THE NEW MAGIC NUMBER – AT 8:05 P.M. ET:  Have you noticed how the number "trillion" has suddenly come into fashion.  You know, after a while you get used to it.  Trillion is the new billion.

It's usually applied to money.  But, through the efforts of the first lady, we now have a new iteration of "trillion."  From ABC News:

With the goal to reduce 1 trillion calories in food sold annually by 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama announced a private-sector partnership for her Let’s Move! Childhood obesity campaign.

Mrs. Obama touted that the Partnership for a Healthier America has signed an agreement with the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) -- a partnership between 16 corporations that account for roughly 20-25% of the American food supply.

“I am thrilled to say that they have pledged to cut a total of 1 trillion calories from the food they sell annually by the year 2012, and 1.5 trillion calories by 2015,” Mrs. Obama said from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building today, “They’ve agreed to reformulate their foods in a number of ways, including by addressing fat and sugar content, by introducing lower-calorie options, and by reducing the portion sizes of existing single-serve products."

Reducing the portion size, and probably charging the same price.  I sense a racket here.

Look, we want the kids to eat right, to stay slim, etc., etc.  The problem is that we already have many low-calorie foods on the market, but the kids just won't eat them.  Or, if they do, they eat more of them because they think it's okay.

I don't know what the answer is.  But they'll have to take my cold, dead hands from around my chocolate doughnuts before I give them up.

I get the feeling that parents and peer pressure are involved here.  Maybe some of that old-time "you want to look your best for him (or her)" will work.  But we do have a problem, and if the first lady's campaign does some good, more power to her.

I'll now go off and have my Hershey dark chocolate bar.  I'm not kidding.  But I bought the small size, so I'm a responsible eater.

May 17, 2010