Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, you’ve undoubtedly seen or heard the news that Congress has passed a bill stating that, as far as children’s school lunches go, pizza is now a vegetable.
Well, to be more precise, the tomato paste on a slice of pizza counts as a vegetable. But WTF, right?
Here are a few links in case you missed it.
And the list goes on and on. Every major news outlet has covered the story one way or another, from the Washington Post to the Chicago Tribune, and regardless of where you heard it, if you’re like me, you’re probably resisting the urge to want to throw face through a window.
Really? Pizza is going to be counted as a vegetable?
I’m just wondering what’s next: Pop Tarts being recognized as a fruit?
This is an epic fail by Congress. And it boggles my mind that, even for a second, this is the type of nonsense they’re concentrating their efforts on. I mean, it’s not like we have a financial crisis, two wars, skyrocketing unemployment rates, and another Twilight movie to be more concerned about.
It’s pretty pathetic and downright disheartening that our politicians are placing the interests of corporate America a head of that of children.
Is it any wonder, then, why Congress’ approval rating has taken a nosedive in recent months? After this fiasco, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Hepatitis C is ahead of them in the polls. Ohhhhhhh snap. Count it!
What gets me, though, is that in one of the stories I read, the main argument against healthier food options in school cafeterias is that the tax payers would bear the burden of the costs.
To quote:
This is an important step for the school districts, parents and taxpayers who would shoulder the burden of U.S.D.A.’s proposed $6.8 billion school meal regulation that will not increase the delivery of key nutrients,” said John Keeling, executive vice president and chief executive of the National Potato Council.
The Agriculture Department had estimated that the proposal would have cost about $6.8 billion over the next five years, adding about 14 cents a meal to the cost of a school lunch.
Okay, so what? 14 cents? Big deal.
I was having a conversation this weekend with Diana Cutia, the Wheelock College athletic director, and she stated that she attended a meeting last week where it was noted that upwards of 50% of FIRST GRADERS in the city of Boston were considered over-weight.
I don’t know about you, but as a tax payer I’d rather suck it up and spend the additional money now to ensure that kids are indeed getting proper nutrition at school – and education: it would be nice if they could recognize that a carrot is not the same as carrot cake – than pay tenfold the amount later on treating a twelve year old with type II diabetes.
And lest we forget, tomatoes are a fruit and not a vegetable. God, Congress can’t get anything right!
