faces.  And I’m very pleased to see that your agenda today includes sessions about helping customers meet their lifestyle needs and about advancing America’s public health, because the topic that I’d like to discuss with you today –- the epidemic of childhood obesity -– falls at the intersection of these two issues.

Now, I know you’re all familiar with the statistics here: how childhood obesity rates have tripled over the past three decades –- nearly one in three children in this country are now overweight or obese.  And you all know the health consequences –- from hypertension to heart disease, cancer to diabetes. 

And I know you’re well aware of the economic consequences: how we’re currently spending billions of dollars treating obesity-related conditions -– costs that many of your companies pay in the form of rising health care expenses; expenses that will only continue to rise and affect your bottom lines if we fail to act.

But you also know that this is a relatively new phenomenon, because back when many of us were growing up, we tended to be able to lead lives that kept us at a pretty healthy weight.  Most of us walked to and from school every day, and then we ran around all day at recess, in gym class, and then for hours after school before dinner.  We usually ate more sensibly.  Oftentimes we had home-cooked meals with reasonable portion sizes -– and like it or not, there was always a vegetable on the plate.  And fast food was a rare treat.  Snacking between meals was frowned upon.  I mean, we all had our share of soda, chips and desserts, but certainly not every day, and not at every meal. 

But our kids today lead a very different kind of life.  Those walks to and from school have been replaced by car and bus rides.  Gym class and school sports have been cut, replaced by afternoons with the TV, and video games, and the Internet. 

And while parents want to provide healthy food for their kids, many of them are working longer hours, or some of them more than one job -- so they just can’t swing those home-cooked meals anymore. 

And today, snacking between meals has become more the norm rather than the exception.  And while kids 30 years ago ate just one snack a day, we’re now trending toward three –- so our kids are taking in an additional 200 calories a day just from snacks alone.  And one in five school-age kids has up to six snacks a day. 

And portion sizes have exploded.  Food portions are two to five times bigger than they used to be.  And beverage portions have grown as well.  In the mid-1970s, the average sweetened drink portions were about 13.6 ounces.  And today, our kids think nothing of drinking 20 ounces of soda at a time. 

As of 2006, folks were spending about 22 percent of their grocery dollars on sweets, salty snacks, and desserts -- and that’s compared to a little over 12 percent on fruits and vegetables. 

All told, we’re eating 31 percent more calories than we were just 40 years ago –- and that’s including 56 percent more fats and oil and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners.  In fact, we now add sweeteners to all kinds of products in amounts unimaginable just a generation ago. 

So sometimes, when we buy the foods that our parents bought us, we don’t realize that they’re not always as healthy as they used to be.  And today, the average American is actually eating 15 more pounds of sugar compared to a year -- than they were back in 1970. 

So it’s just gotten to the point where we as parents know that things have gotten out of balance.  And we know that many of our kids aren’t as healthy and active as they should be.  And we desperately want to do the right things.  But we’re inundated with conflicting information.  Our kids sometimes are bombarded by ads for unhealthy products.  And many folks in this country are struggling to find foods that are both healthy for their kids but affordable for their families.    

And I know what that’s like, because I’ve been there.  Now, while today I have way more help and support than I could have ever imagined, I didn’t always live in the White House.  You remember.  I didn’t have all these resources.

And it wasn’t long ago that I was a working mom dashing from meetings and phone calls, ballet and soccer and whatever else.  I felt like it was a miracle just to get through the day and get everybody where they were supposed to be. 

So the last thing I had time to do was to stand in a grocery store aisle squinting at ingredients that I couldn’t pronounce to figure out whether something was healthy or not.  Like many busy parents, I was shopping primarily for convenience and cost.  I bought products that were pre-packaged, pre-cut, pre-cooked.  If it was “pre,” I was getting it -- (laughter) -- because I was looking for anything that was quick and easy to prepare and to consume.  And I was grateful for the time and the effort that I saved with these kinds of products. 

But I was also completely unaware that all that extra convenience sometimes made it just a little too easy for me to eat too much, for my kids to eat too much, and to eat too often.  And like so many families, my family fell into the habit of living that “grab-and-go” lifestyle, eating more and more between meals.  And slowly, all of those extra calories really just started to add up. 

Now, I’m not saying by any means that we should try to turn back the clock to how things were when we were kids, because those days are long gone.  And life is far more complicated these days. 

And I also know that we can’t solve this problem by passing a bunch of laws in Washington.  I’ve talked to a lot of experts about this issue, and not a single one has said that the solution is for the federal government to tell people what to do.

But what we can do is that we can help families make changes that fit with their budgets, with their schedules, with their needs, and with their tastes. 

What we can do is bring together all of us -- governors, mayors, doctors, nurses, businesses, non-profits, educators, parents, all of us -- to tackle this challenge once and for all. 

And what we can do is finally make this national public health threat a national priority.

And that’s why we launched “Let’s Move” –- a nationwide campaign to rally this country around a single and very ambitious goal:  to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation, so that kids born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.

With “Let’s Move,” we’re issuing a call to action.  We are telling everyone let’s move to give parents the information they need to make better decisions for their kids.  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.  And probably most importantly, let’s move to help our kids be more physically active -- both in and out of school.

But here’s the thing –- we can build shiny new supermarkets on every block, but we need those supermarkets to actually provide healthy options at prices people can afford.  And we can insist that our schools serve better food, but we need to actually produce that food.  And we can give parents all the information in the world, but they still won’t have time to untangle labels filled with 10-syllable words or do long division with these portion sizes.

And that’s really where all of you come in.  As you know, you all produce much of the food that our children eat –- and have marketed to them -- each day.  The decisions you make determine what’s in our grocery store shelves, what’s in our school lunches, and what’s in the thousands of advertisements our kids are exposed to each year.  And I know that many of you are undertaking efforts to significantly reformulate your products -– and I hope that the time will come when all of you are.

Many of you are also working to educate kids about good nutrition, and to limit advertisements for certain products to our children.  And I know that a number of you -- and I’ve met several of the committee -- have come together to create the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation to help address the issue of childhood obesity.  So there are so many good examples, wonderful examples, of folks beginning to move in the right direction.  It’s very exciting.

But 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 -- because a baby born today could be less than a decade away from showing the first signs of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, if he or she is obese as a child.  A recent study even found that three-year-olds who were obese already had one of the symptoms of heart disease.

So we need you all to step it up.  We all need to step up in this country.  This is a shared responsibility.  That’s why I’ve gone to parents and I’ve asked them to do their part.  They have a responsibility to watch what their kids eat and teach good habits.  I’ve asked medical professionals to do their part.  They have a responsibility to screen kids for obesity and help parents with these issues.  Educators have a responsibility to build healthy schools.  Governors and mayors have a responsibility to build healthy communities.  And all of you have a responsibility as well.

And 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.

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.

And I understand that this is easier said than done.  This doesn’t happen overnight.  We all know that human beings -- I, for one, know -- are hard-wired to crave sugary, fatty, salty foods.  And it is temping to take advantage of that –- to create products that are sweeter, richer, and saltier than ever before. 

But doing so doesn’t just respond to people’s natural inclinations -- it also actually helps to shape them.  And this can be particularly dangerous when it comes to our kids, because as all of you know, as parents, the more of these products they have in their diets, the more accustomed they become to those tastes, and then the more deeply embedded these foods become in their eating habits.

But here’s the good news:  It can also work the other way around as well.  Just as we can shape our children’s preferences for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods -- with a lot of persistence, we can also turn them on to high-quality, healthier foods as well.

But the only way we can do this is to work together.  And this needs to be a serious industry-wide commitment to providing the healthier foods parents are looking for at prices they can afford.

And again, I know these changes will not happen overnight.  It’s going to take a lot of tries to come up with products that are both healthy and still palatable for our kids.  And that may mean some real creativity and effort on your part. 

But what it doesn’t mean is taking out one problematic ingredient, only to replace it with another.  While decreasing fat is certainly a good thing, replacing it with sugar and salt isn’t.  And it doesn’t mean compensating for high amounts of problematic ingredients with small amounts of beneficial ones -- for example, adding a little bit of Vitamin C to a product with lots of sugar, or a gram of fiber to a product with tons of fat doesn’t suddenly make those products good for our kids.

This isn’t about finding creative ways to market products as healthy.  As you know, it’s about producing products that actually are healthy -- products that can help shape the health habits of an entire generation. 

It’s also about giving parents the information they need to make good decisions about purchasing those products.  A recent survey by the FDA shows that the vast majority of Americans rely on labels to help them decide what foods to buy.  But we know those labels aren’t always as helpful as they could be.  And it’s hard enough to figure out whether any one food item is healthy.  It’s even harder to compare items.  And folks just don’t have the time to line products up side by side and figure out whether these compare or not.  And they shouldn’t have to.  Parents shouldn’t need a magnifying glass and a calculator to make healthy choices for their kids.

That’s why, as Rick said, we need clear, consistent, front-of-the-package labels that give people the information they’ve been asking for, in a format that they understand.  And I am so pleased that you all have committed to working with the FDA to develop these labels.  We are so eager to hear your thoughts and ideas of getting this done right. 

And you know there’s absolutely no reason why we cannot find common ground on this issue.  This one’s a no-brainer, because this is the bare minimum we should do for our kids to help their parents make good choices.  And this fall the FDA is going to begin pursuing voluntary agreements from your companies, and I hope that all of you will join in on that effort.

But your role in helping address childhood obesity isn’t just limited to what you put in your products and how you label those products for parents.  It’s also about how you market those products to our kids.  Our kids didn’t learn about the latest sweets and snack foods on their own.  They hear about these products from advertisements on TV, the Internet, video games, schools, many other places.  And any parent knows this marketing is really effective.  We’ve all had to endure those impassioned pleas in the grocery store for one product or another.  Some of us have been treated to full-scale reenactments of TV commercials and jingles, word for word, right on key.  (Laughter.)

I was sharing with somebody -- I was talking to Sasha about who I was speaking to, and she said, “Who are these people?”  I said, “They make the food that we eat.”  “Oh, like Honey Nut Cheerios?  Part of a healthy breakfast?”  (Laughter.)  Like, all right, kid.

So this isn’t surprising when studies show that even a single commercial can impact a child’s brand preferences -- and that kids who see foods advertised on TV are significantly more likely to ask for them at the store.

So whatever we believe about personal responsibility and self-determination, I think we can all agree that it doesn’t apply to kids.

I think we can all agree that parents need more control over the products and messages their kids are exposed to.  Parents are working hard to provide a healthy diet and to teach healthy habits -- and we’d like to know that our efforts won’t be undermined every time our children turn on the TV or see a flashy display in a store.

Again, I know many of you have voluntarily committed to limit your marketing to children, which is a step in the right direction, an important step.  And I hope that those of you who haven’t will think about doing so as well.

But we also have to be honest.  Even with this commitment, a study found that last year, while there were fewer food ads in children’s programming, more than 70 percent of foods marketed to kids were still among the least healthy, with less than 1 percent being among the most healthy.

And in the face of these statistics, we have to ask ourselves, are we really making sufficient progress here?  Are we doing everything that we can to secure the health and future of our kids?

So today 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.  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?  In other words, which products are you really selling?  And what kinds of messages are your advertisements sending? 

As a mom, I know it is my responsibility -- and no one else’s -- to raise my kids.  But what does it mean when so many parents are finding that their best efforts are undermined by an avalanche of advertisements aimed at their kids?  And what are these ads teaching kids about food and nutrition?  That it’s good to have salty, sugary food and snacks every day -- breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  That dessert is an everyday food? That it’s okay to eat unhealthy foods because they’re endorsed by the cartoon characters our children love and the celebrities our teenagers look up to? 

So let’s be clear, it’s not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren’t healthy.  It’s going to be so critical to increase marketing for foods that are healthy. 

And if there is anyone here who can sell food to our kids, it’s you.  You know what gets their attention.  You know what makes that lasting impression.  You know what gets them to drive their parents crazy in the grocery store.  And I’m here today to ask you to use that knowledge and that power to our kids’ advantage.  I’m asking you to actively promote healthy foods and healthy habits to our kids. 

And we know there’s a huge and growing market for these kind of foods.  I have yet to meet a single parent who doesn’t understand the threat of childhood obesity.  I’ve yet to meet a single parent who is not eager to buy healthier products. 

And this administration is committed to doing the same.  As we reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, we’re working to ensure that all food served in schools -- not just through the school meal program, but in a la carte lines and vending machines as well -- meets basic nutritional guidelines.  And we’re proposing a historic investment of $10 billion over the next 10 years to help fund these efforts.  And your support for this is going to make a huge difference in helping us get this done. 

We’re also putting our money where our mouth is with an initiative to provide fresher, healthier food in all federal government workplaces.  And to give you an idea of the scope of that, just think, there are 2.7 million federal employees working at thousands of sites all across this country.  This can have a huge impact.

But in the end, as First Lady, this isn’t just a policy issue for me.  This is a passion.  This is my mission.  I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition.

So if you all create the supply, we know there will be a demand.  And if you have any doubt about that, just look at what we did for the hula hoop.  (Laughter.)  I hula hooped.  (Laughter.)  The reality is that with so many people looking for healthier options, this isn’t just going to be a fad.  Hopefully, this is the future of food in this country. 

So I hope all of you will help support our efforts.  I hope that you’ll embrace this future, because really that’s what this industry has always done.  Just think back to the early part of the last century when food manufacturers helped pass the first major federal law establishing basic standards for our food, beverages, and drugs.  Back then, consumers had little protection against unscrupulous manufacturers who tainted their products with all sorts of chemicals and fillers.  When these abuses came to light, Congress responded, drafting the 1906 Food and Drug Act.  And instead of opposing that law and instead of viewing it as a threat, many manufacturers decided to embrace it. 

Companies like most of you that were already doing the right thing by making safe, quality products realized they stood to profit.  They also realized that increasing public trust and improving products all across the industry as a whole would benefit each of them individually. 

And today, with the issue of childhood obesity, we all face a similar opportunity.  And you face it not just as food industry leaders, but you face it as parents who love your kids and as citizens who love this nation.  And in the end, I am hopeful that you will choose to make the changes that we need not just because they’re good for your company, but because they’re good for our country. 

I know that you’ll do these things not just to fulfill your obligation to shareholders, but also because you have a sense of obligation to our children -- because the truth is, all of us are paying the cost of childhood obesity.  But the truth is also that we all will gain from addressing it once and for all. 

So I hope that all of you will do your part to give our kids the future they deserve.  I’m proud of what’s happened through this industry so far.  The work together that we’ve done has been tremendous.  All of you come to this with the right heart and the right vision and the right passion.  My only urging is that we move faster, we go farther together.  And I’m looking forward to working with you all in the months and years ahead. 

Thank you so much.  (Applause.)

END
12:04 P.M. EDT