Super Size Us!

*Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant

*In 1972, we spent 3 billion a year on fast food - today we spend more than $110 billion

*McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day - more than the entire population of Spain

*French fries are the most eaten vegetable in America

*You would have to walk for 7 hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fry and Big Mac

*In the U.S., we eat more than 1,000,000 animals an hour

*60 percent of all Americans are either overweight or obese

*1 in every 3 children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime

*Left unabated, obesity will surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in America

*Obesity has been linked to: Hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease, Adult Onset Diabetes, Stroke, Gall Bladder Disease, Osteoarthritis, Sleep Apnea, Respiratory Problems, Endometrial, Breast, Prostate and Colon Cancers, insulin resistance, breathlessness, Asthma, impaired fertility and lower back pain

*The average child sees 10,000 TV advertisements per year

*Only seven items on McDonald's entire menu contain no sugar

*Willard Scott was the first Ronald McDonald - he was fired for being too fat

*McDonald's distributes more toys per year than Toys-R-Us

*Diabetes will cut 17-27 years off your life

*McDonald's: "Any processing our foods undergo make them more dangerous than unprocessed foods"

*The World Health Organization has declared obesity a global epidemic

*Eating fast food may be dangerous to your health

*McDonald's calls people who eat a lot of their food "heavy users"

*McDonald's operates more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries on 6 continents

*Before most children can speak they can recognize McDonald's

*Surgeon General David Satcher: "Fast food is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic"

*Most nutritionists recommend not eating fast food more than once a month

*40 percent of American meals are eaten outside the home

*McDonald's represents 43% of total U.S. fast food market

Save money, Save calories, Protect your health--Prepare more meals at home!

Fall Greenhouse Crops Field Day

Banner Greenhouses, Nebo, NC will be hosting a Fall Greenhouse Crops Field Day.  Mr. Craig Adkins, North Carolina State University, will discuss managing disease and insect problems of Fall greenhouse crops.  Also on the program, Huub Kemere, MSG Horticultural, Inc., will talk about building a biological pest control program.  Another speaker, Don Hanson, OHP, Inc., will make participants aware of new solutions for pest control.  Included is a tour of Banner Greenhouses and lunch.  Registration of $20 (prior to September 15) or $25 (after September 15) is required.


Commercial Pesticide Applicator’s Credit (L,N,O,D) and private pesticide Applicator’s Credit (X) will be offered. Please check credits at: www.ncagr.gov/SPCAP/pesticides/license.htm


This workshop is sponsored by North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Banner Greenhouses, and North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Association.


Hope to see you there!

Western On-Farm Poultry Processing Regulation Workshop

This free workshop is designed for ALL poultry growers who are processing on-farm under exemption, regardless of how many birds you raise and market.  If you raise, process and sell between 1 and 20,000 birds annually, you need this information.


WHO:  All poultry growers who process on-farm for commercial sale
WHAT:  New guidelines for on-farm processing exemptions, allowing producers to sell up to 20,000 birds on farm.
WHERE:  Burke County Cooperative Extension Center, Morganton, NC
WHEN:  Monday, September, 12th, 6:30pm-8:30pm
PLEASE RSVP by September 10th to casey@ncchoices.com, 828-216-2966


Don Delozier, Director of Meat and Poultry Inspection and Alan Wade, MPID Head Compliance Officer, will discuss the new regulations and accountability systems for exempt on-farm processing of poultry.  The new rules increased the number of birds allowed to be processed and sold off your farm from 1,000 to 20,000 birds annually.  ALL on-farm processors, regardless of volume will need to adhere to the new regulations.  


NC Choices will also present a slide show of small, on-farm processing facilities.  This is a unique opportunity to learn how others manage on-farm processing and make sure your systems are in compliance with state regulations.  MPID representatives will be on-hand for questions.


The Sustainable Agriculture Program at Western Piedmont Community College is offering a bus tour of their facilities beginning at 5:00pm.  The bus will leave from Burke County Cooperative Extension and will return by 6:15pm.  Contact Chip Hope chope@wpcc.edu for more info on the tour.