Sorry it’s been so long since my last post! I’ve been busy
moving and getting settled in my new apartment and just started classes. So it’s been crazy and I haven’t had a chance
to work on a post. BUT, the wait is
OVER!
Anyway, back to the good stuff…
Yes, you read the title correctly. Pizza lovers everywhere
rejoice! According to Congress, pizza can now offer you the benefits of 1
serving of vegetables.
How you ask? Well,
first let me provide a little back story.
In 2010, the Obama Administration passed legislation to promote healthy
lunches in schools. Under this bill,
federally subsidized lunches must have a certain number of vegetable servings
to be served. The bill aims to reduce
“starchy” vegetables in lunchrooms including corn and French Fries. It also hopes to increase the intake of
fruits, vegetable and whole grains. All
great things!!
However, due to the complaints of certain special interest groups, Congress has revised sections of the bill. Specifically, the bill considers ½ a cup of tomato sauce to be equivalent to one serving of vegetables… I’m sorry, come again?
YES, tomato sauce is considered a vegetable, thereby leaving pizza untouched in the efforts to remove unhealthy elements from school lunches. Additionally, food special interest groups argued that this bill disregarded the healthful aspects of foods such as corn, peas and potatoes. As a result, French Fries and pizza still remain in school lunchrooms.
Funny...I thought that deep fried potatoes were bad for you! And here I am trading a side of french fries for salad! Silly me!
It is so frustrating to me that events like this still happen in the US. Sure, this bill is a step in the right direction, and of course it’s good that it’s getting people talking and thinking about changing school lunches, but if French Fries are available then what incentive is there for a student to choose spinach or some other leafy green? Also, I can understand if legislation does not work toward promoting healthier meals, but it should not work against it. What is the point of even having this legislation if it doesn’t make a significant change in removing the two most common unhealthy food items in school lunches?
However, due to the complaints of certain special interest groups, Congress has revised sections of the bill. Specifically, the bill considers ½ a cup of tomato sauce to be equivalent to one serving of vegetables… I’m sorry, come again?
YES, tomato sauce is considered a vegetable, thereby leaving pizza untouched in the efforts to remove unhealthy elements from school lunches. Additionally, food special interest groups argued that this bill disregarded the healthful aspects of foods such as corn, peas and potatoes. As a result, French Fries and pizza still remain in school lunchrooms.
Funny...I thought that deep fried potatoes were bad for you! And here I am trading a side of french fries for salad! Silly me!
It is so frustrating to me that events like this still happen in the US. Sure, this bill is a step in the right direction, and of course it’s good that it’s getting people talking and thinking about changing school lunches, but if French Fries are available then what incentive is there for a student to choose spinach or some other leafy green? Also, I can understand if legislation does not work toward promoting healthier meals, but it should not work against it. What is the point of even having this legislation if it doesn’t make a significant change in removing the two most common unhealthy food items in school lunches?
This whole thing drives me nuts and could have such a big impact. Grr.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the conversation we had about Mayor Bloomberg's soda initiative.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I feel about the government making policies that restrict consumers' access to certain foods (not that good...), but for argument's sake, assuming that doing so DOES fall within the government's purview of acceptable powers, I think that legislators should just TAX sugar!
If all sugary/unhealthy products became just a little bit more expensive, it would dissuade a lot of people from buying unhealthy foods - or at least buying them in such large quantities.
This was the motivation behind implementing cigarette taxes, and it was super effective! And that way, the government wouldn't have the responsibility to determine which foods are healthy enough to be widely available, and in what quantities.