Backlash against Queen Michelle school lunch edicts

[DaveinElma]

http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/09/23/complaints_mount_against_michelle_obamas_new_lunch_menu

[Gary M]

Those kids are racists!!!

[RkFast]

What kind of a bunch of self-righteous c-nts think kids want to eat hummus and black beans?

Edited September 25, 2012 by RkFast

[B-Man]

Now, now, they know whats best for us,

 

and if they have to modify the "little people's" behavior to get their way, then who are we to complain..................................

[KD in CA]

Sorry guys, but that's an absurd article. You can't complain about the 400 pound slob wedged in the airplane seat next to you and pretend it has nothing to do with our country's embarrassing practice of feeding children unhealthy, fattening garbage.

 

For decades school lunch menus have been dictated by what generates the most profits for the local supplier (and in turn the person in the superintendant's office who's taking the kickbacks) rather than based on the goal of providing kids with a healthy diet.

 

As a parent, I can't think of any first lady whose pet project has been more fundamentally sound and necessary than Mrs. Obama's.

[Gary M]

 

As a parent, I can't think of any first lady whose pet project has been more fundamentally sound and necessary than Mrs. Obama's.

 

Should she wipe your A$$ too?

[/dev/null]

I have an idea for the next meme to replace Plancking/Owling/Tebowing/etc

 

Moochelleing: Kids take a picture of their skimpy school lunch

 

And no, this isn't about kids health. All about agriculture subsidies

But it's all done For the Children!

[3rdnlng]

Michelle might do better by asking kids if they want to turn out like this:

 

 

[DC Tom]

As a parent, I can't think of any first lady whose pet project has been more fundamentally sound and necessary than Mrs. Obama's.

 

And like most pet projects, it's absurdly generalized, if you're feeding the pimple-scarred bookworm and the star jock bound for a college athletic scholarship the same meals.

 

I'm also not sure how much Michelle's to blame...her pet project, but she doesn't write the regulations (at least, I hope not).

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

If it was anything like the lunches at Edison Tech in the 70's maybe they will lower the roach count to be present in the food.

[B-Man]

I do not care about the "size" of Michelle,

 

I care about the size of government.

 

and, of course KD, everyone knows that obesity is a problem. But its not an all or nothing proposition

 

Forcing kids with food that they will not eat, is a transparently poor way to solve the problem. If they don't eat, how does that make them healthier? or more ready for school ?

 

This is another, Well , "even if its failing the intentions are good" project.

 

 

 

Famous New Yorker cartoon from the 30's

 

[IDBillzFan]

And like most pet projects, it's absurdly generalized, if you're feeding the pimple-scarred bookworm and the star jock bound for a college athletic scholarship the same meals.

 

If you watch the video the kids make, the emphasis is on "active teens" needing 2000-5000 calories a day, but they're held to no more than 850 for lunch. But in the end, being active and not feeding your body properly is just not good for you, and it's unfortunate that someone does have a good idea but, like her husband, isn't interested in the details.

Edited September 25, 2012 by LABillzFan

[KD in CA]

Should she wipe your A$$ too?

 

Sure, if she's available. She's a mother so she's had plenty of practice.

 

I don't really understand your comment though. Are you suggesting that we stop feeding kids lunch in school? Or else can you explain how feeding kids healthier meals constitutes more government intrusion than feeding them unhealthy meals?

 

and, of course KD, everyone knows that obesity is a problem. But its not an all or nothing proposition

Of course it's not, and as Tom points out, a first lady's involvement is little more than shining a light on the issue, telling some people to go change it, and showing up for the photo op.

 

I have no basis to evaluate the effectiveness of the ongoing effort here, but I recognize that it is a good goal and one that is overdue for attention and I don't see any reason to pooh-pooh the effort just because some douchebag wrote a stupid, pointless article.

[Chef Jim]

I don't have kids so my question has to do with what the cause of obesity in children is. Is it the calorie ingestion or the lack of activity after to burn off those calories. I know we had pizza, fried checken, potatoes, french fries, cheeseburgers and spaghetti for lunch at school as a kid but we were all skinny, skinny, skinny. What happened? And if it is the activity (or lack thereof) sounds like we're going about beating this obesity problem from the wrong end. Is PE still required?

[B-Man]

I have no basis to evaluate the effectiveness of the ongoing effort here, but I recognize that it is a good goal and one that is overdue for attention and I don't see any reason to pooh-pooh the effort just because some douchebag wrote a stupid, pointless article.

 

Well here's an article that is about what's going on.

 

I'll post part, the whole article should be read.

 

Wasted Food, Hungry Kids: Michelle Obama’s Bill in Action

 

In 2010, Michelle Obama went to a lame-duck session of Congress with a request: pass a nutrition bill giving the United States Department of Agriculture broad new powers to regulate school lunches. That bill was passed in late December of that year, and the new regulations have started to go into effect, with the predictable results of wasted food and angry, hungry children.

 

The cinnamon rolls and chili everyone loved from their childhood are now gone. Bands and other school groups can no longer sell candy bars as a fundraiser. The government is mandating everything from portion size to how many tomatoes have to be on a salad.

 

P.J. Moran, a food service director for a small district in rural Kansas, said wastage has gone up “at least 20 percent” over last year, as students, particularly at the grade school level, cannot refuse anything on their trays — but, of course, cannot be forced to eat it.

 

At the high school and junior high levels, things are more flexible, but not much. Moran said those students can refuse up to three items on the tray, but must take the fruit and vegetable servings whether they plan to eat them or not.

 

The district’s principal, Jim Bolden, said that at the beginning of the year, food service put fresh peaches on the students’ trays, only to helplessly watch them be thrown away by students who didn’t want them:

 

{snip}

 

According to Livestrong.com, teenagers need between 2,000 and 3,000 calories per day to be healthy, and athletes can need as many as 5,000 calories. But the new regulations limit the intake to just 750-850 calories on the tray. Which, if the food is unpalatable, means the students may not be getting even that much.

 

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) have cosponsored the “No Hungry Kids Act,” which aims to repeal the legislation they say is sending kids home hungry. PJ Media spoke to Huelskamp on September 20, when he called the regulations “the epitome of good intentions gone awry.”

Huelskamp said he got involved in August — in Kansas, school starts in August, much earlier than many other states — when a relative sent him pictures of what was in a school lunch:

One size doesn’t fit all, particularly in the lunchroom. The goal of the school lunch program is supposed to be feeding children, not filling the trash cans with uneaten food. The USDA’s new school lunch guidelines are a perfect example of what is wrong with government: misguided inputs, tremendous waste, and unaccomplished goals. Thanks to the Nutrition Nannies at the USDA, America’s children are going hungry at school.

{snip}

 

The amount of protein a child is allowed on their trays is seriously limited as well, according to Huelskamp. He said the current regulations limit servings of protein, which could be anything from a hamburger to a side of beans, to 1.5 ounces two days a week and 2 ounces the other three days.

Huelskamp suggested the administration’s focus is perhaps misplaced:

Obesity is not the number one

national

security

concern

like [Michelle Obama] says it is.

It was a sentiment with which Moran agreed:

I don’t really think childhood obesity is because of school lunches. Their aim shouldn’t be at the schools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[DC Tom]

I don't have kids so my question has to do with what the cause of obesity in children is. Is it the calorie ingestion or the lack of activity after to burn off those calories. I know we had pizza, fried checken, potatoes, french fries, cheeseburgers and spaghetti for lunch at school as a kid but we were all skinny, skinny, skinny. What happened? And if it is the activity (or lack thereof) sounds like we're going about beating this obesity problem from the wrong end. Is PE still required?

 

As I understand, it's been cut back, and in some places eliminated...because the little wilting lilies might get scrapes and bruises and have their delicate little egos damaged by competitive play.

[Jauronimo]

As I understand, it's been cut back, and in some places eliminated...because the little wilting lilies might get scrapes and bruises and have their delicate little egos damaged by competitive play.

Phys Ed is God's way of determining who is good and who is fat. No where is that distinction clearer than during a game of dodge ball.

 

I don't have kids so my question has to do with what the cause of obesity in children is. Is it the calorie ingestion or the lack of activity after to burn off those calories. I know we had pizza, fried checken, potatoes, french fries, cheeseburgers and spaghetti for lunch at school as a kid but we were all skinny, skinny, skinny. What happened? And if it is the activity (or lack thereof) sounds like we're going about beating this obesity problem from the wrong end. Is PE still required?

Kids aren't allowed to go outside anymore because parents are convinced that child molesters lurk around every corner. Letting your kids run around unsupervised can easily earn you a meeting with Child Protective Services. Every CSI, SVU, NCSI, NCIU show coupled with our sensational news coverage has whipped parents into a frenzy of fear. It makes no sense. Kids are so fat and disgusting these days, who'd want to touch them anyway?

[Gary M]

Sure, if she's available. She's a mother so she's had plenty of practice.

 

I don't really understand your comment though. Are you suggesting that we stop feeding kids lunch in school? Or else can you explain how feeding kids healthier meals constitutes more government intrusion than feeding them unhealthy meals?

 

 

I don't want a nanny state telling me what I should eat (obama) or drink (bloomberg)

 

My point is that you can not sit in Washington DC and decide what a child in Steuben county NY will eat. That is what I have a BOE and Principal for. Instead of solving the problem ,they made it worse. Typical Democrats.!!!!!

Edited September 25, 2012 by Gary M

[Doc]

I don't have kids so my question has to do with what the cause of obesity in children is. Is it the calorie ingestion or the lack of activity after to burn off those calories. I know we had pizza, fried checken, potatoes, french fries, cheeseburgers and spaghetti for lunch at school as a kid but we were all skinny, skinny, skinny. What happened? And if it is the activity (or lack thereof) sounds like we're going about beating this obesity problem from the wrong end. Is PE still required?

Yes. Many poor children are fed fast food, usually off those "dollar/value menus." And with the concerns over abductions and proliferation of video games, fewer children are going out and playing.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

Here is an answer not many of you will like -

 

Put the Funding back into the schools so that the kids can actually get physical activity 2 or 3 times a week !!!!!!!