Obama Talks About Food

The following diary is entirely a fluff piece about Obama's favorite chili recipe. OK, actually it isn't. Go watch the corporate media on TV if you want that.

The following is an interview with Obama by Chef Ari LeVaux plus my commentary, supplemented by a bit of info from Obama's website. Oh, and his chili recipe's at the bottom.

Question 1: Why did you vote for the farm bill?
I can answer that for him. Because he didn't want to commit political suicide among rural voters. Next question, please.

Just an FYI for anyone who missed it, the 2008 farm bill passed a few weeks ago, got vetoed by Bush, and was overridden by Congress. The farm bill's a piece of legislation passed once every 5 or so years that touches everything from commodity subsidies to conservation to food stamps.

McCain and Bush oppose it on the grounds of the subsidies. It's true the subsidies aren't set up in the wisest way possible at the moment, although McCain and I would disagree on what should be done. Leaving it at the status quo as the 2008 farm bill largely did is much better than doing anything Bush or McCain would advocate.

Barack's answer:
The Farm Bill has many positive provisions, in particular, an increase in federal funding for the development of renewable fuels, which will help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The legislation provides an additional $10.3 billion for nutrition assistance programs, such as food stamps and school lunches.

Although the Farm Bill is far from perfect, I support the legislation because it recognizes the important role of America’s farmers and ranchers, and the need to develop our rural economy. It is regrettable that John McCain [who voted against it] does not agree.

While the Farm Bill does lower significantly the income limits of farmers eligible for subsidies, it doesn’t provide as much reform as I have advocated.

Question 2: In a follow-up question about how to get rid of all of the pork that goes into the bill, Barack simply answered that it's due to the influence of lobbyists and he'd work to do something about wasteful subsidies. Very ambiguous answer in terms of what it actually means.

Question 3: You’ve been praised for showing backbone in opposing the so-called gas tax holiday. Can you give a food/agriculture example of disconnect between what Americans might want to hear and what they might need to hear?

Barack:
We have a serious obesity problem in this country not only among adults but also among children. As the number of obese children has increased, so has the number of children developing serious health conditions, such as diabetes. Given the busy lives that working parents lead, I know it’s easier to take your children to a fast food restaurant than it is to cook a balanced meal at home using fresh fruits and vegetables. But the eating habits that children develop when they are young will last with them for their entire lives. As president, I would use the bully pulpit of the office to encourage parents to devote more time to ensuring that their children are eating healthy meals.

He needs to do more than just use his bully pulpit on this. Telling parents what to do is hardly useful if you don't also make it easier for them to follow your advice.

The WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program is in the middle of an overhaul that will provide low income pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under five with foods that are healthier than those they've received through the program in the past. They will also be able to buy food at participating farmers' markets.

That is an example of how the federal government can move in the right direction. School breakfasts and lunches are another area where the government directly controls the food we eat. In some cases, poor neighborhoods have no grocery stores and poor public transportation to get to a grocery store. Again, the government can do something about this and until they do, obesity isn't going anywhere.

Question 4: Your hometown of Chicago is served by Angelic Organics, a local family farm featured in the 2007 documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John, which Al Gore called “Incredibly special.”

Small farms that market to local communities are vital components of healthy local food systems. What policy initiatives would you propose to strengthen local food systems?

Finally an answer worthy of the next Democratic president! He supports a national farm-to-school program! Brilliant. It's a disgrace the way we feed our kids in school cafeterias across America and bringing in food from local farms helps the kids while helping the farmers too.

Barack:
Unfortunately, I have not had time to see the film, but I am very familiar with the great work of Angelic Organics and other community supported farms. These types of farms can provide an important source of fresh fruits and vegetables to inner city communities that do not have easy access to grocery stores that sell organic foods. Moreover, farms like Angelic Organics that sell directly to consumers cut out all of the middlemen and get full retail price for their food, which increases the financial viability of small family farms.

As president, I would implement USDA policies that promote local and regional food systems, including assisting states to develop programs aimed at community supported farms. I also support a national farm-to-school program and am pleased that the Farm Bill provides more than $1 billion to expand healthy snacks in our schools.

Question 5: Next question is about Barack's support of ethanol and biofuels. Again, his answer can mean a lot of different things, depending on what _specifically_ he plans to do. Using corn for ethanol made by companies like ADM is a very, very, very, very, very, very BAD idea for a long list of reasons.

1. More corn = more fertilizer = more runoff into waterways = more and larger dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and other bodies of water.
2. Feeding cows the waste leftover from the ethanol making process actually increases E. coli problems. From what I've read, it makes the cow's gut acidic, which breeds E. coli that are resistant to our stomach acid. In a normal grass-eating cow, the gut isn't acidic and the E. coli in there is NOT acid resistant, so if we eat it (which we shouldn't, but it happens) our stomach acid kills it.
3. Making ethanol requires almost as much oil as you save by using the ethanol. Why bother?

If farmers can come up with a decentralized way to use leftover biomass and agricultural waste products or perennial grasses like switchgrass for energy, I'm all for it. But the ethanol we're making now? It's a money-making scam by ADM.

Question 6: A recent study by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production concluded that factory farms pose unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and animal welfare.

As president, what would you do to ensure a safe, humane and clean meat supply?

Another winner from Barack, I think. I'd like to be 100% certain that he is NOT for the National Animal ID System, which he doesn't mention here. It's a total joke in terms of its ability to increase our food safety, but it WILL put a lot of small farmers out of business.

I like what he says about monitoring and regulating pollution and fining violators. We need that. The other good parts in here include supporting the USDA's ban on slaughtering downer cows and making sure we have a strong inspection system.

Barack:
As president, I would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to strictly monitor and regulate pollution from large factory farms, with tough fines for those that violate environmental standards. I also support efforts to provide more meaningful local control over these factory farms.

As for protecting our nation’s food supply, USDA and the Food and Drug Administration need more authority to issue and enforce recalls for contaminated food. I support efforts to improve federal food safety surveillance to better improve our ability to identify, contain and prevent outbreaks. We also need to expand resources to inform the public when an outbreak happens. With regard to our meat supply, I support the USDA’s recent decision to ban all nonambulatory cattle from slaughter. I would also increase funding for meat inspectors to ensure compliance with current federal laws.

There isn't much more in the interview, other than a rather generic answer to a question about appointing a Secretary of Agriculture. Additionally, Obama comes out in favor of mandatory Country of Origin Labeling, which will go into effect this September.

A few more very significant tidbits from his website are his support of the packer ban and what would have been the Grassley-Dorgan amendment to this past farm bill (it narrowly failed). This is actually all GREAT news. Here's what his site says:

Strong Safety Net for Family Farmers: Obama will fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. Obama will implement a $250,000 payment limitation so that we help family farmers — not large corporate agribusiness. Obama will close the loopholes that allow mega farms to get around the limits by subdividing their operations into multiple paper corporations.

Prevent Anticompetitive Behavior Against Family Farms: Obama is a strong supporter of a packer ban. When meatpackers own livestock they can manipulate prices and discriminate against independent farmers. Obama will strengthen anti-monopoly laws and strengthen producer protections to ensure independent farmers have fair access to markets, control over their production decisions, and transparency in prices.

The $250k cap on subsidies is an idea I support. To a huge farm, $250k is nothing. To a small farm, it's a lot of money. Thus, we'd be cutting the amount we spend overall while helping the small farms that need it most.

Another good idea which I haven't seen yet from Obama is reestablishing our strategic grain reserves, which we got rid of in 1996. The reserves allow us to smooth out the highs and lows in commodity prices. In times of low prices, the government can take some of the excess grain off the market. When prices skyrocket (like right now), the government can use that grain to increase supply and lower prices.

If Obama could gives us the packer ban, that'd be a dream come true. Currently large meatpackers control prices by keeping "captive supply" - live animals that they own. When prices for livestock go up, they avoid paying the high prices by using their captive supply. When prices go down, they buy for cheap.

It's an incredibly unfair system for small farmers because they can easily sell when the prices are bad but when the prices go up their choices are either sell for cheap anyway or don't sell at all. The packer ban went into the Senate version of the farm bill but it got dumped in committee. Barack would be a hero if he could make it happen.

Last but not least? His chili recipe:

I’ve been using this chili recipe since college and would bring it to any potluck. I can’t reveal all the secrets, but if you make it right, it’s just got the right amount of bite, the right amount of oomph in it and it will clear your sinuses.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

Several cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground turkey or beef

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground basil

1 tablespoon chili powder

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped

1 can red kidney beans

Method:
Sauté onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add ground meat and brown. Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat. Add red wine vinegar. Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down. Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.