On setting standards for physical fitness - just don't let it be pushups

Senator Harkin has introduced legislation that would create Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, in the mold of the 5-year Dietary Guidelines that no one pays any attention to. From Sen. Harkin's Web Site:

Harkin’s legislation, The Physical Activities Guidelines for Americans Act, would direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prepare and promote physical activity guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence, similar to the federal nutritional guidelines, commonly known as the Food Pyramid, which are updated every five years.

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), co-sponsored the legislation, and Congressmen Mark Udall (D-CO) and Zach Wamp (R-TN) have introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

"Many Americans are unaware of just how much exercise they should be getting," said Senator Harkin. "These guidelines will promote a healthier lifestyle and improve fitness among all age groups. This is a step towards combating the obesity epidemic and the onslaught of chronic disease that is causing our health care costs to skyrocket."

An overwhelming amount of research clearly demonstrates the importance of physical activity in preventing disease and lowering death rates. In fact, approximately 250,000 premature deaths each year can be attributed to lifestyles that lack physical activity. More than half of Americans do not get enough daily exercise to maintain proper health.

TK: Even if we know we are supposed to exercise 90 minutes a day, will we do it? Here is a feature about the push up, "the enduring measure of fitness."

From the story:

Based on national averages, a 40-year-old woman should be able to do 16 push-ups and a man the same age should be able to do 27. By the age of 60, those numbers drop to 17 for men and 6 for women. Those numbers are just slightly less than what is required of Army soldiers who are subjected to regular push-up tests.

If the floor-based push-up is too difficult, start by leaning against a countertop at a 45-degree angle and pressing up and down. Eventually move to stairs and then the floor.

Mr. LaLanne, who once set a world record by doing 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes, still does push-ups as part of his daily workout. Now he balances his feet and each hand on three chairs.

TK: We can never live up to the gold standard of the 93-year old Jack LaLanne, and we may not measure up to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, either. Must we be faced with the stark reality of our shortcomings in exercise standards? How about "More Matters" in matters of fitness? One more push-up can make a difference, right?

Scrutiny for AMS

How well is the USDA AMS overseeing its approved vendors of the school lunch program? From the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro:

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), chairwoman of the House Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, sent a letter to Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Lloyd Day, seeking answers about the agency’s effort to adequately oversee the operations at Hallmark/Westland Meats, an approved vendor for USDA’s food and nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, in advance of the Subcommittee's annual hearing on April 9 to review the budget request for the Agricultural Marketing Service for FY 2009. AMS manages all federal contracts for the lunch program and other federal food and nutrition programs.

“Parents should be assured that the food their children eat is safe. Unfortunately, the illegal practices that were exposed at the Hallmark/Westland facility revealed the failure of the Agricultural Marketing Service to properly ensure that the company – one of the vendors for the school lunch program – was meeting its contractual obligations,” stated DeLauro. “This lapse is unacceptable and during the upcoming hearing I intend to press the agency’s administrator as to improvements that will be made to prevent future oversight failures.”

Below is the full text of the letter.

March 20, 2008

Mr. Lloyd Day, Administrator

Agricultural Marketing Service

United States Department of Agriculture

Room 3071 South Building

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20250

Dear Administrator Day:

I am writing to express concern over the potential failure of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to provide adequate oversight of the operations at Hallmark/Westland Meats, an approved vendor for USDA’s food and nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program.

As you know, USDA’s historic 143 million pound recall of beef products from the Hallmark/Westland facility in California was the result of illegal practices. Unfortunately, it was an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that exposed the extent of the violations of law, regulations, and contractual obligations. Despite the oversight of two agencies – the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and AMS – USDA was not able to discern these violations.

Pursuant to the technical requirements for the sale of frozen ground beef products to USDA, approved vendors that do business with AMS must agree to abide by certain contractual conditions before they can sell their meat products to USDA. One of the conditions include that all cattle whose meat is harvested “shall be humanely handled in accordance with all applicable FSIS regulations, directives and notices.” Another condition is that “meat from carcasses of non-ambulatory disabled cattle will not be included in USDA purchased ground beef products.” Based on the information available, it would seem that there is serious doubt as to whether Hallmark/Westland satisfied those contractual obligations with AMS.

Furthermore, it was obvious based on the HSUS video that the non-ambulatory disabled cattle at Hallmark/Westland were wallowing in manure in the holding pens at that facility. This footage was especially disturbing given that it is well known that manure could harbor the E. coli 0157:H7 pathogen.

Another critical issue associated with the Hallmark/Westland recall involves company liability. According to USDA Announcement LS-20 (April 2005) – Purchase of Frozen Beef Products for Distribution to Child Nutrition and Other Federal Food and Nutrition Programs – the contractor shall be held liable for failure of the commodity to meet all of the contract and specifications requirements. This announcement further states that, in the event product is recalled due to a health or safety risk, the contractor is responsible for removal and replacement of recalled products and reimbursement of State and local costs incurred as a result of the recall. These costs include, at a minimum, storage, transportation, processing, and distribution of the commodities.

In preparation for your upcoming appearance before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations on April 9, I am requesting that you provide the Subcommittee with the following information:

1) The list of actions AMS has taken to ensure that Hallmark/Westland is being held liable for the recall, pursuant to USDA Announcement LS-20.

2) All AMS audit reports for Hallmark/Westland Meats since it became an approved vendor for USDA meat purchases;

3) All cooperative agreements between FSIS and AMS regarding inspection activities related to USDA meat purchase programs;

4) A detailed explanation of the microbial testing program used by AMS for the beef products it purchases from approved vendors;

5) The role is AMS playing in the recovery of the 143 million pounds of beef that has been recalled by FSIS.

Please provide this information to the subcommittee by April 3, 2008. Thank you very much for your attention to this issue. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

ROSA L. DeLAURO

Chairwoman

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture

Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,

and Related Agencies

New celery facility

Duda Farm Fresh Foods long ago established itself as the market leader in celery production.

Now, with the upcoming grand opening of a new Oxnard, Calif., facility, the company is unveiling what it calls a "state-of-the-art" fresh-cut celery operation.

According to a media alert, Duda's partnership with Western Precooling Systems Inc. "will double the production capacity for Duda Farm Fresh Foods’ fresh-cut celery operation in California and provide new opportunities for additional lines of products and customers."

The facility is at 860 Pacific Avenue, Oxnard.

The proverbial ribbon will be cut at 2 p.m. March 27.

America can't wait for farm bill

From America's Second Harvest:


Soaring food prices, energy costs leave low-income Americans and food banks strapped from coast-to-coast

As the cost of food and fuel reaches record highs, lines are growing longer and shelves are growing emptier at food banks and emergency feeding organizations nationwide. Hope for low-income Americans depends on enactment of a strong nutrition title in the Farm Bill, but that critical piece of legislation has been stalled in Congress for months, while millions of Americans have remained stuck in the grip of hunger.

"The holidays have come and gone, and food banks continue to face one of the toughest periods in their history. We have seen dramatic declines in commodity support from the federal government and private food donations," said Vicki Escarra, president and chief executive officer of America's Second Harvest. "Every day that goes by without a new Farm Bill is a day without hope for food banks around the country. Our member food banks are being forced to dip into their limited financial reserves to purchase food and ration it to people in need."

Several critical factors have contributed to what is rapidly becoming a desperate situation for the millions of people who depend on food banks across the country:

-- Federal commodity support has fallen by nearly $200 million per year since the enactment of the last Farm Bill in 2002. This drop in federal support is due to less need for the federal government to buy surplus foods to support agricultural producers.

-- Economic downturn has created as much as a 30 percent increase in demand for food assistance at food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens in many parts of the country.

-- Food price inflation is higher than it has been at any time in recent memory, and people who rely on food stamp benefits to feed their families are seeing a rapid erosion in their purchasing power. Benefit levels are set once per year, but food prices have risen 5.5 percent since the last adjustment just six months ago.

"These combined factors have created a perfect storm of hardship," said Escarra.

As further evidence of the dire situation, the number of participants in the Food Stamp Program has risen by more than 1 million in the past year. Help for hungry Americans will only be available if Congress and the Administration will finish the Farm Bill now.

Congress is in recess and scheduled to return to Washington in early April. This week, President Bush signed a second extension to the existing Farm Bill, which will authorize current programs through April 18. He called on Congress to either get a Farm Bill passed by that date or to extend the current bill for one year.

"A one year extension to the Farm Bill would be catastrophic for food banks and those they serve," said Escarra. "The charitable sector does not have the capacity to meet dramatically increasing requests for food assistance. It is critical for Congress to show leadership by passing a Farm Bill, and for the President to show compassion by signing it. If that happens, none of those in our great nation who face hunger daily will have to wait longer for relief."

America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through its network of more than 200 member food banks, America's Second Harvest annually provides assistance to more than 25 million people in need, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, America's Second Harvest secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of food and grocery products to support feeding programs at approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. To learn more, please visit www.secondharvest.org.