Thursday, December 15, 2011

Whose hands are in YOUR food?



A few weeks ago, I wrote a post in response to a NY Times article about Congress’s recent decision to oppose new USDA guidelines that would incorporate more fruits and vegetables into the school lunch room. I’m still in awe that the food industry has so much power that it can persuade Congress to consider pizza a “vegetable”.

As I started writing my final research paper about the National School Lunch Program for a class on food studies, I came across another NY Times opinion article about the power of the private food sector on public school lunches.

So each day the National School Lunch Program feeds 32 million children. 21 million of those children eat free or reduced-priced meals – thanks to the USDA paying about $1 billion a year for agricultural surpluses. The USDA provides schools with commodities like fresh apples, sweet potatoes, chicken and turkeys. Instead of cooking the food in the cafeteria kitchens (the logical choice…), schools take the commodities they are given and send them out for processing in order to make a profit.

Example:
School gets free raw chicken ($11.40/case) and sends it for processing into deep fried chicken nuggets ($33.45/case).

$33.45/case (sale) – NO COST TO SCHOOL! = $33.45 to the school in profit!

I’m not arguing against the schools trying to make a profit, or the fact that they are receiving these commodities for free; however, since they are receiving chicken for free they would still be making a profit had they chosen not to send them off to be processed into an unhealthy alternative. Yes, it is definitely less profitable for the school to take the chicken that is valued at $11.40/case and grill it in-house, but shouldn’t the purpose of the National School Lunch Program be more about feeding our kids healthy meals and less about the private food industry making a profit?

Although school boards and local politicians have asked food processors to create healthier alternatives, the argument is that children may not want to eat this healthier food and any increase in fruits and vegetables would result in wasted food. Is this possible? Absolutely. But if the schools aren’t able to influence food processors to create healthier alternatives, and the food processors are convincing Congress to block any measures to provide healthier alternatives, how will we ever be able to solve the growing problem of childhood obesity?

If you’re interested in the topic at all, I’d suggest checking out this NY Times article for yourself:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/school-lunches-and-the-food-industry.html?scp=1&sq=lunch&st=Search

Also, in researching for my paper I came across several books on the topic that seem really interesting and worthwhile:

School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America’s Favorite Welfare Program by Susan Levine
Free for All: Fixing School Food in America by Janet Poppendieck
Fed Up With Lunch: How One Anonymous Teacher Revealed the Truth About School Lunches by Mrs. Q
Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health by Amy Kalafa


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