This is an extension of a conversation that started on Facebook. Oddly, Facebook doesn't allow long posts so it's not a blogging platform, so I wrote up the story here.
I haven't had the time to reply to the messages in my last comment about what Suzanne learned about food at High Lakes Elementary in Bend, OR with the school nutritionist. This is mostly for Ann, Kristen and Bridgitte who were asking me questions that I didn't reply to, but I wanted to post the whole story for everyone.
What started the issue was that the kids wanted to start trying to school lunch for fun. Suzanne figured it was a good way to get them to expand their food selections. I'm just the happy go lucky 'so what happened at school today?' dad not smart enough to be in front of this parade. That's what prompted her to meet with the school nutritionist because the nutritional values are on the web...but oddly, not the ingredients. So you can have things like Fruit Loops with added vitamins looking acceptable.
I think Suzanne is the one in a thousand that takes the time to schedule a meeting with the school nutritionist while she's taking care of 4 kids under 8 yrs old. The meeting was a real eye opener to us and I've been encouraging her to write up something, even if it's just on Facebook, because from a grass roots level parents are still not conscious enough to intelligently then say it's ok to eat what at the school lunch. Until you know, it turns out your trusting the agribusiness industry when they say that their food is healthy that it is.
The nutritionist said she can't do what she'd like. She's put in such a box economically because the government will give her more money for approved purchases, which happened to be the processed crap, that she can't buy enough fresh food locally. Though it wasn't said, I assume the extra cost of preparing fresh food is also not in the budget.
Our Nutritionist is great, she evens runs the largest farmers market in town, and was very pleasant to meet with Suzanne said. But, Agribusiness dictates way too much to what the policies are for the government by contributing to polical campaigns. That, and the food is cheaper because it's got High Fructose Corn Syrup in it and Hydroginated Oil. The stuff has better profit margins in it, while still being cheap, so it goes into the kids. Beyond school though, if you want to eat healthy, you can't eat McCheaply.
If your kids are eating at school, I'd suggest you meet with your school nutritionist and find out if they can do what they are trained to do.
And a funny related story...a friend of ours here was in a different school cafeteria a couple days ago and was approached by a very nice administrator who ask if her kids were having lunch in the cafeteria. Our friend replied, "well I don't let them eat the crap kids get served here" and went on from there to explain why. Of course, he then introduced himself as that school's nutritionist and she turned beat red.
If you're interested in more, check out these documentaries that are available on Netflix:
Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat (2008) NR
Obesity causes 110,000 American deaths each year and plays a role in one-third of all cancer deaths. Yet, despite ballooning concerns, little is being done on the public policy level, as this probing documentary explains. Exploring the issue from individual, political, scientific and cultural perspectives, the film features appearances by Bill Clinton, Ralph Nader, Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona and others.
King Corn (2007) NR
In Aaron Woolf's thought-provoking documentary, friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis move back to America's Corn Belt to plant an acre of the nation's most-grown and most-subsidized grain and follow their crop into the U.S. food supply. What they learn about genetically modified seeds, powerful herbicides and the realities of modern farming calls into question government subsidies, the fast-food lifestyle and the quality of what we eat.
Super Size Me (2004) PG-13
On the heels of recent lawsuits against McDonald's, director Morgan Spurlock takes a hilarious and often terrifying look at the effects of fast food on the human body, using himself as the proverbial guinea pig. For one month, Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's, ordering everything on the menu and "super-sizing" his order whenever asked. The result is a sobering examination of the line between personal and corporate responsibility.
