    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 22 (Monday, June 5, 2000)]
    [Pages 1242-1243]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    May 27, 2000

        Good morning. Memorial Day weekend is a special time to honor those
    who have fought for our freedom but also to gather with our family and
    friends at picnics and backyard barbecues. Where we take pride in
    serving up plenty of good food, we should also take pains that the food
    we serve is good for us. Today I want to talk about new steps we're
    taking to empower Americans with the latest and best information on food
    and nutrition.
        For 20 years now, the Federal Government has been setting guidelines
    for good nutrition based on the best scientific evidence. And for over 6
    years, the Government has required nutrition labeling on most foods.
    With better information, Americans are making better choices. We're
    eating less fat as a percentage of our diet, more fruits, vegetables,
    and whole grains, and average blood cholesterol levels are going down.

    [[Page 1243]]

        Yet despite this progress, the vast majority of Americans still
    don't have healthy diets. And some changes in our lifestyles are making
    matters worse. We're eating more fast food because of our hectic
    schedules, and we're less physically active because of our growing
    reliance on modern conveniences, from cars to computers to remote
    controls. As a result, more and more Americans are overweight or obese,
    including 1 in 10 children. This is an alarming trend, because obesity
    and bad eating habits contribute to four of the leading causes of death:
    heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.
        To address these challenges, experts from around our Nation will
    meet next week in Washington for a summit on nutrition sponsored by the
    Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. It will be the
    first national nutrition summit in 31 years. To kick off the summit,
    today I am releasing the Federal Government's new Dietary Guidelines
    2000. They're updated every 5 years. These guidelines serve as the gold
    standard of nutritional information. They determine, among other things,
    the nutritional content of the lunches served to 26 million of our
    children every day in school.
        These new guidelines strengthen the message that doctors and
    scientists have been telling us for some time now: We should choose more
    whole-grain foods and a variety of fruits and vegetables every day, and
    we should moderate the saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, salt, and
    alcohol in our diets.
        There are two new guidelines this year as well. One emphasizes the
    importance of handling and storing food safely. The other makes clear
    the enormous benefits of building physical activity into our daily
    lives. Just a brisk 30-minute walk five times a week, for instance, can
    cut the chance of developing or dying from heart disease in half.
        I'm also pleased to announce today that this summer the Federal
    Government will propose that packaged meat and poultry sold in stores
    must come with nutrition labels. This is just plain common sense.
    Shoppers value the fact that when they pick up a box of cereal or a
    frozen meal, they can check the nutrition labels and see how many
    calories or grams of saturated fat these foods contain. That's the same
    kind of information that ought to be put on every package of ground
    beef. Currently, fewer than 60 percent of retailers do so, because
    nutrition labeling for meat is voluntary. It's time we made it
    mandatory.
        Providing citizens with accurate information that affects their
    lives is one of Government's most vital responsibilities. But citizens
    have a responsibility to use that information wisely, as well,
    especially when it comes to the food they provide their children and the
    habits they encourage in them. So this weekend, have a good time. Let's
    all eat well and eat right. Let's enjoy the outdoors and get some
    physical activity and be thankful for the bounteous times in which we
    live and the country that makes us so proud.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 4:39 p.m. on May 26 in the Oval Office
    at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 27. The transcript
    was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on May 26 but
    was embargoed for release until the broadcast.