The government has finally gotten around to giving a damn for disadvantaged women and children. It only took Uncle Sam 30 years. WIC is getting a long-overdue overhaul ^[3]. The good news: fruits and vegetables are on the menu. It stuns me that produce wasn’t a priority before; in the world’s richest country, things like developmental defects, rickets, bad teeth and poor brain development ought to strike shame in all of us. But then again, seeing as how Uncle Sam considers produce to be a “specialty” crop and direct subsidy funds to corn, chemicals, soybean oil, milk and factory meat instead, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. I’m glad WIC is getting the overhaul; the dairy and meat crowd, understandably, is not pleased. (I’d be displeased by this as well, except for the fact that the sort of animal protein tossed WIC’s way is hardly desirable.) My issue with WIC is the misguided emphasis on whole grains. That’s right: the overhaul is introducing more grains into the program. Hey, guys, didn’t you get the memo? We did grains in the 80s, back when we believed your diatribes against fat.

…Except it’s nearly 2008, and Uncle Sam is still lagging behind. Sam, try laying off the soda and pasta and see how you do. Pulling your head out of the sand also apparently helps.

MykIR ^[4] Flickr Photo

Further Reading:

New Nutrition Labeling System Still Has Flaws ^[5]

How Safe is Our Food? ^[6]

Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds ^[7]