Parenting & Family Quote by Kent Conrad

“North Dakota’s children” does a lot of quiet work here: it yokes a policy pitch to the least contestable constituency in American politics. Kent Conrad, a budget-minded Democratic senator from an agricultural state, frames nutrition as a civic obligation rather than a lifestyle choice. The word “vital” isn’t just emphasis; it’s a preemptive move against the familiar critique that food policy is nanny-state overreach. If it’s vital, it’s no longer optional, and it’s certainly not frivolous.

The content sounds simple - fruits, vegetables, “good eating habits” - but the intent is strategic coalition-building. By centering “fresh” produce, Conrad nods to public health data about obesity and long-term healthcare costs, while also aligning with farm-state economics. In a place where commodity agriculture is political bedrock, talking about nutrition can be a way to talk about markets, school procurement, and federal support without saying “subsidy” out loud. “Nutritionally sound diets” is bureaucratic phrasing that signals seriousness: this is evidence-based, not moralizing.

The subtext sits in the time horizon: “for their future.” That future is personal (health outcomes) and fiscal (Medicaid, insurance premiums, state budgets). Conrad’s sentence turns food into infrastructure: an investment that pays down risk later. It’s a politician’s version of preventive medicine, packaged in parental language, calibrated to sound like common sense while justifying public intervention.