Astounding

Perhaps what the economy needs is a big, stiff dose of caffeine?

That's a real latte made in Barakanalian homage, from Berlin, Germany. Too bad Press Secretary Gibbs recently announced that Bam doesn't drink coffee....

*Via the Art of Obama.

Michelle Obama, Oprah, And White House Pie

For the first time in nine years, Oprah appears with someone else on the cover of her fab rag O...and it just happens to be Michelle Obama.

The First Lady discusses all kinds of fun things in her interview with Oprah, but somehow what winds up as the centerpiece of Oprah's online preview of their chat is a foodie quote:

"And there's pie here, too," Mrs, Obama says of the White House. "The pie in the White House is dangerously good."

The President refers to White House pastry chef Bill Yosses as "The Crust Master," for those who aren't up to speed. Mrs. Obama and Oprah hit the news stands together on March 17.

Food Safety Whispers From Capitol Hill: Michael Osterholm To Be Named Head of FSIS--We've Got A Winner?

Q: Which best describes the longtime Washington policy advisor who may be named head of USDA's Food Safety And Inspection Service, according to Capitol Hill sources?

A. A proponent of food irradiation, whose favorite motto to create a safe food supply is "Zap The Crap"

B. The man with curious ties to Big AG/pharmaceutical giants

C. The global pandemics expert who views government destabilization as an economic opportunity for private sector contracts to be awarded

D. The man who thinks the current peanut butter product recall was a grave case of mass hysteria

E. Someone who encompasses all of the above

Yes, the correct answer is E. Go here for why the very busy Michael Osterholm is a fascinating choice to micromanage meat, poultry and eggs in the United States of America.

Tom Vilsack Says "Processed Apples," Senators Say "Appalling"

Guest post: Paula Crossfield reports on two Senators who are taking Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack to task for playing fast and loose with his banana and berries...

Newly minted US Senator and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and New York State Senator (and retired dairy farmer) Darrel Aubertine wrote Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack a letter on February 26th asking that the USDA re-evaluate what is considered “processed” for the food in the national school Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program (FFVP). No, these two senators are not lobbying for the Corn Refiners Association — they are pushing for local food. (Senator Gillibrand, in pic)

FFVP was created by the USDA in 2002 to allocate more fruits and vegetables, served as “snacks” outside the school lunch and breakfast programs, to students at lower-income schools all over the country. Thus the kids most at risk for obesity and diabetes get access to fruits and veggies.

One complication: Much of the fruits and vegetables served to students outside of the lunchroom will need minimal handling before getting into student hands, lest apples become baseballs. But cafeterias are not prepared time-wise, skill-wise or workman’s comp-wise for this endeavor, not to mention that cafeteria kitchens are at best giant reheating stations. So for the time being, to get the freshest food it is best to outsource the cutting and bagging to a local value-add facility or local producer, until we build better infrastructure and train our cafeteria ladies to cook.

The FFVP was continued by the 2008 Farm Bill, which allows a “geographic preference for the procurement of unprocessed, locally grown and raised agricultural products,” for school lunch, breakfast and snack programs, as long as a competitive price is maintained. But the Farm Bill also states that “de minimis handling and preparation might be necessary to present an agricultural product to a school food authority in a useable form.”

But as a part of Bush’s midnight regulations in January (when he and his cronies essentially trashed things further before heading out the door), his USDA Food and Nutrition Service re-defined what is considered “processed,” including that which is chopped, sliced or diced — effectively blocking fruits and vegetables from local sourcing, and from the hands of those who need real food the most.

Clearly Bush officials were taking liberties with the wording. From the Farm Bill:

The Managers do not intend that the Food and Nutrition Service interpret the term “unprocessed” literally, but rather intend that it be logically implemented. In specifying the term “unprocessed,” the Managers’ use of the term intends to preclude the use of geographic preference for agricultural products that have significant value added components.

Of course, we’re not talking about local Wonderbread or cheesedoodles here. Chopped apples, carrots, broccoli and their ilk, prepared nearby, will now lose this market share to the Big Ag processors simply because of wording.

From Gillibrand and Aubertine’s letter:

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program requires these snacks be served outside of standard school meal programs. Therefore, it is illogical to prohibit local produce as “processed” simply because it is in a form that can be served to students outside of the lunchroom.

Unlike most midnight regulations, this effort shouldn’t require a change of policy, but just a re-wording. So if it’s so simple, why hasn’t Vilsack responded? Maybe he would argue he has a lot on his plate. Time will tell if Vilsack can impress the Real Food Lobby (that’s you, eaters with a conscience everywhere) with decisions that improve our food system, or whether he’ll continue to bolster big business in food and entertainment.

Paula Crossfield is the managing editor of one of our fave blogs, Civil Eats. She is also a contributing producer at The Leonard Lopate Show on New York Public Radio where she focuses on food issues. She is currently developing a plan for an urban vegetable garden on her rooftop in Manhattan.

*More on why local is better here. Bam pic from Getty.

Barack As Marie Antoinette, Caking It On Up

As part of the ongoing Obama political commentary that somehow always involves food, cartoonist Mike Lester creates the commentary, above.

Novelist Catherine Delors sets the record straight on Marie Antoinette and cake here.

*Mike Lester, Rome News Tribune

Obamas Host Wednesday "Charm Offensive" Dinner at The White House: The Menu

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted about two hundred guests for dinner last night in the East Room at the White House, in what the press has dubbed a "charm offensive" to try to wrangle out-in-the-wilderness Republicans back into the fold to pass the President's $3.6 trillion budget proposal for next year.

Dem congressional committee heads and ranking Republicans (all of whom voted No on the Stim package) and their spouses, as well as Cabinet members attended. Press pool reporters were allowed in for the President's opening remarks and a flurry of we're-still-standing photos, so of course there are no official food shots (where's official photographer Pete Souza when you need him most?). But after herculean efforts, Ob Fo got the menu; as of this writing the White House website still has no info or pix posted. The Vice President's wife, Jill Biden, was listed as a hostess; that's her place setting, above.

Guests were seated at round tables with ten place settings. Among those at the Obama's head table: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (who managed to remain seated), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-KY), Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chair of the Senate Finance Committee. (Above: Waiters prep before the dinner)

During his remarks, the President called for the evening to be "a time out":

"...We're not always going to agree on everything, but given how hard so many of you are working on both sides of the aisle — day in, day out — we thought it was important for us to step back for a moment, remind ourselves that we have things in common," The President said.

"Family, friends, laughter — and hopefully we'll have a chance to appreciate each other a little bit, take a time-out before we dive back into the game," The President continued.

The President also added that the White House is a big place, and that he and the First Lady "get lonely." Two other White House Wednesdays have been held, but these were cocktail parties.

The Menu

Soup Course: Celery Soup

Appetizer: Wild Mushroom Crisps

Entree: Steelhead Salmon with Citrus sauce

Sides: Toasted Saffron Couscous Pearls, Crispy Spinach

Salad: Baby Iceburg Lettuce with Maytag Bleu Cheese and Yogurt Ranch Dressing

Dessert: Milk Chocolate Velvet Cake

Was that a questionable fish choice?* Although all pool reports cite the entree as Steelhead Salmon...most Steelhead Salmon is on endangered or threatened lists. So either the fish was very carefully sourced, or it was actually Steelhead trout, which is often confused with Steelhead Salmon. Pic above is detail of the centerpieces: White roses and white peonies with green apples.

Tablecloths were pale blue damask, and the plateware is the Clinton White House china.

Hijinks: Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner was bummed that his name card was spelled wrong, and he also re-arranged the seating at his table. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel laughingly warned nearby Republican Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), who has been a critic of Obama's spending plan: "Don't be a jerk." Although he probably said "Don't be a &%$#@ jerk." (In pic: Rahm and Senator Baucus)

*Update: After Ob Fo posted this, via the miracle that is the modern day version of playing telephone--Twitter--ABC's Brian Hartman got clarification of the Steelhead issue. He tweeted to Ob Fo that the White House told ABC's Sunlen Miller that the fish was "regular salmon" -- not endangered Steelhead. They "fear it was miswritten" on the menu.

And then a further clarification: "It was farm raised sustainable Steelhead salmon from British Columbia." Well, so much for the idea of "highlighting America's bounty" on White House menus (yes, there is laughter as this is being written), and a strict focus on local and regional. Plus it has to be said: Farmed salmon is generally a bad idea. See marine expert Casson Trenor's advice for a good White House fish policy here.

More pix: Below: Second Lady Jill Biden. Bottom: Tim Geithner takes a break before dinner to chat with Vikram Pandit, wink wink, bottom.

The press pool was dismissed at 7:54 after being allowed into the East Room at 7:20.

Photos from AP and Reuters.

Related: Common farm pesticides are deadly to Salmon, according to this new study.

Enter Charm: Heading Into The East Room For Dinner

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stroll into the East Room for White House Wednesdays.

This week, it was a dinner for congressional committee chairs and Cabinet members, rather than a cocktail party. Click here for the menu and full deets.

Yeah, Ob Fo has no idea "who" Mrs. Obama is wearing, but the long sleeves do seem revolutionary.

*AP photo

How Food Gets To The White House And How Food Gets To You: The Argument For Local Vs. National...With Peanut Butter As An Object Lesson

The White House is obviously not the average American house, since it has six floors that encompass 55,000 square feet of space, and sits on eighteen acres of lovely land. There are three kitchens, 35 bathrooms, and a sixteen-room Private Residence, as well as public rooms and office space. Of course Ob Fo is interested in what goes on in the kitchens, and with the arrival of The Obamas, the White House is getting far more transparent about formerly hush-hush activity...and that's a good thing. Recently, in mostly subtle ways, the message from the White House seems to be promoting local food and agriculture. Which is terrific, because the way food gets to most Americans is profoundly different from the way food gets to the White House, and we'd all be doing a lot better if the White House actually is a model for the rest of the country.

The FDA just released a new "simplified" graphic of the wild travels of peanut butter products--and salmonella--from Peanut Butter Corporation of America, and it's a good illustration of how most US food gets from the plow to the plate of the Average American:

There's a vast network of re-distribution points, in which food products change hands frequently. And the graphic doesn't even include how far imported foods travel, or how often it switches hands. The 2,850 peanut butter products now recalled from 200 different manufacturers make PCA "responsible" for the largest food recall in US history. Turns out, it's a pretty damning commentary about the dangers of industrialized food and agriculture consolidation.

And it stands in direct counterpoint to the very different path food takes to get to the lovely historic china plates at the White House. In a recent video interview while prepping for The Obama's first State Dinner in honor of the National Governors Association, White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford pointed out that relationships with local producers are key to the day-to-day food prep in the White House. She announced that food items are sourced from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, and said that White House kitchen staff visit producers at their farms, at farm stands and farmers markets. Former White House Chef Walter Scheib, who trained Chef Comerford, explained the food sourcing protocol in detail to Ob Fo previously, when we were chatting about food issues at the White House.

"There are no government contracts [for food]," Chef Scheib said. "All purchasing for the White House kitchen is done anonymously and randomly for security reasons. They [the Secret Service] don't want anyone to know where the food comes from. We bought from whomever we wanted to, and if anyone ever publicized that they were selling to us, we cut them off." (Chef Scheib, at the White House)

Chef Scheib said that like any well-run restaurant kitchen, the White House does comparison shop for the best value and the best ingredients, but this, too, is done anonymously.

So, anyone eating at the White House enjoys food that changes hands, say, twice, or three times at most. And the fact that the food is randomly sourced, with repeated changes in purveyors also helps food safety--there's no continuous purchasing from a single provider who might be repeatedly selling contaminated food. But the Average American gets food that changes hands about twelve times, possibly more. And the Average American can buy a whole range of products that contain a single, poisoned ingredient that originates with a single supplier. For instance, anyone who has an affection for Kellogg's products was gravely impacted in the peanut butter scandal, since Kellogg's got most of their peanuts from Peanut Butter Corporation of America. Yet switching brands wouldn't help, because more than 2o0 brands had the same contaminated ingredient.

There's also the fact that food that travels far has the chance of being contaminated at each point in the distribution and processing chain, even if it's fine when first produced. This can happen in a variety of somewhat unimaginable ways: Improper storage, or exposure to animals and their feces (rats and birds, in the case of the peanuts; wild boars and deer with other foods), or the presence of insects, or airborne/handborne pathogens, or sewage run off, or "something" toxic stored in the transport truck, or "something" toxic having been previously housed in a storage bin for food, or "something" toxic like mold or rainwater dripping off a ceiling, or pathogen-infected condensation inside a refrigerator, or frogs jumping into a jumbo vat of juice, or "something" toxic off-gassing on to the food. All of these, BTW, are how recent American foodborne illness outbreaks have occurred.

World renowned food safety expert Bill Marler (who's also currently on the short list to be the head of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service) is a big advocate of re-localizing the food supply.

"Consolidation is simply bad for food safety," Mr. Marler said in a recent chat with Ob Fo. "The peanut butter outbreak points to that. Having a single plant be able to poison the entire country speaks to the need for a regional model for food production. If you have food being sold much closer to where it originates, you take entire geographic areas out of a poisoning scenario."

Mr. Marler also has another interesting take on the idea of local. He's calling for a new focus on local first responders as a way of intensifying food safety efforts.

"The awareness of emergency room personnel, health departments, and family doctors will go far to stopping foodborne illness outbreaks before they spread," Mr. Marler said. "Local is good across the board."

Localizing food is also about nutrition. Food that travels a shorter distance and is served in a form that is least processed contains more of its original nutrient value, in addition to having a better chance of not being contaminated.

So eating local these days is not, as environmental enthusiasts would have us believe, primarily about reducing the carbon footprint of food. Re-localizing food production and reducing the steps in the processing and distribution chain would go a long way toward tamping down the now incredibly high frequency of foodborne disease outbreaks, as well as ensuring more healthful food for all Americans, which is a goal that our very bizzy Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, keeps stressing. The White House kitchen, happily, is usually outside the chain of nationally-sourced terror, thanks to their local focus, and all of America would be better off if this was the model for both eating and agriculture production. And now, the White House seems to be promoting the idea of local, at least in a subtle way. Chef Comerford stressed local in her statements on the State Dinner video chat, although she was, as is White House policy, serving a dinner that highlighted foods from around the US (though of course this was carefully sourced). And of all the possible pull quotes from the video chat that could've appeared on the White House blog, the one that was chosen is Michelle Obama lauding local food. She discussed french fries and pastry onscreen, but it's very interesting that a "fresh local" quote appears on the WH blog. And whether or not the USDA's People's Garden project actually ever happens, Michelle went on the record that growin' your own is something she supports--and there's simply nothing more local than that. Clearly, the "go local" rhetoric of the sustainable/organic world is having an impact at the White House, at least on some level.

The argument in favor of local has never been more timely. It'd help food safety issues, which have now wandered back in to the wilderness of inattention following the fireworks at the congressional food safety hearing of three weeks ago. And Barack's newest food fight--swapping bloated farm subsidy cash into children's nutrition programs--would benefit from a local focus, too. Localizing USDA-funded school lunch programs would be a great way to ensure that kids get the most nutritious food with the least chance of contamination (yep, contaminated peanut butter was found in school lunch programs). The founders of Food Democracy Now!, a sustainable ag advocacy group, met with Bizzy Sec V last week to discuss just such an excellent project. Bizzy V apparently took their platform seriously. And just to remind--Malia and Sasha Obama attend a school that has a model, locally sourced lunch program--yep, they live in a house that's different from all other American houses, and their school lunch program is dramatically different, too. But it's a terrific model the rest of the country would benefit from. Lastly, local food and ag is also a terrific way to stimulate the economy. Relying on smaller producers in multiple regions injects stimulus cash where it's needed most--at the local level. If more people are buying from more smaller producers, there simply isn't a better immediate economic boost, particularly since food spending has dropped rapidly in the last year. A focus on local food and ag around the country would be terrific for all eaters--er, Americans. It's already terrific at the White House.

*There have been 666 verified illnesses and 9 deaths in 45 states (with numbers of unreported illness estimated at between 20 and 40 people for every verified illness) from the PCA recall, even though PCA accounts for about one percent of peanut distribution in the US.

*The C SPAN video of Michelle Obama's White House kitchen visit is here. The White House's transcription of the Kitchen Chat is here. Bill Marler writes Marler Blog, the best food safety resource on the internet. Walter Scheib blogs here, at The American Chef. The lovely First Family Cake is from the Ashland, Virginia bakery A Slice of Grace.

Barack Obama in Skittles

The folks who make Skittles candies have been getting a lot of press lately because they ditched the content on their official website in favor of just having a Twitter feed, Facebook postings, and open threads, realizing that users could generate better content than their own marketing people. Their "Interweb The Rainbow" project is gettin' lots of play. #Skittles has been lighting up the Tweetsphere for the last three days.

Skittles, for those not in the know, are small hard candies that come in a variety of fruity flavors and colors, and there are tons of Skittles obsessives. Limited release colors and holiday offerings tend to amp up the mania. Chocolate flavored Skittles exist, but are generally dissed by the fruit-flavored fans.

Kim at Enchanted Garbage Can created the lovely Skittles Obama portrait, above, to celebrate Bam's Inauguration. It was sent in by George M., an Ob Fo fan who for some reason also follows the Ob Fo Tweetstream, but doesn't tweet hmself. C'mon, George, get in the game.

Obama Foodorama's Parcel Post: Gordon Brown, Prime Minister & Master Chef

British Prime Minister Gordon Bown is the first European leader to come to Washington to visit Barack, and in addition to bringing swell ideas on a new global economy, the PM is also bringing a now-famous recipe.

The lib PM has a delightful dish, Vegetable and Mozzarella Parcels, featured in the new Saints and Celebs Cookbook, just published by All Saints Parish Church in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. And just like Bam, the PM is all about community service: Proceeds from the book will be used to develop church buildings and facilities. All Saints Congregants Sybil Mussell and Dorothy Tinkler gathered up all the Brit luminaries they could find to donate recipes, and the lovely tome features 97 dishes by famous Brits most Americans have never heard of, including Sir Cliff Richard, Dickie Bird, Terry Wogan, Jonathan Dimbleby, The Duchess of Devonshire, Jilly Cooper, and Gervaise Phinn. (In pic: Brown's Parcels...)

The recipe is super easy--apparently Gordon Brown doesn't share an enthusiasm for the kind of complex creations made by that other Brit cookin' Gordon--and Ob Fo is positive White House Chef Cristeta Comerford will work it into her rotation, somehow. Using only local and organic ingredients, of course (wink wink wink). The recipe below is printed as it appears in the book, so here's a little decoder: Courgette is zucchini, and tomato passata is whizzed-up cooked tomatoes (like the kind you get in cans). You can figure out the maths calc yourself. Enjoy before the world economic crisis deepens, and you can no longer afford buffalo mozzarella or pre-made Filo dough.

Gordon Brown's Vegetable and Mozarella Parcels

Ingredients:

1 packet Filo pastry
Olive oil
1 crushed clove of garlic
1 courgette
1 of each colour of pepper
1 red onion
250g mushrooms
8 cherry tomatoes
2 sprigs of basil
200ml tomato passata sauce
1 buffalo mozzarella

Method:

1. Cut all the vegetables into small pieces.

2. Cook the onion, peppers and courgette in olive oil with the garlic until soft. Add cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir in enough of the tomato passata to bind.

3. Leave to cool, add basil and torn pieces of mozzarella.

4. Lay out Filo pastry in two layers (brushed with a little oil or melted butter between) and cut into squares. Place a portion of the mixture in centre of each square and fold into parcels.

5. Brush with a little oil or melted butter and bake in a hot oven at 180C until golden.

Serve with a little of the tomato sauce, either on your Shepard Fairey Obama china or your awesome Lincoln china.

*Recipe pic from the UK Daily Mail, which pub'd the recipe too; Barack and Gordon Brown pic from Reuters, shot earlier today. *Thanks to Fran A. for the passata advice

No Obama Java For President Obama

Robert Gibbs, the bespectacled stuttering fellow who is the President's Press Secretary (and who might also be a lost, secret member of The Bee Gees three decades on), just announced to White House pool reporters that The President doesn't drink coffee. Which is being gleefully published everywhere, even though British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has just landed in Washington, and you'd think there'd be far more meaty info coming out of the pool reports. Oh wait, there is. Camera crews are gathering on the North Lawn! Look for the Coffee Lobby to ask for an apology tomorrow.

Apparently The President is not a fan of Alexander Pope, who famously wrote:

Coffee makes the politician wise, able to see through all things with his half-shut eyes.

Barack Obama, He's Like Buttah--Er, Margarine

The number of celebratory foods created in Barack's honor are matched in equal part by the number of foods that have been created to be satirical and or/critical of his policies, and these are usually wildly funny. The pic above, Obamargarine, is from Ob Fo's new favorite blog, Eat me daily. It was part of a skit last night on Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report. The slogan for the commemorative butter substitute: Yes, I can't believe that we elected a black president, and also that it's not butter!

Bam has been memorialized in butter products before; there's the homage in dairy Butter Obama, and there's also Wealthspread, a little bit o' anti-taxation brilliance (below) that appeared during Election Season. The slogan: Butter it up with Wealth and spread it around like you earned it!










*Top Pic from Eat me daily; bottom pic from Midnightcoupe.

Vilsack On The Attack: Hungry Children Vs. High On The Hog Farmers

In one of the few Tom Vilsack maneuvers that doesn't warrant snark, our fave Ag Secretary is now directly reffing the debate about ending bloated subsidy payments to high-income crop growers as Starving Kids vs. Stuffed Farmers. It's a brilliant political maneuver that makes the Big Ag Lobby look like jackasses if they try to protest. It pulls on America's collective heartstrings. After speaking with hunger activists yesterday about the Obama administration's plan to redirect subsidy payments for large farmers into nutrition programs as a way to help end hunger by 2015, Vilsack told Reuters:

"We will do our best to frame this discussion..so that people understand: 30 million children, 90,000 farmers...It is a tough choice, but it's a choice that folks are going to have to make."

Farm groups and Capitol Hill pork enthusiasts are already protesting ending subsidy payments; Barack's plan to trim the budget deficit includes phasing out direct payments to farmers with sales of more than $500,000 a year, to save $9.8 billion over 10 years, or roughly one-fifth of the $5.2 billion spent annually on the payments. About 31 million people a month receive help to buy groceries from the U.S. Agriculture Department through the SNAP program (foodstamps), and about 32 million kids eat lunch each day through the school lunch program. Still, the program is regarded as underfunded by those who work on child nutrition and hunger issues.

"I have never known hunger, but 36 million Americans do," Vilsack told Reuters, because apparently he likes to ref his eating disorder on a daily basis.

Oops, Ob Fo got snarky. Still, Vilsack has been trumpeting the healthy eating horn since becoming Ag Secretary; one of his first moves after ascending the Ag throne was to release a symbolic $3.2 million "crop block" payment for fruits and vegetables. A tiny sum, comparatively, but with good intentions. And if the nationally sponsored school lunch program was actually nutritious, and re-focused on locally grown foods and regional providers, America's Youth might be in swell shape. Certainly Visack has no lack of brilliant professionals who want to help him re-organize the entire school lunch program. And we don't mean Alice Waters.

Yet it has to be asked: If Bizzy V is making healthy eating and child nutrition one of his primary interests at USDA, what is up with the bizarre partnership he's got going on with Disney? It undermines his credibility to take such a mis-step. But it sure makes for a good show....

Barack's Latest Foodie Gift: The Zulu Coconut

Hot off the wires--er--from Politico: Today, Bam was presented with a specially inscribed coconut from Charles E. Hamilton, Jr., the president of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, the foremost Mardi Gras krewe in New Orleans, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year.

Anne Schroeder Mullins reports that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La) escorted the Zulu president personally to the White House to present the gift to Bam. What Mullins doesn't mention? Michelle's Social Secretary, Desirée Rogers, is a former two-time Zulu Queen, from waaaay back in the days when she was a civic-minded NoLa hottie. Now Desirée is simply #5 five on Gawker's list of Obama Hotties; the foul mouthed & delish Rahm enjoys the #1 position, though by all accounts Desirée is fast becoming the social queen of Washington. But her former Zulu queenage in NoLA is why prez Hamilton got face time with Bam today, even if it was just five seconds for the coconut toss.

*Pic is Sen. Landrieu and Zulu President Hamilton

The Farm Subsidy "War" Has Started, As Farmers With Sales Above Half A Million Bucks Insist On Their Own Share Of Pork

Barack's promise to "end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don't need them" as part of trimming trillions of dollars from the US budget deficit has caused an outpouring of wrath among farmers and farm policy politcos. Keep in mind that Bam is referring to stopping the government cash-dump to farmers who enjoy more than $500,000 in sales annually. In sales. We're not talking about financial holdings that include land or equipment or livestock or seeds or or or...we're talking half a mil in sales. Yes, correct, high-income earning farmers have been getting "free" government money for years. Why? Well, because their elected representatives got elected specifically to ensure that the porky cash keeps on flowin'.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is one of these government-cash-happy elected reps, and he recently defended the subsidies when talking with reporter Phil Brasher of The Des Moines Register.

"I'm a farmer, and I know that gross income or sales revenue does not reflect your ability to pay," Senator Grassley said. "Just because I sell a lot of corn doesn't mean that my input costs to grow that corn weren't even higher."

Rilly, Senator Grassley? Maybe you're doing something wrong? Maybe you need a refresher course in Farm Capitalism 101, in which profit is determined after "input costs" are paid, not determined based on cash handed over by the government? Because isn't government subsidization of Big Ag--what, Communism? Socialism? Ridiculous? But there's a long history of it here in America. Our current ag system is built on it. And just to keep things in perspective, there are plenty of ethical, sustainability minded ag policy experts who have repeatedly called for a cap on unlimited subsides, because these are detrimental to small farming operations. Perhaps it's time to throw a Tea Party just for Big Ag? Corn Tea, anyone? (Pic is a Barack corn maze from Tennessee)

In the same Brasher news story, Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation was far more ominous in his pronouncement on Barack's plans to cut subsidies:

"The war has started," Mr. Stallman said.

Ob Fo supposes he means the ploughshares into swords thing. Mr. Stallman said that subsidy cuts "ignore the realities" of modern US agriculture (um, yes, the reality that farmers who own a lot of land and equipment--let's call them corporations--get jumbo bucks from the government....). Other farm state lobbysists, Reps and some Dems are also against Bam's plan, but that doesn't mean it ain't gonna happen.

Barack's proposed 2010 budget will, if all the ag-state screaming doesn't deafen him, phase out the annual payments, and instead re-allocate the money to child nutrition and conservation programs--both of which are covered under the USDA's (shockingly) broad mandate. Tom Vilsack, our very bizzy (and possibly black!) Secretary of Agriculture, stressed this re-allocation on February 26, when speaking at the 2009 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Do read all of Bizzy V's remarks to the end, because he manages to throw in an awesome tale of a dead helicopter pilot as some kind of bassackward reason for why farmers are important. It's classic Vilsack.

*Corn maze from Tennessee; Porky image from No Sheeples Here

Obama Fishorama: Casson Trenor On Saving The Oceans, One Bite At A Time

President Obama's affection for eating fish--and particularly sushi--is well documented. Guest blogger Casson Trenor, a marine stewardship expert and author of "Sustainable Sushi," gives advice to The Eater in Chief--and all American eaters--on the best approach to consuming fish responsibly as a big step toward saving the oceans. Rather than grass-roots change, it's sea-weed change that can happen immediately. Trenor writes:

After eight long years of biting our tongues and shaking our fists in the general direction of the White House, there’s finally someone in charge who seems to genuinely desire to heal the planet, and we cannot afford to waste this opportunity. Personally, I want to talk about our ailing oceans, and more specifically, what our insane lust for sushi is doing to them.

The sushi industry is a real problem. We’re slurping up the very life force of the ocean far too quickly, devouring its soul in our quest for the ultimate meal. With scientists across the globe clamoring about depleted fish stocks, disease-ridden fish farms, and merciless fish restaurants, we can’t afford to ignore it anymore. The oceans are dying. There are countless challenges awaiting us in the next four years, but below are a few that we can tackle without ever having to leave the kitchen; it will turn this whole thing around and save not just the oceans, but the sushi industry as well.

Step One: No Farmed Salmon
Farmed salmon is a nightmare. In Canada, the parasites leaking out of these facilities are devastating the native salmon runs that are the cultural heritage of our northern neighbors. In Chile, countless stories about workers rights’ continue to surface among the murky waters of these farming operations. And in Europe, salmon farmers assassinate any seal that dares to approach the borders of their little aquatic fiefdoms.

Americans are blessed with the incredible legacy of five distinct species of wild salmon. The Alaskans have worked extremely diligently to manage their stocks and keep salmon populations strong for the rest of us. They provide healthy and environmentally friendly salmon products that swim rings around their farmed counterparts. So skip the Atlantic salmon fillet when you go out for dinner. Stock your freezer with sockeye fillets and smoked Coho. It will help, I promise.

Step Two: Buy American
I’m not talking about protectionism or nationalistic boasting. This is an objective statement based on the current condition of our oceans and the oversight of our world’s fisheries. Not only are American fishery management methods generally more effective than those of many other countries, but we now have an administration capable of making them even stronger! And that’s what this is all about. So let’s bolster American fisheries. Fix the remaining holes in US fishery management. Strengthen the Magnusson-Stevens Act, add new levels of accountability and traceability, and push harder on COOL labeling laws. Support American fishermen, and eat American fish.

Step Three: Save the Bluefin Tuna
Without a doubt, the number one item on a sushi connoisseur’s list is Bluefin tuna belly. This delight of hedonists across the globe has caused more than one sushi-goer to fall off their bar stool from an overdose of unadulterated bliss. It’s fantastic stuff… and now I’m going to ask you not to eat it.

Bluefin tuna is being wiped off the face of the planet. Continual failure to properly steward this resource on an international level has left the Bluefin similar to a crippled gazelle locked in a room with a dozen starving hyenas. Price tags that can exceed $100,000 per fish put Bluefin stocks under pressures that would turn the coal mines of Appalachia into one enormous diamond.

Bluefin is a key species for the continual health of the oceans. We need to rebuild Bluefin populations and restore this majestic giant to a status where it can be properly managed. So please – don’t eat it. Rather, we need to explore the possibility of protecting this animal under CITES or other international agreements designed to save the living jewels of the planet from those who would plunder and horde. This fish belongs in the ocean, not slashed into two-inch strips to be gobbled up by the greedy and thoughtless.

If we save the fish, we can save the planet.


Casson Trenor is a fisheries expert currently residing in San Francisco, CA. Mr. Trenor speaks five languages and has done marine research in more than forty countries; he holds an MA in International Environmental Policy from the prestigious Monterey Institute of International Studies. Mr. Trenor is the "sustainability guru" for Tataki restaurant in San Francisco, the first sustainable sushi restaurant in America, and the author of the just-released Sustainable Sushi: A Guide to Saving The Oceans One Bite At A Time from North Atlantic books; click here to order your own excellent copy.

*Related: The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has released a document calling for more farmed fishing, which is causing outrage among environmentalists. A global aquaculture and fisheries map is here.

*Photo at top of post is Mr. Trenor, Obamaicon'd. Yes We Carp graphic by Chinook Design, Inc.

Lying, Smoking, Drinking, Big Ag: Why The Disney-USDA Partnership For "Healthy Eating" Is A Dangerous Alliance

Our very bizzy Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has partnered with the Disney corporation to use the characters from Pinocchio to promote the USDA's Food Pyramid, as part of his goal to reduce childhood obesity in America. New television, radio, print, outdoor, and online ads have been created by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment to remind families of the value of healthy eating and exercise. But Bizzy V's trip to Fairytale Village is one of his more misguided policy plans. (Yes, that's Ag Secretary Vilsack in the pic, in a private moment...)

It's almost difficult to choose which one is the worst of the monster problems with the Disney/USDA partnership. First, there's a terrible problem with Pinocchio in general. As a film, Pinocchio is a bizarre acid trip with a wildly complicated and disturbing subtext, more a prettily drawn nightmare than anything else. It's a violent tale of man-boy love that involves a singin' & dancin' cricket, a murderous whale, a goldfish, a mute cat, a fairy, and a Coachman who lures little boys to Pleasure Island. The lead character, Pinocchio, is literally a spineless creature devoid of all moral fiber who is repeatedly drawn into all manner of excruciating situations in which he always makes the wrong choice. And Pleasure Island is filled with "real" boys who are gambling, smokin,' drinkin' and committing acts of vandalism. They're eventually turned into donkeys who go to work in salt mines. When it debuted in 1940, Pinocchio became enormously popular primarily for its then-astonishing technical brilliance in animation, rather than because it was a bracing tale of redemption and love.

From a contemporary standpoint, Pinocchio has little to offer children in terms of life lessons--and it certainly offers no lessons about food (unless being swallowed by a whale somehow qualifies...). And as a role-model character for children to identify with, Pinocchio is just bad, bad, bad throughout the flick. So it just has to be asked: Why choose a lying, naughty puppet to attempt to get children to eat more healthfully? What kind of whack message does this send? And here's another excellent point: Pinocchio dies in the Disney film. He doesn't turn into a Real Boy because he eats healthy food, he dies. He's brought back to life as a Real Boy by the Blue Fairy. There's no food involved. Hey, where's the Religious Right when you need 'em?

Second, direct marketing anything to children with storybook/film/TV characters has been the subject of grave debate for at least a decade. Many studies have pointed to the deleterious effects of consumerism on children, and the long and continuing association of popular/animated characters with unhealthful foods is gradually being phased out by forward-thinking corporations that have responded to parents' demands. The Disney company itself dropped McDonald's from its character-food partnerships last year. Is it really wise to renew the use of characters to promote any kind of eating? And this "policy" also goes against Ag Secretary Vilsack's own statements that food should be regarded as energy. If food is energy and thus utilitarian, what's wrong with teaching about food as food? Why do we need naughty animated characters to get in on the act? Why do we need to romanticize food at all? Most children know so little about food in general--how it's grown, how it's prepared--that adding in twisted animated characters seems like an exceptionally perverted way to get this point across. But maybe Vilsack has other goals here. Vilsack's nomination as Secretary of Agriculture was hotly protested by all those who worried about his deep connections to Big Ag and industrialized corporate food giants, in particular Monsanto. How much of Disney's food at their theme parks and resorts is sourced from Big Ag giants like Monsanto and Dupont, Cargill or Archer Daniels Midland? How much of Disney's food is processed, laden with pesticides, non-sustainable, or genetically engineered? Partnering the USDA with Disney gives both sides a free pass to continue to explore and exploit least-favorable food and ag practices, doesn't it? All under the guise of healthy eating for children, of course.

Third, the Food Pyramid as the best model for healthy eating is still the subject of great debate. The government recently flipped the pyramid on its side and added an exercise element to it after years of criticism, to account for the fact that the pyramid just ain't that great. In comparison to the government sponsored food advisories in other countries, the US falls very short. But perhaps a lying puppet can promote exercise, too? Or maybe the Blue Fairy? She flies around a lot.... And, too, there are at least twelve different versions of the US Pyramid in existence, which are based on regional, socioeconomic and cultural differences. Is a lying white boy puppet really the right character to reach the children most at risk for obesity about healthy eating, if we put aside the very idea that the film this campaign is based on is entirely morally bankrupt?

Lastly...Bizzy V is privileged to be the Ag Secretary for the most scrutinized eater on the planet, so what's wrong with Brand Obama? Not Obama-shaped cookies, necessarily, but the idea that what The Obamas eat can have a positive impact on the rest of the country. And while there are all kinds of reasons that much of the Obamas' private eating should remain private, a single photo of Barack and Michelle holding fresh veggies would go much further than Pinocchio characters promoting "healthy" eating. Brand Obama has caused a huge bump in the sale of American products around the globe, and we know school kids loooove Bam and Michelle.... It's a far better idea than using animated characters from a questionable fictional source.

Very happily for both Bizzy V and Disney, March 10 just happens to be the 70th anniversary of the animated film version of Pinocchio, so both sides of the devil's partnership get lots of excellent publicity; the movie is being released on new tek platforms next week, so look for a flood of Pinocchio-related hysteria. As ever, Bizzy V continues to disturb and delight Ob Fo, but the partnership of Disney with USDA is more dangerous than it is hilarious. An excellent line from the film, uttered by The Coachman, could apply to Bizzy V: Give a bad boy enough rope, and he'll soon make a jackass of himself. Policies like the Food Pyramid/USDA partnership are the worst kind of jackholedom.

*A little film that's even more scary than Pinocchio: From Freedom Underground, a brief history of Vilsack & Agribusiness. Narrator Jack Blood gravely dislikes Barack, but everything onscreen about Vilsack is true. Click here to watch.

*H/T to Bonnie at The Ethicurean and Jill Richardson at La Vida Locavore for ongoing inspiration...