Farm Worker Gored & Obesity Trends Up

Farm Worker Gored & Obesity Trends Up plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. The Pacific Northwest likes to eat. A new study shows the 3 northwest states saw a dramatic increase in obesity rates over the last 3 years. Increases of greater than 25% but less than 30% were seen putting the northwest in the second highest increase category. Mississippi was ranked number one with Alabama and Tennessee tied for second, West Virginia at number 4 and Louisiana at number 5. Annie Goodwin a dietician with the Benton-Franklin Health District says people need to get moving. GOODWIN: You need to exercise. You need to get out there and move and be active. I won't say exercise as much as be active. Another piece is of course how many calories go in. You know it's not just the folks that sell us the fast food or pop but our eating habits and the content of our diet has changed quite a bit so we're eating more calories and expending less calories and that equates into weight gain. A farm worker in Columbia County, Oregon was seriously injured when a bull attacked him, goring the man and flinging him 10 to 15 feet. Witnesses flagged down a passing trooper who contacted another deputy. As the bull proceeded to attack the man again as he was lying on the ground the officers shot and killed the bull. The 38-year-old man was flown to Oregon Health Sciences University for treatment. No other details were available on his condition. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. My family just returned from a quick trip back to the Midwest for a wedding/semi-family reunion. We have lived here in the Pacific Northwest for twenty years and have become accustomed to the surrounding areas' styles, and geographical landscape, so its always a refreshing and entertaining treat to experience the different and yet oh so familiar vistas of our not so distant past. One of the few things I do find enjoyable about airplane travel is the chance to observe agriculture from a bird's eye view. The beauty of circular and patchwork crop patterns from several thousand feet up is breathtaking and the winding dirt roads amongst the farms dotting the landscape stirs up imaginings of the rural small town life I grew up with. My two year old grandson was excited with the opportunity to see Belted Galloways, or as he calls them "Oreo" cows; animals he hasn't had the chance to see around our stomping ground. We were even lucky enough to see an old steam engine tractor, something I had never seen before either. Combine all this with the joy of seeing old and new family alike and a quick cross country trip turns into memories to last a life time. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.