The USDA has proposed limiting the use of potatoes on school lunch lines, reducing salt and increasing the use of whole grains. Congress is working on a bill that would block these three proposals.
Conservatives argue that the government should not be telling children what to eat while Republicans on the House Appropriations committee said the changes would be overly burdensome and costly.
The bill would block the Agricultural Department from limiting starchy vegetables including corn and peas to two servings per week. The rule was intended to cut down the number of times per week schools could serve french fries, which in many cases is five times a week.
It would also block the reduction in sodium in school lunches by requiring more study before making any changes.
A couple thoughts immediately came to mind.
- First the government already tells children and adults what they can and cannot do and actively campaigns to educate and enforce their positions. Children can’t smoke before 18 nor can they drink, at least legally until 21. They make regulations because they believe the rules are in the best interest of society. With 35% of kids overweight in America limiting the amount of salt and french fries children can eat at school per week seems to be in the public’s best interest. What’s wrong with healthier children?
- They also argued that the changes would be overly burdensome. We are already documenting what we feed our kids so substituting the word carrots for potatoes does not seem like it would be cause to much hardships.
If we want to improve the health of our children then we need to improve what they eat at school. For many children school meals are the only regular meals they receive and making sure they are healthy is a positive thing for America.
Just my opinion. Love to hear what you think. Opposing views are always welcome.
