COMMENTARY | Reuters reports that the United States Department of Agriculture has set new guidelines for public school meals, emphasizing more on fruits and vegetables. Under these new guidelines, which will take place in the upcoming 2012 school year, schools will need to focus more on whole grain meal choices and decrease fat. As a 2006 high school graduate and an American concerned about freedom, here is why the new guidelines are wrong for our children.
These new guidelines will cost $3.2 billion over the next five years, which is a substantial amount of money, and is totally unacceptable. Each school will be getting six cents more for every meal, which adds up pretty quickly. As an American concerned about our economy, I do not see how spending this much money can be a good thing, especially considering the fact that we have more important issues to deal with, such as creating jobs. The money should have been spent increasing technology within the education system, and making sure teachers are properly educated. These guidelines are due to Michelle Obama and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which is something she lobbied for.
I also have a big issue with the fact that these new guidelines will do nothing to really curb the obesity rate in this country, and will likely not do anything to decrease childhood obesity. I feel like the government is overstepping boundaries by telling my child what he or she should be eating while at school, and it is not going to stop my child from eating unhealthy. Although I do not have children, I feel strongly that what a child chooses to eat and how healthy the child is comes back on the parents. It is the job of the parents to educate their child on the importance of eating healthy, and not the job of the school or government to step in and deny the child a slice of pizza at school. How a child chooses to eat at school will have little overall impact on his or her weight, and will do nothing to stop overeating at home.
The USDA putting these guidelines in place is also wrong because now schools can only offer low-fat or fat-free milk. It is almost as if the schools are taking away the choice of the children, and forcing them to drink only certain products. Fat-free and low-fat milks are not that much healthier, and do not taste as good as whole milk. The government should not be telling children what milk to drink or not drink, because often children only drink chocolate milk, which is also being frowned upon by these new guidelines. It is not even logical to think that offering low-fat milk will do anything to curb childhood obesity, especially if the child goes home and drinks a gallon of whole milk. Banning certain products because of fat is not the role of the government, and the USDA is wrong to tell schools what to do.
Myself, Personal Opinion
Ian Simpson, “USDA sets guidelines for healthier school meals”, Reuters