Two items crossing my screen in the past couple of days illustrate the fabulously roiled field of food and food politics.

First, my pal Deborah Lapidus at Corporate Accountability International wrote to ask that I add my voice against the corporate food lobby's attempt in Arizona to prevent local cities and towns from even proposing laws that would impede marketing of junk food to children.

Probably the better course would be just to ignore them, and I often do, but this post from the food/restaurant industry shills at myfoodmychoice.org is just too ripe for mockery. For these simps, that's saying something.

The headline says, "Kids Reject New Govt School Lunch Food Formulas," and the half-truthiness has begun:

Another excerpt from the f.a.c.t.s. report on childhood obesity from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale:

"Young people’s exposure to fast food TV ads has increased. Compared to 2003, preschoolers viewed 21 percent more fast food ads in 2009, children viewed 34 percent more, and teens viewed 39 percent more."

Another excerpt of findings by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, from its recent f.a.c.t.s. report on kids and eating.

Here's another finding from the Rudd Center's f.a.c.t.s. report on the relationship of food advertising and children:

I don't know how far I'll get with it, but this is the first in a series of data gathered and interpreted by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. The center released its extensive f.a.c.t.s. report this week. The acronym stands for Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score.

The fast food industry spent more than $4.2 billion in 2009 on TV advertising, radio, magazines, outdoor advertising, and other media.

Here's the headline to which I refer in the headline of this post:

How Michael Prager’s Book Helped Me Make Lunch for My Kid 

Via Jamie Oliver, the heartening news that in the fall, DC schools will stop serving sugary cereals and flavored milk.