For a moment, the threat of guac-ocalypse loomed over America. Had President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada gone into effect, the prices of avocados and tomatoes would have skyrocketed in the approach to Super Bowl Sunday. Trump may be bluffing about his willingness to start a trade war, but the grace period he negotiated with those nations lasts just 30 days. Yesterday he said that he would announce tariffs on even more countries'he didn't specify which'in the coming week. Soon, Americans could again be clutching our guacamole. If the tariffs Trump has threatened do go into effect, they would quickly raise the prices not just of avocados but of strawberries, cucumbers, bell peppers, oranges, countless processed foods, and other grocery staples that are already becoming less affordable for many people. Any pain that tariffs cause American consumers would'in Trump's view, which he boomed on Truth Social'be only a temporary bump on the road to 'THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA.' Implicit in that idea'and the reality of an actual trade war'is the assumption that the U.S. can make up for any lost imports on its own. Trump's stance on agriculture is the same as his stance on everything else: 'America First.'...
Two years after President Abraham Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture in 1862, he nicknamed it 'the people's department' because half of all Americans lived on farms at that time. Today, fewer than 2% of Americans farm, but the Agriculture Department still touches people's lives in many ways. The modern U.S. Department of Agriculture is a sprawling bureaucracy with a US$231 billion annual budget. Although it is headquartered in Washington, D.C., about 90% of its employees work in field offices nationwide. Others serve in nearly 100 embassies around the world as part of the Foreign Agriculture Service, promoting U.S. food and farm products. The most common misconception about the USDA is that it's mainly focused on supporting farmers and ranchers and conserving agricultural land. These are critical missions, but as a former deputy secretary of agriculture, I can attest that they represent only a small slice of what the department does. For example, nutrition assistance programs help tens of millions of people escape food insecurity annually. They consume 70% to 80% of the USDA's total annual budget, depending on the year, and include school meals, nutritional support for women, infants and children, and food benefits for low-income families. In contrast, only 13% of the agency's budget goes to farm, conservation and commodity programs....
Being tired is linked to something deeper than just overwork or a sign of the times. I'm a registered dietitian and nutritional neuroscientist. My research, along with the work of others in the field, shows that your diet and lifestyle choices may contribute to your struggles. These two factors are closely interconnected and could be the key to understanding what's holding you back. Foods high in vitamin D include fatty fish like salmon, sardines, freshwater rainbow trout, fortified dairy products and egg yolks. Among the sources for vegetarians and vegans are fortified plant-based milks and cereals and some kinds of mushrooms. The U.S. government's recommended daily amount of vitamin D is 400 international units, or IU, for infants up to 12 months, 600 IU for people ages 1 to 70 and 800 IU for people over 70. Just over 5 ounces (150 grams) of sockeye salmon fillet has about 800 IU of vitamin D. If you are low in a vitamin, your doctor may prescribe you a higher dose than the recommended daily amount to elevate your blood levels to normal....
My first byline in a national magazine appeared in the August 8, 1995, issue of Woman's Day under the headline 'What's Sabotaging Your Diet'' Woman's Day, that bastion of the checkout line, was known for unironic covers featuring decadent desserts under headlines about healthy eating. This particular issue's cover featured the title of my article over a photo of a chocolate cake frosted to look like a sunflower. I was 23, newly married, living in a studio in Brooklyn, and making $18,000 a year. I'd been an editorial assistant at the magazine for eight months and was eager for my first story. When the features editor said she needed a writer for a diet piece, I stuck my hand in the air. Almost as much as the byline, though, I wanted the advice. I was just under 200 pounds at the time and anxious to avoid crossing that dietary Rubicon. For the story, I talked with doctors and dietitians and got their best tips on staving off cravings, eating healthy, and keeping the number on the scale from creeping up any further than it had already....
