Posted on 03/13/2012 7:36:05 AM PDT by CNSNews.com
Defending the concept of “food deserts” last week, HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius said a mile may be too far for families to walk to get healthier foods. But, First Lady Michelle Obama says kids should walk 4-5 times that far every day, and adults should walk more than three times that far.
Challenged by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) regarding the administration’s definition of a “food desert” (being a mile away from a grocery store), HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a House hearing last week:
“Well, I think it’s very difficult for a family buying groceries – if they have to walk a mile with bags of groceries, it may be too far to get healthier food.”
“You really think that?” Rep. Kingston asked.
“I do,” Sebelius replied.
But, according to First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, both kids and adults are supposed to walk several times that far – every day.
The “Let’s Move” website says that, if you’re under 18, “You can count your daily activity steps using a pedometer (girls’ goal: 11,000; boys’ goal: 13,000).”
For adults, Michelle’s website says the goal is 8,500 steps.
But, wait, you say – how many steps are in a mile? 2,640, apparently.
So, if you’re a boy, you should walk nearly five miles a day (13,000 divided by 2,640 = 4.92), and if you’re a girl, you should walk more than four miles (11,000 divided by 2,640 = 4.17).
For adults, it comes out to 3.22 miles a day (8,500 divided by 2,640).
Of course, there is the added burden of carrying bags of groceries. But, if you’re on the Obama diet, how much can a bag of steak and arugula possibly weight?
And, here’s a wacky idea: if a mile is too far to carry groceries, why not take the bus – or, the family car, since the average household has 1.9 of them.
In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) says there are more vehicles per household than there are drivers. And, they've got nearly one adult-sized bike per household, too, so they could just put the grocery bags in the little basket on the handlebars.
So, who’s right? What does this mean? Are we supposed to “move” or not?
Maybe, Sebelius should take a walk over the White House so she and the First Lady can come to an agreement.
‘Till then, might as well stay put, I guess.
The real message here is that they fully expect everyone to be afoot before long; after they destroy the economy and the ability of people to drive anywhere.
Bingo!
The way gas prices are going, Michelle is going to get her wish .... the whole country will be walking ... to work, to the grocery store, to church, etc.
Personally, I think the WH kitchen should be moved about 5 miles away and Moosechelle can WALK for HER food instead of having it served to her by the WH staff. What a flaming hypocrite.
Just another example of liberalism’s obsession with consequence-free behaviors.
Same old lie...
“you will surely not die”
I guess we’ll all have to take public transportation to the soon-to-be-established Acceptable Food Distribution Centers. Home gardening not allowed.
Too bad she doesn’t lead by example. Imagine following her and looking at that huge posterior?
They want all the peasants afoot,
working “the King’s land” (ie, all land owned by govt),
and bowing down as the “nobles” ride by in their “carriages”
I used to walk three miles to and from school every morning and afternoon. Uphill.......both ways..........
Home gardening leads to individual independence, comrade,
and you wouldn’t want to be “infected” with that,
because the only cure is death or “re-education”.
They’ll have to pry the trowel from my cold, compost stained fingers.................
A suggestion for the First Wookie. Next time you feel the need to vacation, quit stealing taxpayer money and walk, don’t fly.
She wants us to walk. This coming from a woman who has a behind the size of a tank. She would be more believable if she lost 100 pounds.
Good point which doesn’t get talked about much.
There are enough people in the inner city and ghetto areas to support supermarkets. Even in low income areas, people need to eat, and they have money plus food stamps to spend on food. The issue isn’t that the stores couldn’t sell their products in the ghetto. The issue is that costs of doing business, for security costs, and intangibles such as losses incurred due to inventory disappearing, make it a losing business proposition to locate stores in these areas.
You can tell a lot about the health of a community by seeing what types of businesses are located there. Or if the types of businesses you normally see in other places are absent.
How freaking pathetic. Now ‘they’ need to be entitled to no-effort grocery shopping.
First of all, when we do our family grocery shopping it means we are out the Kroger/Publix/CostCo/Sam’s doors with 10 bags or so, plus 3 or more gallon jugs of milk. We almost never come out with a hand-carryable load. There’s too much stuff.
So even if the house were only 1.5 miles away from Kroger (oh wait, we DO live that close) we would almost never be able to carry it home.
NEXT — the paper and/or plastic bags are generally too weak to withstand the trip unless double/triple bagged.
NEXT - bring a simple hand cart (Oh wait, they’ll just take the grocery carts off property and then dump them in the neighborhood becasue they can’t be bothered to bring them back the next time they shop.)
My nearest Home Depot is 6.8 miles away. I demand assistance!
My nearest license tag office is 11 miles away. I demand assistance!
The nearest hairweave and nail shop is one door down from the Kroger. I demand assistance!
MY LIFE SHOULD HAVE NO EFFORT OR RESPONSIBILITY ON MY PART!!!!!!!!!
YOU owe ME! (any contrary response is r_c_st)
Funny you should mention that:
When my unit was assigned to Wildflecken during a Brigade 76 deployment rotation, I remember that, when it was raining or snowing, it certainly seemed like I was walking uphill to the shoppette ... and walking uphill again when I walked from the shoppette back to the barracks.
You know the old cartoon images of high, rounded mountains that went to a sharp peak and fell away on both sides? That is exactly how I remember Wildflecken.
Hmmm, I often put on my backpack and walk the two-mile roundtrip to the store.
I can’t believe that there are Gubmint agencies arguing over regulating how far is reasonable for people to walk to get to a grocery store. Wow. We is doomed.
Seems like some enterprising person could start delivering staple food items in poor neighborhoods. From the store to your door, same day service, pre-pay only. Or just go down the street like a popsicle truck, except with laundry soap and diapers and such.
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