Post by hasset on Jun 19, 2009 11:01:24 GMT -6
(Political Gardening of MEchelle Obama)
Organic nags: Michelle Obama, Marian Burros
June 17, 2009 (Junk Science report June 17, 2009 Steve Milloy)
Marian Burros, the New York Times¹ fossilized, elitist, organic food nag,
today tried to lampoon the crop protection industry and the American Council
on Science and Health (ACSH) in a Politico.com article for defending
conventionally produced food from Michelle Obama¹s air-headed slander.
In a letter to the White House defending its products against the First
Lady¹s aspersions concerning their safety, the Mid-America CropLife
Association referred to the pesticides and herbicides as ³crop protection
products² ‹ a ³euphemism,² according to Burros.
To the extent ³crop protection products² is a euphemism, it¹s a necessary
one given that Burros and her ilk have spent the last 40 years publicly
denigrating perfectly safe pesticides, feriltizers and other chemicals as
dangerous. There is no evidence that any legally applied pesticide has ever
harmed anyone.
Let¹s keep in mind that it is only through ³crop protection products,²
conventional farming, and pesticides and herbicides ‹ whatever name you want
to use ‹ that Western farmers have been able to supply the food that the
burgeoning world¹s population so desperately needs. In contrast, none of the
food policies that Marian Burros advocates could come close to accomplishing
what U.S. farmers have through the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
Next, Burros tries to lampoon ACSH¹s Jeff Stier because Stier said in an
interview on Comedy Central¹s The Daily Show that if only organic food were
produced, obesity and starvation would increase.
³Starvation and obesity simultaneously,² was Burros¹ snarky comment.
Stier was right, of course, and Burros was, once again, way off base. If we
only produced organic products, we¹d have less and more expensive food.
Organic products necessarily take up more land and require more inputs
(water, fertilizer and labor) ‹ and then run the risk of being wiped out by
pests.
In the U.S., people wouldn¹t starve but, to save money, their diets would
shift toward less expensive, but more calorie-dense processed foods ‹
leading to more obesity. In the rest of the world, the reduced production of
food could very well lead to shortages and starvation.
Dumber/more dishonest (take your pick) than Burros is Michelle Obama, whose
political gardening at the White House this blog has noted previously.
At yesterday¹s Harvest Party for the politically exploited local school
children, Michelle Obama continually showcased how ill-prepared she is to
pontificate on diet and health (my comments in bold):
Obama: ³Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high-blood pressure are all
diet-related health issues that cost this country more than $120 billion
each year.² [This is an absolutely made-up figure. There is no evidence that
diet alone is responsible for the alleged conditions and cost.]
Obama: ³Nearly a third of the children in this country are either overweight
or obeseŠ² [Wrong. CDC says the figure is about 17%]
Obama: ³Šand a third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their
lifetime.² [Less than 8% of Americans have diabetes, according to the NIH.]
Obama: ³In Hispanic and African American communities, those numbers climb
even higher so that nearly half of the children in those communities will
suffer the same fate.² [False. The figures for minorities are generally
significantly less than twice that of white children.]
Obama: ³And for the first time in the history of our nation, a nation that
is one of the wealthiest on the planet, medical experts have warned that our
younger generation may be on track to have a shorter life span than their
parents as a direct result of the obesity epidemic.² [There is no basis in
fact for this dire prediction.]
Obama: ³So how did we get here? How did we get in this position where we
have become such an unhealthy nation, and our children are at risk?²
[Ridiculous. As a whole, the U.S. is not unhealthy and neither are its
children. More Americans are living longer than ever before.]
Obama: ³And the fact is there are a lot of factors, but some of the more
simple ones are that too many kids are consuming high-calorie food with low
nutritional valueŠ² [Obama served cupcakes to the children at the event.]
Obama: ³Well, I¹ve learned that if [food is] fresh and grown locally, it¹s
probably going to taste better. [About locally produced food, should
Washington, DC children be denied, say, Florida orange juice because it¹s
not local? Does Obama plan to construct a White House Orange Grove?]
Obama: ³But unfortunately, for too many families, limited access to healthy
fruits and vegetables is often a barrier to a healthier diet.² [This is
typically due to their expense, especially when they¹re locally grown and/or
organic.]
Obama: ³In so many of our communities, particularly in poorer and more
isolated communities, fresh, healthy food is simply out of reach. With few
grocery stores in their neighborhoods, residents are forced to rely on
convenience stores, fast food restaurants, liquor stores, drug stores and
even gas stations for their groceries.² [Poverty is the root problem, not
fruit/vegetable availability.]
Obama: ³And I want you guys to continue to be my little ambassadors in your
own homes and in your own communities, because there are kids who are going
to watch this. They¹re going to watch this on TV, they¹re going to read a
report about it or maybe their parents will read a report, and they¹re going
to see through you just how easy it is for kids to think differently about
food. And you¹re going to help a lot of people.² [Yeah, you're going to help
a lot of fast food, processed food, food transportation and food retail
employees out of work for no good reason.]
Marian Burros should be put to an organic pasture where she can chew her
crud. As for Michelle Obama, it makes you long for the days of Bess Truman
when the First Lady was hardly ever seen and much less heard from.
greenhellblog.com/2009/06/17/marion-burros-is-her-last-name-a-euphemi
sm/
Organic nags: Michelle Obama, Marian Burros
June 17, 2009 (Junk Science report June 17, 2009 Steve Milloy)
Marian Burros, the New York Times¹ fossilized, elitist, organic food nag,
today tried to lampoon the crop protection industry and the American Council
on Science and Health (ACSH) in a Politico.com article for defending
conventionally produced food from Michelle Obama¹s air-headed slander.
In a letter to the White House defending its products against the First
Lady¹s aspersions concerning their safety, the Mid-America CropLife
Association referred to the pesticides and herbicides as ³crop protection
products² ‹ a ³euphemism,² according to Burros.
To the extent ³crop protection products² is a euphemism, it¹s a necessary
one given that Burros and her ilk have spent the last 40 years publicly
denigrating perfectly safe pesticides, feriltizers and other chemicals as
dangerous. There is no evidence that any legally applied pesticide has ever
harmed anyone.
Let¹s keep in mind that it is only through ³crop protection products,²
conventional farming, and pesticides and herbicides ‹ whatever name you want
to use ‹ that Western farmers have been able to supply the food that the
burgeoning world¹s population so desperately needs. In contrast, none of the
food policies that Marian Burros advocates could come close to accomplishing
what U.S. farmers have through the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
Next, Burros tries to lampoon ACSH¹s Jeff Stier because Stier said in an
interview on Comedy Central¹s The Daily Show that if only organic food were
produced, obesity and starvation would increase.
³Starvation and obesity simultaneously,² was Burros¹ snarky comment.
Stier was right, of course, and Burros was, once again, way off base. If we
only produced organic products, we¹d have less and more expensive food.
Organic products necessarily take up more land and require more inputs
(water, fertilizer and labor) ‹ and then run the risk of being wiped out by
pests.
In the U.S., people wouldn¹t starve but, to save money, their diets would
shift toward less expensive, but more calorie-dense processed foods ‹
leading to more obesity. In the rest of the world, the reduced production of
food could very well lead to shortages and starvation.
Dumber/more dishonest (take your pick) than Burros is Michelle Obama, whose
political gardening at the White House this blog has noted previously.
At yesterday¹s Harvest Party for the politically exploited local school
children, Michelle Obama continually showcased how ill-prepared she is to
pontificate on diet and health (my comments in bold):
Obama: ³Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high-blood pressure are all
diet-related health issues that cost this country more than $120 billion
each year.² [This is an absolutely made-up figure. There is no evidence that
diet alone is responsible for the alleged conditions and cost.]
Obama: ³Nearly a third of the children in this country are either overweight
or obeseŠ² [Wrong. CDC says the figure is about 17%]
Obama: ³Šand a third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their
lifetime.² [Less than 8% of Americans have diabetes, according to the NIH.]
Obama: ³In Hispanic and African American communities, those numbers climb
even higher so that nearly half of the children in those communities will
suffer the same fate.² [False. The figures for minorities are generally
significantly less than twice that of white children.]
Obama: ³And for the first time in the history of our nation, a nation that
is one of the wealthiest on the planet, medical experts have warned that our
younger generation may be on track to have a shorter life span than their
parents as a direct result of the obesity epidemic.² [There is no basis in
fact for this dire prediction.]
Obama: ³So how did we get here? How did we get in this position where we
have become such an unhealthy nation, and our children are at risk?²
[Ridiculous. As a whole, the U.S. is not unhealthy and neither are its
children. More Americans are living longer than ever before.]
Obama: ³And the fact is there are a lot of factors, but some of the more
simple ones are that too many kids are consuming high-calorie food with low
nutritional valueŠ² [Obama served cupcakes to the children at the event.]
Obama: ³Well, I¹ve learned that if [food is] fresh and grown locally, it¹s
probably going to taste better. [About locally produced food, should
Washington, DC children be denied, say, Florida orange juice because it¹s
not local? Does Obama plan to construct a White House Orange Grove?]
Obama: ³But unfortunately, for too many families, limited access to healthy
fruits and vegetables is often a barrier to a healthier diet.² [This is
typically due to their expense, especially when they¹re locally grown and/or
organic.]
Obama: ³In so many of our communities, particularly in poorer and more
isolated communities, fresh, healthy food is simply out of reach. With few
grocery stores in their neighborhoods, residents are forced to rely on
convenience stores, fast food restaurants, liquor stores, drug stores and
even gas stations for their groceries.² [Poverty is the root problem, not
fruit/vegetable availability.]
Obama: ³And I want you guys to continue to be my little ambassadors in your
own homes and in your own communities, because there are kids who are going
to watch this. They¹re going to watch this on TV, they¹re going to read a
report about it or maybe their parents will read a report, and they¹re going
to see through you just how easy it is for kids to think differently about
food. And you¹re going to help a lot of people.² [Yeah, you're going to help
a lot of fast food, processed food, food transportation and food retail
employees out of work for no good reason.]
Marian Burros should be put to an organic pasture where she can chew her
crud. As for Michelle Obama, it makes you long for the days of Bess Truman
when the First Lady was hardly ever seen and much less heard from.
greenhellblog.com/2009/06/17/marion-burros-is-her-last-name-a-euphemi
sm/