A Public Offer to Obama: Change You Can Be Livin' In

I have colleagues and acquaintances who have been personal chefs to various celebrities, preparing daily beautiful meals of the finest quality whole foods, mostly plants, always delicious. Inspired by their work and by my own work offering delicious healthy foods to my acupuncture patients over the years, I've decided to go public with an offer to Barack Obama to be his personal chef, acupuncturist and general preventative health ally during the upcoming presidential election campaign. I could be in the "advance team" that gets wherever "there" is ahead of time, and takes care of food and health support in a new kind of way. You want change? This is one great place to start.

Mostly I've been inspired to do this by Hubert Humphrey, who ran for president against Richard Nixon in 1968 and was diagnosed with cancer in 1973. He died in January of 1978 and blamed his illness, at least in part on the stressful life and poor quality food he adopted as a lifestyle when he moved to Washington to be a Senator.

In 1977 the East West Journal, a magazine reporting on the burgeoning interest in all things related to oriental health and health practices and the "natural health movement", published a special issue called "Fat Cats Strike Back" about the response of agribusiness and the AMA to discredit George McGovern's Senate Select Committee's Recommendations for a wholesome diet for the American people. East West published an excerpt from hearings of July 1976 where Hubert Humphrey spoke before the committee. He decried the unhealthy lifestyle of the American politician and said:

"I know you have to be like an athlete, you have to be in training if you are going to be in public life. But the abuse in public life that I have known is the diet. Your are literally living on the run all of the time. Take a look at the U.S. Senate here. They are in session frequently way after seven o'clock many nights. What you frequently do is eat somewhere where you cannot control your diet, and then go home and get yourself something late at night, which also is hard on you. These are the practical problems of a particular breed called politicians. I know something about that since I have been at this business a long time.

I know that when I am back in Minnesota, where I am working out of my home instead of out of this office, where I have an organized lifestyle, I feel 100 % better. When I get back down here (Washington), the only reason I eat is for fuel. The comfort or joy of eating is out, because first of all you never have time for it. A meal ought to be more than just calories, carbohydrates, or fats. It is not only a question of what you eat, it is how you eat it, and the environment in which you eat and so forth..."

At the end of his life he was very concerned about the change to a fast food, eat-out nation and what that was doing to our collective health. As I've watched recent TV news reports of the movements and goings on of our presidential candidates, my long term concerns about the poor quality of the standard American diet has turned to serious concern for the candidates. My offer is to Obama, whom I support, and who currently seems to be in the process of winning the democratic nomination. The offer extends to Michelle Obama of course, whenever she is there too. I'm sure that if Obama's primary opponent, by some unpredictable process managed to become the candidate, she would easily find someone to make a similar offer of support and care. Because this offer is as much about promoting awareness of healthy living and preventative medicine for everyone (healthy care, as opposed to "health care" as it now exits), I would certainly consider the job.

I know my application is a little early, as the nomination is not yet officially certain, but I want to get the idea out there well ahead of time. It is an offer to help make real change and demonstrate how to gain and sustain health, and achieve true stress reduction in the face of a busy schedule and the constant pressure of too much to do.

I offer the knowledge and skills I have acquired over a life-time of practicing preventative natural medicine and cooking and growing nutritious food for myself, my children and my patients. I'm publicly applying for a new kind of job, to support a new kind of politics which hopefully will truly support a new kind of health culture. Obama could set no better example than to practice healthy living and eating, as hard as that would be, as he travels around the country during his campaign.

Karen Kisslinger
Diplomate in Acupuncture (NCCAOM)
Creator "Time to Relax" daily radio show
Founder/Skills For the Re-Generation
Millerton, NY

Comments

[altohone]

Picking nits, I'd say an offer isn't the same as wanting a job.
The title suggests you were volunteering.

I have yet to meet a personal chef who worked for free, so please clarify.

Sorry, insurance wouldn't cover removing the cynical bones in my body, if I had insurance that is.
You sound like a nice person who would work for free... maybe a little naive for thinking that eating local fare isn't hugely important in politics though.

[karen4Uk]

Hi. Thanks for your comment/question. Ah yes..to clarify...the economics of healthy care. People who do preventative work which helps keep people healthy and provides quality care and food for all people aren't nearly as likely to be well compensated as those who administer high-tech surgery and other disease care. I'm not volunteering. I'm not sure what I'd want financially if given the opportunity to make highly visible public actions that could truly help encourage healthy care and happy , healthy eating in this society. Also, an acupuncture treatment at the end of the day is almost immediately and deeply relaxing....with no side effects. Low overhead, possible while flying. It would be fun to get the word out on that.

Your point about local food is well taken......as everybody wants to share the local fare with the candidates. We'd have to find our way around that one. The issue of the privilege of access to high quality fresh food (see comment below) is profound. In the town where I live, I ring-led the formation of a new farmers market last summer. This spring, we've done the paperwork to allow WIC and food stamp users access to the fresh, local, mostly organic foods at our market this summer. It's a start.

[Lesscancer]

Your work to provide access to healthy foods is important for raising the bar on the environment and human health.

Thank you.

If more people would understand that our environment is the proverbial mirror for human health we would all be in a better place.

Keep up the good work-your in a place where you can keep this conversation alive-

Bill Couzens, Founder Lesscancer.org

[Lesscancer]

Fun Post and a good idea however let me be the first to suggest that maybe the job you apply for is a position that ideally would help reshape the way we grow and process food, so that more people other than the wealthy have opportunities to eat healthy .

Unfortunately many poor people do not have the opportunity for healthier food choices that allow for fewer negative health outcomes. Often the food the poor can afford is the very thing that may compromise their health.

We have never had more cancer in the history of time. And while this is of concern to me what really matters is that scientist with data will tell you that much of cancer 70-80% comes from outside the body-meaning its environmental "including behaviors like smoking. Cancer for the most part is manufactured. Because of that we must look to the unnecessary and preventable exposures linked with cancer including those found in our food.

Bill Couzens, Founder Lesscancer.org

[Lesscancer]

Fun Post …and a good idea – however let me be the first to suggest that maybe the job you apply for is a position that ideally would help reshape the way we grow and process food, so that more people other than the wealthy have opportunities to eat healthy .

Unfortunately many poor people do not have the opportunity for healthier food choices that allow for fewer negative health outcomes. Often the food the poor can afford is the very thing that may compromise their health.

We have never had more cancer in the history of time. And while this is of concern to me what really matters is that scientist with data will tell you that much of cancer 70-80% comes from outside the body-meaning its environmental –including behaviors like smoking. Cancer for the most part is manufactured. Because of that we must look to the unnecessary and preventable exposures linked with cancer including those found in our food.

Bill Couzens, Founder Lesscancer.org

[magen]

Sounds good to me, but don't cha think it'd be painted as "ELITIST"?

Spoken in a fake texas cowboy (by way of Connecticut) accent-

"Real 'mericans eat processified foods"