« The Shameful Truth About Pizza, Fries, and Congress's Vote on School Lunches »
Roberta Kyle, Senior Editor | Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 5:26AM 
You would think that with childhood obesity at record levels and the incidence of diabetes and heart disease rising in teenagers and even young children, that the health of the next generation would be important to Congress, wouldn’t you?
Here is the shameful truth. There is a bill in Congress right now that would limit starches and increase fruits, vegetables and whole grains in federally funded school lunches, that is having the teeth taken out of it by conservative congressmen who argue it will cost too much and is not necessary. Is it just a coincidence that this same Congress has been heavily lobbied by frozen pizza manufacturers, potato farmers and the salt industry? I don’t think so, do you? Here’s an idea of the changes to the bill from a Fox News article( just so you know I am not quoting only liberal sources)
The president’s efforts to make school lunches healthier has hit a roadblock in Congress, with some of its members attempting to unravel his plan. They’re pushing back against Agriculture Department initiatives to limit french fries and pizzas, reduce sodium and boost whole grains on school lunch lines.
The final version of a wide-ranging spending bill released late Monday would force the department to drop an attempt to limit servings of potatoes per week, delay proposed limits on sodium and delay a requirement to boost whole grains. The department proposed the standards earlier this year.
The spending bill also would allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The department’s proposed guidelines would have attempted to prevent that.
Nutrition advocate Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest had this to say in response to the final version of the bill:
…the changes proposed by Congress will prevent schools from serving a wider array of vegetables. Children already get enough pizza and potatoes, she says. It would also slow efforts to make pizzas — a longtime standby on school lunch lines — healthier, with whole grain crusts and lower levels of sodium.
“They are making sure that two of the biggest problems in the school lunch program, pizza and french fries, are untouched,” she said.
And that, folks, is the shameful truth. Keep your eye on this bill. Fast food and high starch will still be on the school lunch menu and our kids will be getting fatter while our government representatives get richer.
It’s too bad that our children are the ones who will have to pay the bill.
Reader Comments (3)
I cant wait to go through additional from you. That is really an incredible weblog.
Obesity and health are two things that should be taken seriously. It's the job of the government to take care of its people. No to fast food menu on high school cafeterias!
Thanks guys for the encouraging comments and glad you like the blog.... I'll be posting more about fast food and big business so stay tuned.