today in our we've told you a lot about these cyber legislation snaking their way through congress and what it means for your internet freedoms but what does the co-founder of apple steve was me i'd have to say about it r.j. has the exclusive interview with the man who helped shape technology into what it is today. plus you watch what you are when you're way by exercising and eating healthier but who's watching the farm lobby and the legislations they're trying to sneak through congress coming up we'll tell you who's planting seeds of lawmakers heads and how the farm bill will come back to you. and from the days of the five food groups to g m o's and space food our tastes palates have come a long way along with the meals we consume daily coming up a look at the future of food.

it's friday august tenth six pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wahl and you're watching r.t. . well we begin today taking a close look at cyber legislation in the am to regulate the internet with the failure of the most recent cyber bill in the senate and a possible obama executive order it seems the government is looking for other ways to beef up internet protection ahead of cyber command general keith alexander also head of the n.s.a. has come out asking the administration to review the rules when it comes to cyber attacks currently the pentagon is only allowed to defend against attacks inside its own boundaries but now they're hoping to expand that power to outside of their own computer networks and within foreign countries this comes a day after labs identified another apparent state sponsored virus with links to stuxnet that and flame so as speculation swirls around the future of the answer that we here at r.t. sat down with someone who had a strong hand in creating our current cyber climate. co-founder of apple speaks to

our t. about net neutrality and his fear that freedom on the internet could become a thing of the past i think that a lot of social interaction will be curbed i want to take that back i fear i fear it will be that the gate keepers those who can turn on and off switches allow certain things disallow other things allow who gets to send me data about a new movie rather than everyone have an equal say so of reaching me you know i fear that very strongly that specially net neutrality issues like that internet freedom is being interfered with in major ways and it shouldn't i think the internet should have been considered from day one a country of its own that isn't bound by any individual country's laws maybe we could have an internet government but it didn't happen just like world government doesn't happen you know space doesn't belong to anyone the moon doesn't belong to anyone these are really beautiful principles in life and then as soon as a country figures out a way to get control of them that disappears i'm an optimist and i believe we can

move more and more towards net neutrality the trouble is a lot of it has to be enforced by the government and. conservative types and libertarian types say government shouldn't have any say in control over that that takes away our freedom wrong it takes away the freedom of the companies that are taking away the freedom from us every freedom we have in the united states every one of them was given to us by congressional regulation it's called the bill of rights that that is what gives us our freedom and yet it was from the government was government regulation no there are times when government regulation says you will not impede with the internet neutrality of the users but what do you think about this whole hacktivism movement that's come out of kind of you know the war on whistleblowers and the occupy wall street and anonymous and you have you know these takedowns of government websites and then you see legislation lexis the cyber intelligence security and protection act that kind of puts a stop to these things you think that that's kind of working as

a guys. and using the hacktivism and hacktivists to kind of regulate the internet even more so i really think that there are means for legitimate discourse and trying to bring attention with activist x. is wrong on the other hand i believe very strongly in legitimized marches and that sort of stuff you know with the approval of the authorities there's room in our society to go out and have a microphone and to have a say and be heard by so many others especially in this day of the internet so there are a lot of avenues it's just trying to you know grab something to get on the news and i don't think that's the way to maybe it's a start it puts ideas in people's heads but i really. i don't i don't think that's the right way to solve things the whole world is very conflict oriented we want to take a side and fight for my side my side might be my country it might be my computer platform it might be which browser i use and i take my side and everybody else is bad and i want to fight it and i only want to look at the world one way and i'm the

i try to be so wide open and just you know accept everything and judge it that's the logical scientific you know approach don't take a side. be what for one religion against others that sort of thing that was co-founder of apple steve was an act and we will bring you more of that exclusive interview in the eight pm show. well let's take a look now at a piece of legislation that should be coming up for a vote soon but one that congress seems to keep putting off it's called the farm bill and it is restructured and renewed every five years far from a simple bill to help farmers the bill is all encompassing and deals with everything from food to biofuels to food stamps and as our to correspondent christine for his hour reports there's a growing concern that powerful lobbying interests will have a major impact on the future of food in this country. for those facing hard times places like this do still exist in most major cities washington d.c.

included and the need is growing exponentially since two thousand and eight there has been a twenty five percent increase the number of families children senior citizens who need our food assistance the capital area food bank provides food organizations who distribute it to those in need many part of the supplemental nutrition assistance program or snap formerly known as food stamps it's a program facing extreme cuts in the upcoming farm bill at snap a skirt a person literally that's giving us let's say one hundred dollars the snap could have their benefit reduced to maybe fifty to sixty dollars a month and this is the person that maybe has a family of three or four people in fifty sixty or fifty or sixty dollars that go a long way. after that they must go elsewhere but programs like this are far more complicated than they see the rules and regulations laid out in the complex and large piece of legislation so this is the current version of the form bill that the

house is debating in the summer so this is double so i. really have to pages in its newly released report cultivating influence the two thousand and eight farm bill lobbying frenzy food and water watch breaks down the forces behind the ingredients of the bill an example of too many cooks in the kitchen over the course of the bait of the two thousand and eight farm bill over a thousand and companies trade associations groups lobbied they spend one hundred seventy three million dollars was our calculation so who has the greatest influence when it comes to setting food policy in the united states many experts say it's actually wal-mart they've got nearly four thousand stores across this country many of them super centers and in just the last fifteen years have gone from about six percent to twenty five percent of total. grocery sale that means not just more profit but much much more power other major lobbying influences include monsanto

kraft foods the american sugar alliance and the national restaurant association whose money speaks louder than those who receive help from places like this. the great need by people has resulted in food banks needing more and more space are open to live free with forty eight thousand square feet our new food distribution center with one hundred twenty three thousand square feet and with that greater need of facing the deeper cuts it could be a recipe for hardship for more and more americans in washington christine for south r.t. and keep it on the subject of food we want to talk now about the way americans shop for food is changing according to the national association of convenience stores food items accounted for sixteen point nine percent of a record one hundred ninety five billion dollars of convenience store sales and two thousand and eleven so that means americans are more and more turning to

convenience stores to shop for food seems like it's becoming another fast food option well jeff letter to vice president of industry advocacy at the national association of convenience stores joined me earlier and talked about this growing trend. well the trend of having stores with more really harkens back to a certain extent to the old days where drug stores used to have a soda jerk so they sold sandwich week while convenience stores a lot of the same they used to be so i don't know used to be official name the seven eleven stores what we've seen over the last few years is that in terms of our business very well the key demand for gas is two thousand and eight so we're gradually seeing less. traffic and that is where you revenue driver and so profit growth. cigarette sales also on the behind so you're seeing retailers where it's who or what however is that life that you're talking about what's there ease

through produce sandwiches you're talking about more food the opportunity for the future but at the same time customers want more time so you're seeing that twenty two percent of furniture stores now sell so you know if you know it's people who are almost all of your purse they want to know how they want to eat on the go that's those are the three friends we're seeing right now that you've made the argument that convenience stores as we perceive them today will go from gas stations that sell food to food stores that happened to sell gas is that what you think is. essentially what's happening i think that's one of those things that's going to take to you there's something look up and say things that happen and you see examples of that across the country but by citing examples i guess it's also showing there's still a ways to go i thought i was in a new star outside of dallas fort worth that actually not great last year yes just unbelievable they've got laurel is so great great things there have been the stores

that sell sushi and then sushi so we're seeing that evolution people know to measure it wasn't too long ago there people thought who gets you. and has the palette. it's that people are more open to nice and humane and who you're seeing there also saying people who give it and could be a source of irish if they're great in the stores they're doing a small but the goal is restaurant quality food convenience store can be the is the speed of service and the way. ok and when you think convenience store you kind of think small mom and pop or or your seven eleven daria or your gas station but what about the gigantic wal-mart step that kind of one stop shopping and that way how does that plan to everything well when you're competing when you're an easy to out of the big wal mart it makes you have to look at how you do so in terms of can be

a source wal-mart offers a lot of great things that a lot of stuff just if you're a convenience store located near a wal-mart there might actually be opportunity for you there because you may be able to get somebody that doesn't want to after that they start flocking to all those living to get that wal-mart spirit so a lot of retailers don't like to be here wal-mart has good reason some can take advantage of that by emphasizing that there are places that. while we're looking at a lot of the say long every other retailer is how do you get somebody what they want it looks like price they can feel good about it on their way wal-mart i think the average very close or what our our stores the average experience both reported all right so we are seeing this trend and clearly more people are turning to convenience stores to get their food just what does that mean in terms of american health we're already seeing this obesity epidemic how is this playing into into that. well there's two parts of the equation. looking at what's

happening in terms of obesity. what you're seeing in the wars is not necessarily solely for food but more options as well so you go to be it's not difficult to find something like yogurt or dried berries or fresh fruit or to share sandwiches with anything you want to. have stores over some of the work for additional thought of as fast as restaurants you probably have a little bit more options what you can offer you aren't necessarily in the menu so you feel awful lot of stores that are the food stores getting the food are able to provide a number of options they can offer that they can offer to you so they can also offer what might be considered. something that you want for yourself so.

we want to look at things. given to them give them some options for healthy and of course get along the way. you know we talk a lot here about you know this growing wealth gap that is happening in the u.s. do you think that that's going to play into that where you know the wealthy will be able to shop at the more organic. you know big organic stores and have and be able to go for the more healthy options where as you know those that aren't so wealthy are going to be shopping at last healthier places. purchasing more packaged kinds of foods you see that. do you see that impacting the socioeconomic status of people being able to that that whole trend kind of playing into it even more in the future. there's a lot of things that you hear about their friend is it well as it related to what your parents were what kind of you know. if your parents. told you that their

older rootless a great set that's probably a trait they're passed on to your kids. i don't know we're necessarily the expert in speaking on the socio economic situation but it's a typical day in our history we service about one hundred sixty eight million transactions and there are three hundred well or three so aadhar if you want to convenience work today it will be tomorrow or at least buy gas or be inside the store so we left that the socio economic because everyone knows the source of the week if you're thirsty to grab a great get one of our stores here being if you're hungry grab something to eat so . it's probably best for somebody else but. well it happened there was like there we see everybody hears i mean the last i just want to ask you we were talking about this trend but at the same time it seems like there is this demand we see this

movement for again excludes that these kinds of foods are growing in popularity so isn't there more of a demand for natural clean food that you would necessarily find at a convenience store. we there are a number of stores that do offer these things but we still a lot of we've seen a lot of studies out there. and one of the key things. is the big thing if you need to look at it there are actually what people say let's face it is very similar to people work out several a lot of the answers are aspirational of course they want to force they go to the gym. they're going to a lot of people that are too big but organic but not really succeeded so the idea of option let me have choices of educated customers that will want to live in the. one spot where they might shop if you want to sell something else over open

a cooler coffee or for the whole thing or they're much more likely to get in purchases so sometimes just what you have in your stores that are presented to the customer right jeff i'm going to cut you off there we are out of time i will say that one thing i will never get a convenience store in the term drawing drawing the line thank you so much for coming on the show that was jeff one article or a vice president of industry advocacy at the national association of convenience stores. in your five main food groups you've got your fruits and vegetables grains very sweet and nice but i'm sure to leave a little room for the g.m. of these companies are putting in your foods coming up we'll show you where the evolution of food has come from and where it's headed.

what drives the world the fear mongering used by politicians who make decisions to break through it's already been made who can you trust no one who is imbued with the global machinery see where we had a state controlled capitalism is called fascism when nobody dares to ask we do our t. question more. r t is the state run english speaking russian channel it's kind of like.

russia today has an extremely confrontational stance when it comes to us. just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old and she told the truth. i

have a confession i am a total get a friend i was driving hip hop music and pretty. much it was kind of yesterday. i'm very aware of the world with its place. at first very much as a burden gerard is right right by me it's like a derivative of actual pepper it's a food product essentially. how much stronger than anything you'd be by obviously. our rules of the arms were stronger than any one of the multiple you ever put you know.

well it's not just where americans are food shopping that's changing the actual food we eat is changing let's take a look now at just how food has evolved over the years sixteen twenty one the first thanksgiving feast seventeen hundreds the birth of french fries in eight hundred thirty four the hamburger came along to go with those fries an eight hundred eighty five the sugary a carbonated beverage dr pepper came into being and in the early one nine hundred more processed foods came about like hostess cupcakes nine hundred thirty seven for better or worse canned meat became a reality that's only got spam in one thousand nine hundred two the food and drug administration approved. foods in two thousand and one if you weren't getting it out of omega as in your diet they have somehow injected the fatty acids into eggs and. foods more convenient two thousand and two the creation of tearless onions now in twenty thirty five some are predicting our dinner plate will look at lunch much

different from red carrots to lab injected hamburger patties to fake chicken so we're talking our meats engineered in labs to discuss this food historian and author of the book last arts of hearth and home can. join me earlier and talked about the possible future direction of food in america. well i think you had a very scary litany of changes there but i think you've predicted the direction very well convenience is definitely on the rise and i think we're seeing a lot more than the health i mean you know americans love to have peace and. things that are that you don't need help for but i can imagine in the next twenty thirty years to leave your and maybe even leave when people stop buying stakes and things i can see that nine really. defined people getting most of everything.

basically that you're saying. i mean we tend to think. of being universal than the past two hundred years and i think. we also can see this controversy over g.m.o. a genetically modified organisms can we expect further become genetically modified well this is a trend that you know right now we're on the cusp of possible legislation. trying to pass labeling laws on the ballot. so i think if that happens the rest of the country might follow and we might have a reaction against. europe but if that doesn't happen we're going to remain ignorant at least in this country and i think a lot more. are it's really not a direct product like you would find it or. as you called it really in the

office in the soil that ends up in philly lecithin or. kind of. goes like that when you. of power. it's not directly consumed by humans but it's indirect and down the line of the things that don't really know what that those. figures across that we don't have of the. the disaster on our hands or you know ten years after consuming people find of some of these but the government so far has decided that these are virtually quibbles but you know the corn that is g.m.o. in the corn that isn't. really you don't have to test it you have a quarter of the same organs which i think might disagree with and so again how far can this go can are we talking bread and meat that isn't actually meat that's created in a lab you know there's experiments with what they call in vitro meat i think it's

actually you start you know cells replicate and if you put them in a good medium a little glass. and you feed them they will reproduce and create more and what is surprising to me is ok we have a growth factor immediately we go you know one eat meat that's very low life right now it's very prohibitive prohibitively expensive but peta has come out on the side saying well you know right now where raising cattle and mistreating them and subjecting them to indignities if you raise just the cells in the laboratory that's a lot more ethically sound than you can understand with the position comes from i think meat will definitely be some more expensive in the future and it should be right now it is something we need a lot of we don't think about the environmental consequences really of this sale that need is you know what's the sense of that as an animal model and i think that the general trend is we're moving toward more grass more effort we're more formal

we need and i think that that will will catch on future. with spencer all right i guess i will definitely say in vitro does not sound delicious but what do you. as we see this trend steering from natural products to more products that are created in labs i mean ultimately what does that mean americans are putting these types of food into their body how does that impact our health. well there's not a lot of research on it unfortunately the people who hold the most of the most high tech g.m.o. especially don't want those you know intellectual property out there and they don't want other people testing is something wrong with it. so we really don't know if this is all of their you very big question mark you know there's a there's always a constant tension in much of the american but around the world is that you have

some scientists inventing things creating flavors arguments and things like that that go into our food and have other people who say i just don't want this and i'd rather eat whole foods and things that are grown organically or or at least famously and that tension is actually very good i think that it promotes better. on the one hand it creates greater awareness of who among the general populace and i think the industry can get away with as much as they used to or they tried very hard as a doing that g.m.o. . you know that that tension we tend to go if you think of this sort of trajectory of how our attitude towards changes the move toward natural very big when i was sixty seven it's come back now again and people are starting to do things themselves again. you know sectionals and. things like that so this is definitely action in industrial food right now but i think that to be the next trend in

a major way for the next several years then of course what what usually happens is the industry talks that they will label something you know organic i mean organic cheetos on a shelf. you know very often the you know right well you know it can if you are what you eat this is all pretty scary to me we're going to get out there that was can i'll bolli history a professor at the university of the pacific and author of the box a lost art of hearts and help. that's time to check in with our web team to see what they're working on our two web producer andrew blake is in the newsroom to tell us more handrail what are you working on today hold hold hold of it let me let me tell you about something i don't have much time but this is really really really important so there's this massive almost entirely widespread kind of secretive surveillance system blanketing america right now and many people haven't heard of it it's called trap wire have you heard of it i have not heard about it it sounds terrifying absolutely go to our two dot com slash usa and read all about what trap wire is it's run by a company right down the street northern virginia called abraxas and it's staffed

by some of the top intelligence officers within the united states government got former agents with the cia the f.b.i. and what they're doing is they've installed the surveillance cameras and other sort of information nodes across the country that uses face recognition software that is more advanced than anything commercially available in the united states right now and they can take information and transmit it to a data center to analyze it to go over and try to find suspected terrorist but they also see everything and it's happening right now there are cameras set up in washington d.c. in las vegas nevada all across the state of texas new york city new jersey and many people don't know about it but luckily remember the number last year when anonymous hack stratfor and got all those duis crazy e-mails out of them i do and you know what andrew we are out of time but we're going to tell everybody to go on the web because clearly there's a lot going on. about it on our team dot com our last usa thanks sanjay.