Dear Ms. Susan Levin: After reading your article in the opinion page (Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007), it makes me sad that you too have taken the approach that it is someone else's fault for our kids being obese. This seems to be the trend lately whether it's fast food or now the farmers as you say.

What happen to the parents? The last time I checked, a parent is responsible for their children and that includes what they eat along with a multitude of other areas. Don't blame someone else. That's the easy way out. Stand up to your kids when they want junk food.

Most of the time the parents buy the food brought into the home. If you start out at a young age with a healthy diet that is low in sugars and saturated fat, they have a good chance of following that example the rest of their healthy lives. Fast food or snack food isn't bad if you limit it to once or twice a month, not once or twice a day. Also, try growing a garden with your kids. Fresh picked veggies are a real treat especially if they have been planted, watered and weeded by the kids. This activity also gets them off their chair, gives them exercise, responsibility and a sense of achievement. The exercise part could be the missing ingredient of the kids that are obese.

Again, start with a good example when they are young and it will follow them their whole life.

Tom Meyers

Montezuma