WASHINGTON - If you’re feeling fat these days, blame Congress. That’s just what the nation’s doctors are doing, saying that federal lawmakers are responsible for the fact that a salad costs so much more than a Big Mac. Hoping to produce thinner waistlines, many doctors - including the American Medical Association - want Congress to stop subsidizing the production of foods that are high in fat and cholesterol and spend more to promote fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains that are not. Farm Belt lawmakers are on the defensive. ‘I agree that obesity and health are serious issues in America today,’ said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. ‘However, blaming the cause on the crops that we grow in Kansas and/or the U.S. farm program is overlooking the personal responsibility we all have in our daily lives and diets.’ The debate is intensifying as the Senate prepares to vote on a new farm bill. On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill that would give a record $2 billion for specialty crops, which include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and nursery crops. That’s at least four times as […]