Michelle Obama slams Trump on school meals
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A fiery Michelle Obama vigorously defended her healthy eating initiative, her biggest legacy as first lady on Friday, telling a public health summit in Washington that something was “wrong” with an administration that did not want to give consumers nutrition information or teach children to eat healthily.
In a 43-minute conversation, peppered with sarcastic remarks and veiled references to the Trump administration, Michele Obama discussed topics from life since her husband left the presidency to her Let’s Move! initiative.
”We gotta make sure we don’t let anybody take us back,” Obama said. “This is where you really have to look at motives, you know.”
“You have to stop and think, why don’t you want our kids to have good food at school? What is wrong with you? And why is that a partisan issue? Why would that be political? What is going on?”
The comments were her first public remarks after the Trump administration earlier this month relaxed rules that were aimed at making US school lunches healthier, moves seen by health advocates as a direct hit on her signature issue.
The moves have already seen the delay of rules meant to reduce sodium and refined grains in school lunches and provide calorie counts on restaurant menus. The former first lady championed many of those programs.
”Take me out of the equation — like me or don’t like me,” Obama added. “But think about why someone is OK with your kids eating crap. Why would you celebrate that? Why would you sit idly and be OK with that? Because here’s the secret: if someone is doing that, they don’t care about your kid.”
The former first lady was speaking at the annual summit of the Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization she helped found to extend her nutrition policies to the private sector. Her remarks were made during a conversation with Sam Kass, a longtime friend and the first executive director of her Let’s Move! program.
Kass and Obama discussed a range of topics, including the Obamas’ move to a new DC residence and the sorts of meals Obama ate as a child. On life since her husband’s presidency, Obama said: “Being former is alright.”
But by far her most pointed comments were about the recent delays to the menulabelling rules and the changes to the school lunch program.
The former first lady appeared to take issue with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s defense of the school lunch rollbacks, which he justified in part, in his May 1 announcement, by saying many kids didn’t like the foods.
”That to me is one of the most ridiculous things that we talk about in this movement — ‘the kids aren’t happy,’” Obama said. “Well you know what? Kids don’t like math either. What are we gonna do, stop teaching math?”
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture declined to comment on Obama’s remarks, and said that “Sec. Perdue has nothing but the utmost respect for Michelle Obama.”
Obama also objected to the proposed delay of new nutrition labels that were scheduled to go into effect in 2018. The new labels would feature information about calories prominently, but the packaged food industry has requested the compliance deadline be pushed back until at least 2020.