Michelle Obama urges food industry to 'Step it up'

First Lady Michelle Obama has been reaching out to everyone about moving forward together to give all our children the healthy start to life that they deserve!

She’s been talking with parents, teachers, local governments and community leaders, doctors and nurses, and, of course, kids!

Because Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign has the ambitious goal of ending childhood obesity within a generation — she knows that we need everyone in our communities to pitch in.

And so today, in an effort to continue her outreach, Mrs. Obama spoke at the Grocery Manufacturers Association conference to challenge the industry to provide healthier options for families, to label their products more, and to market more responsibly to our children.

In her remarks, Mrs. Obama acknowledged the strides the industry has made in regards to promoting healthy habits for children. But she also challenged the industry — just as she has challenged parents, teachers, and kids themselves — to do more and to “step it up” for the sake of our youngest generation: As you know, you all produce much of the food that our children eat — and have marketed to them — each day. The decisions you make determine what’s in our grocery store shelves, what’s in our school lunches, and what’s in the thousands of advertisements our kids are exposed to each year. And I know that many of you are undertaking efforts to significantly reformulate your products — and I hope that the time will come when all of you are.