Opt Out of School Lunch
20th May 2012
School food is always a hot topic, and is perhaps more so now than it’s ever been. From a publicity standpoint, school food has taken off as an issue largely due to the efforts of Oliver and First Lady Michelle Obama. But viewed from the standpoint of edibility, cost, and healthiness, food served by public schools via the USDA’s National School Lunch Program was already an issue because that program and its food have a decades-long track record of sucking. And in spite of the best efforts of Oliver and Mrs. Obama, along with new rules set to take effect in the coming months, I’m not optimistic that the quality of school food is likely to change anytime soon.
Since when is it the job of the government to take charge of what kids eat in schools?
Since when is it the job of the Federal government to take charge of what kids eat in schools?
Since when is it the job of a non-boarding school to provide students with breakfast, lunch, and (in all to many cases) dinner?
Consider the ‘pink slime’ controversy earlier this year. Whether you were up in arms over chemically treated meat or thought it was completely fine to eat, the truth is if you’re a public school parent whose child eats a school lunch you still have little say over whether or not your child eats pink slime—or genetically-modified foods, sugars, starches, and a whole host of other foods about which decent parents (and experts) disagree.
Too bad. Nanny knows best.