Secretary Vilsack Visit Kicks Off Farm to School Month

Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Madison and our friends at REAP Food Group and other great local organizations. As part of his visit, Secretary Vilsack discussed the federal government’s efforts to support local agriculture through Farm to School and other programs.

Secretary Vilsack’s visit was a great way to kick off October, which is national Farm to School month. Strengthening local economies and improving the health of our kids are goals we all share. Farm to School programs meet these goals by connecting schools and local farms to provide healthy and nutritious foods for students. 

More than 100 Wisconsin schools already have Farm to School programs in place, but many more lack the resources to start or expand their programs.

Health First Wisconsin wants to see kids across the state leading active, healthy lifestyles and eating fresh, local produce. We applaud Secretary Vilsack and the federal government for taking the lead on supporting local producers and promoting healthy, local foods in our schools. We hope state leaders will take note and join the effort to support the Farm to School movement in Wisconsin.

Farm to School programs encourage healthier eating habits and academic success, and boost business for local farmers. Students in Farm to School programs have been shown to eat more fruits and vegetables and they build a foundation for lifelong healthy eating habits. Farm to School programs also provide a valuable market for local farmers and producers.

Anyone can join the movement to promote Farm to School programs in Wisconsin by signing up at makefarm2schoolhappen.org.

There are currently 14 communities throughout the state working to support and grow Farm to School programs in their counties through the Transform Wisconsin movement, which is funded through the community transformation grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To find out more about Transform Wisconsin communities, please visit www.transformwi.com.    

Big Tobacco CEOs and their Big Payday

We all know that Big Tobacco companies are big spenders.

While many states including Wisconsin have been making significant budget cuts to tobacco prevention and control programs, Big Tobacco continues to spend big money to lure new customers and keep their current ones.

Big Tobacco spends more than $1 million an hour to market their products in the U.S. – including $233 million a year on advertising in Wisconsin.

The financial payoff for running a Big Tobacco company and peddling its deadly products is also huge. In 2011, the three men at the helms of Big Tobacco in the U.S. had combined salaries of nearly $32 million.

Last year, Lorillard Inc. CEO Murray Kessler made $13 million, Altria Group CEO Michael E. Szymanczyk made $10.2 million and Reynolds American chief Daniel M. Delen made $8.5 million.

The salaries are as staggering as Big Tobacco’s destructive effects on human health.

Only New York, Florida and California spend more than $32 million a year on tobacco prevention – while 47 states and the District of Columbia spend less. 

If $32 million were put toward tobacco prevention budgets, we could double every single tobacco prevention budget in 16 states: Missouri, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Washington, Idaho, Kansas, New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa, Vermont, South Dakota, Massachusetts and Maryland.  

Wisconsin spends $5.3 million a year on our state tobacco prevention and control program. If we invested those Big Tobacco salaries in Wisconsin, we would increase our state prevention funding by seven times. That would bring us closer to the $64 million a year the CDC recommends Wisconsin spend on tobacco prevention programs. 

The battle with Big Tobacco is far from over. Smoking kills nearly 8,000 people a year in Wisconsin and is the leading preventable cause of death. Two young smokers replace every person who dies of smoking each year and tobacco use has created a pediatric epidemic in the U.S.

We know we have a steep uphill battle. We can – we must – and we will – continue to fight against the Big Spending of Big Tobacco. 

American Public Health Association Needs Your Help in Their New PHACT Campaign!

Flickr: StevenMiller

There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure our nation's leaders understand the absolute necessity of prevention to the public health of our country and the policy priorities that will help us create healthier communities. So the American Public Health Association (APHA) is encouraging you to join the effort through their new Public Health ACTion (PHACT) Campaign. The priorities in this campaign: increase public health funding; and protect public health funding in reform.

Without funding, prevention efforts will be weakened. According to the campaign materials, "the 2011 continuing resolution included more than $740 million in cuts to CDC’s budget authority. By translating research findings into effective intervention efforts, CDC has been a key source of funding for many of our state and local programs that aim to improve the health of communities."

"CDC continues to be faced with unprecedented challenges and responsibilities, ranging from chronic disease prevention and eliminating health disparities to bioterrorism preparedness and combating the obesity epidemic. It is notable that more than 70 percent of CDC’s budget supports state and local health organizations and academic institutions. CDC funds the following in communities across the country:

• Injury control programs;
• Programs to reduce tobacco use;
• Programs that build healthier schools, worksites and communities;
• Initiatives to prevent heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other chronic diseases;
• Programs to improve nutrition and immunization;
• Programs to monitor and combat environmental effects on health;
• Interventions to improve oral health;
• Birth defect prevention programs;
• Public health research;
• Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections, and other infectious diseases; and
• Data collection and analysis on a host of vital statistics and other health indicators" - PHACT Campaign materials

In order to keep up this good work, continued funding is absolutely critical both at the national level - CDC, for example - and state level - local coalitions and other public health groups. So here's where you can help. As part of PHACT, you can use the toolkit put together to write LTE's, contact your US Congressperson, attend public hearings, learn what to ask at public hearings, develop grassroots etc. 

Health prevention saves lives and it saves money in the long-run. The more money put into prevention the more dollars we'll save in health care costs in our nation. Together we will become a healthier county.

To learn more about PHACT and how you can help, click here.