*** FORUMS ARCHIVE ***

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Dec06/ ... ds,00.html

WASHINGTON — Let them eat tofu, the government says.

That's one of the new food products being offered under a major
overhaul of the Women, Infants and Children program. But primarily,
the Agriculture Department wants more fruits, vegetables and whole
grains on the plates of poor women and children and less milk,
cheese, eggs and juice.

The department calls the change the first major revision of the
program in 30 years. The changes will be effective next February and
state agencies will then have 18 months to implement them. The
program serves about 8 million people.

Eric Steiner, the department's associate administrator for special
nutrition programs, said WIC recipients typically have diets
deficient in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. He said there's
also a prevalence of obesity among the population.

The USDA based the changes on suggestions by the Institute of
Medicine with the caveat that the revisions not increase costs. The
Institute of Medicine is a branch of the National Academy of
Sciences, an independent organization that advises the government on
scientific matters.

The reductions of other products, such as dairy, were made both to
keep the cost of the program from rising and to improve nutrition.

"The revised packages have less saturated fat and cholesterol, and
this is accomplished by reducing the quantities of milk and cheese,"
Steiner said.

Under the WIC program, people receive vouchers for specific foods,
averaging about $39 a month in 2007. Under the revisions, vouchers
for fruits and vegetables will be $6 for children, $8 for women and
$10 for fully breast-feeding women _ with the goal of encouraging
more women to breast feed.

Products such as tofu, soy beverages, tortillas and brown rice are
being offered as alternatives to meet the demands of more culturally
diverse populations.

The department received more than 46,000 public comments since first
proposing the changes last year, and most were supportive, Steiner
said.

Anti-hunger advocates praised the changes. Jim Weill, president of
the Food Research and Action Center, said the addition of whole
grains, fruits and vegetables will reduce obesity and "help
nutritionally vulnerable children form healthy eating habits from an
early age."

The dairy, egg and fruit juice industries backed the additions, but
lamented the reduced roles for their products. Carol Freysinger,
executive director of the Juice Products Association, said the
reductions could "send an inappropriate and unsubstantiated message
about the benefits of 100 percent juice consumption."

According to government estimates, annual milk and cheese sales
under the revised program will be about $960 million, a reduction of
roughly $400 million. Juice sales would be reduced by nearly half,
to $281 million, while egg sales would drop from $120 million to $67
million.

Chris Galen, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation,
called the lost sales to dairy significant. "And we don't think it's
prudent from a public health standpoint," he said.

Howard Magwire, a lobbyist for the United Egg Producers, said he was
hopeful the industry could make up for some of the losses with WIC
recipients spending other money on eggs.