Transcript Document

THE POLITICS OF
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS
1941
2004
Sally Fallon Morell, President
The Weston A. Price Foundation
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
France
France spends 3 times more per lunch than the U.S.
No vending machines allowed in schools.
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Began as a program to use
up surplus wheat and milk
from the U.S.
Japan
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Sweden
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Slovakia
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Cambodia
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Brazil
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Finland
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
India
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Russia
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Kenya
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Haiti
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Tanzania
Sweden
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
United Kingdom
SCHOOL LUNCHES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
U.S.A.
THE BEGINNINGS 1900 - 1930
• From the turn of the century, increasing attention paid to nutrition and
nutritional standards among children.
• Schools would help track children's weight and growth rate to ensure they
were not suffering from malnutrition or other diseases.
• Early 1920s studies indicated students were more successful during school
if they ate "a hot lunch" rather than the usual cold sandwich and fruit.
• Many advocacy groups, local charities began to sponsor lunches and food
programs for poor school children.
• However with the Great Depression, this funding proved inadequate and
malnutrition among school children reemerged as a serious issue.
• In the early 1930s, because of the
marked improvement shown in poorer
students fed school lunches, the federal
government began directing money
toward such programs.
INSPIRING WORDS OF
DR. MARY SWARTZ ROSE
“The expensive machinery of education is wasted when
it operates on a mind listless from hunger or befogged
by indigestible food. Whether the cause be poverty,
ignorance or carelessness, the child is the sufferer, and
the painstaking work of the school lunch supervisors to
secure wholesome and adequate noon meals for the
school children at a minimum cost not only brings
immediate benefit to the children, but exerts a
widespread influence upon homes and parents. . .”
Feeding the Family, Mary Swartz Rose, PhD, assistant professor,
Department of Nutrition, Columbia University, 1917.
UNINSPRING SCHOOL LUNCH SUGGESTIONS
OF DR. MARY SWARTZ ROSE
Menu served by the School Lunch Committee
of the Home and School League, Philadelphia
MONDAY: Baked beans, roll, cocoa or milk, crackers or ice cream
TUESDAY: Vegetable soup, roll, cocoa or milk, crackers or ice
cream
WEDNESDAY: Creamed beef on toast, roll, cocoa or milk,
crackers or ice cream
THURSDAY: Macaroni with tomato sauce, roll, jam sandwich,
cocoa or milk, crackers or ice cream
FRIDAY: Creamed salmon, roll, cocoa or milk, crackers or ice
cream.
Feeding the Family, Mary Swartz Rose, PhD, assistant professor, Department of
Nutrition, Columbia University, 1917.
ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE SCHOOL LUNCH MENU
to provide 1/3 to 1/2 of daily nutritional requirements
Type A
Type B
Milk, whole
1/2 pint
2 pints
Protein-rich food (fresh or processed meat, poultry
2 ounces
1 ounce
Dry peas, beans or soy beans, cooked
1/2 cup
1/4 cup
Peanut Butter
4 tablespoons 2 tablespoons
Eggs
1
1/2
Bread, muffins or hot bread made of whole
grain cereal or enriched flour
1 portion
1 portion
Raw, cooked or canned vegetables or fruits, or
both
3/4 cup
1/2 cup
Butter or fortified margarine
2 teaspoons
1 teaspoons
meat, cheese, cooked or canned fish)
Type A: Schools with preparation facilities
Type B: Schools with less extensive preparation facilities
Type C: Provided milk only
www.fns.usda.gov/CND/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory_5.htm
CONFLICTING DEMANDS: NOURISH CHILDREN
VS. SUPPORT COMMODITY AGRICULTURE
• As more money came to these programs from donations and private
funding, they became a viable way to offer employment to many who
had lost their jobs.
• In 1932, as a part of the New Deal, the federal government began
lending money to local governments to launch school lunch programs.
• At the same time, the agricultural industry had hit a slump, as poverty
was widespread and people were buying less food.
• These two demands led to a system by which surplus commodities were
purchased from farmers and provided to school lunch programs. This
moderated agricultural prices while at the same time feeding hungry
children.
• Schools throughout the country began to sign up for the program and by
1942 the program was feeding more than 5 million students.
Children receiving lunch
in a Southern schools
From USDA Archive, 1936.
Child Praying
Before School Lunch
TOWARD A NATIONAL
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
• Since the system was based on which commodities were available, students
often got meals that did not provide the complete range of nutrients, or that they
would not eat because they were unfamiliar.
• The unpredictability created difficulties in planning the budget and the meals.
• Nevertheless, the school lunch program had become a fixture in schools all
across the nation because of jobs created and support of farmers.
• In 1940, the USDA convened the Coordinating Committee on School Lunches
with representatives from child nutrition advocates to the different agricultural
lobbies, in order to create a system that served the needs of the children as much
as it served those of farmers.
• In 1943, when the New Deal central relief effort ceased, federal funding for school
lunch programs dried up.
• A campaign on the part of the Coordinating Committee on School Lunches drew
widespread support, lobbying Congress for permanent funding for a national
school lunch program.
USDA OVERSIGHT OF
THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
• In 1946 Senator Richard Russell of Georgia drafted the National
School Lunch Act and it passed.
• The bill was a compromise between the "New Deal" democrats
who supported the program because of the social welfare aspect,
and the more conservative southern democrats who wanted less
federal control over public schools but wanted more subsidies for
their poor, white farmers.
• In the bill, Sen. Russell put the program under the USDA, with no
money provided for nutritional education.
• Supporters of the bill claimed it would be what made future
generations healthy and prosperous, while its opponents thought
it was a blow against democratic individualism and a step toward
socialism.
GOAL OF THE
NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
• As stated by Congress, the goal of the program was “to
safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children
and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious
agricultural commodities and other food, by assisting the
States, through grants-in-aid and other means, in providing an
adequate supply of food and other facilities for the
establishment, maintenance, operation and expansion of
nonprofit school lunch programs.”
www.fns.usda.gov/CND/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory_5.htm
HOW IT WORKED
•
•
•
•
•
The act specified how much would be allotted to each state
for food preparation, equipment, staff, etc.
The Secretary of Agriculture was responsible for paying each
state at least 75 percent of the money they spent on food.
States received funding according to “the number of school
children between the ages of 5 and 17, inclusive, in the
State, and the need for assistance in the State as indicated
by the relation of the per capita income in the United States
to the per capita income of the State."
In this way, states that had a lower per capita income would
receive more money.
By 1947 the program served 7.1 million children.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory_5.htm
NSLP as CULTURAL HOMOGENIZER
• Before the 1940s, the US had a large number of immigrants who
had brought their varying cuisines with them.
• Nutritional scientists at the time were trying help the poor eat in a
more healthy way for less money, and the federal government at
the same time was trying Americanize all the immigrants.
• With the NSLP, the US government saw an opportunity to do
both.
• As the children were open and impressionable, the NSLP gave
children a sense of American identity through food, as well as
well as “creating a healthy generation, educated
in good nutrition.”
Levine, Susan. School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America's Favorite Welfare Program (Politics and Society in Twentieth
Century America) . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. p. 24.
NSLP as NATIONAL DEFENSE
• During the draft for WWII, a large number of eligible men were
found unfit for duty due to poor nutrition.
• The Coordinating Committee on School Lunches used the this
issue to as a primary motivator in their push for the National
School Lunch Program
• According to the head of the New City
school board, George Chatfield, those
children who did not have proper
nutrition would become "the absentee
from school, and later the absentee
from essential war production, the
drifter, the early incapacitated worker."
NSLP and CHANGING GENDER ROLES
• With the majority of men off fighting, women
took jobs in order to support their families and
keep the economy functioning.
• Additionally, food shortages left prices higher
than normal and less food available.
• Thus the school lunch took 1/3 of the burden
of feeding children off of mothers, and was
marketed as such by politicians pushing for the
school lunch bill.
NSLP and SOCIAL INEQUALITIES
• The way Southern policy-makers crafted the bill made the
program easier to implement for schools in predominantly
white, rural southern communities, compared to schools in more
urban areas around the country.
• In these communities, the ratio between those who could pay
and those who could not was more even; those with fewer
students who could pay were less likely to raise the money
required to offset what the federal government did not provide.
• Civil Rights activists countered this by pushing for an
amendment barring funding for school lunch programs in
segregated schools; however the amendment came to be
worded as anti-discrimination rather than anti-segregation so as
to not be discriminating itself, and was in essence ineffectual.
NSLP and the WAR ON POVERTY
• In the early 1960s, there was an increasing awareness on the
part of politicians about the level of poverty in the US.
• This helped bring to light how ineffective the NSLP was at feeding
the broad majority of poor school children.
• In 1962, Congress amended the National School Lunch Act
requiring free lunches for all poor children, no matter what school
they were in. . . but they failed to add any additional funding to the
program.
• In 1966, the Child Nutrition Act stipulated federal money in
addition to commodities for school lunch programs.
• However, none of this new money could be used to purchase
equipment, build larger preparation facilities or pay salaries in
order to feed all of the extra children these schools would have to
feed.
THE 1966 CHILD NUTRITION ACT
• While this new act theoretically solved the problem—
namely, the lack of standard for defining poverty--states
had freedom on how to appropriate the money. This led
to extremely inconsistent policies varying from region to
region.
• To add to this inconsistency, states received money based
on how many children had previously been enrolled in the
program, causing the previous inequalities to show up in
the new system.
• The confluence of all of these factors sparked a search for
an objective definition of poverty in order to determine
which students should be fed for free and which were not.
THE SHIFT
• Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, the stated purpose of
the program changed from disposal of agricultural commodities
to a serious welfare program aimed at providing not only the
poor with lunches, but feeding every student.
• With the increasing scope of the program, the schools were
forced to purchase cheaper and less nutritious foods.
• This meant a shift toward private food suppliers, with schools
picking the lowest bidder to provide them with food.
• As the program continued to grow, the schools continued
to increase the number of people they were serving while
sacrificing the quality of the food.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
• As the quality of the food declined, the perception of the lunches as
a poverty program led middle class students, who normally would have
paid either full or reduced price, to stop buying lunch altogether.
• As this was one of the few ways the schools themselves made money
to finance the program, schools were forced to raise the price of their
lunches.
• More and more full-paying students continued to drop, adding to the
rising food prices of the 1970s and causing the students who still
continued to pay to shoulder the burden.
• As a solution the government raised the income eligibility level.
• In spite of the crisis the school lunch program was going through, the
federal bureaucracy responsible for it continued to grow.
THE PRIVITIZATION of the NSLP
• Since the federal money could be used solely for the purchase
of food, many schools lacked kitchen facilities, as well as the
staff needed to prepare food.
• Added to this, the increasing food prices and lowering paid
participation forced schools to look for private contractors in
order to provide cheap food, that would not require extensive
preparation.
• As this system grew in popularity, conflict emerged between the
private suppliers who wanted to maximize profit and those who
wanted to insure their nutritional standards were being followed.
ATTACK OF THE
VENDING
MACHINES
• A compromise was found in the use of vending machines, which were
not allowed in the cafeteria, but rather in other designated areas of the
school.
• Specifically in poorer schools vending machines became an
attractive way for schools to make additional money to supplement their
meager budget.
• With these vending machine contracts came scoreboard and athletic
equipment sponsorships on the part of soft drink and snack companies.
FOOD “FORTIFICATION”
• In 1970 the USDA discarded the Type A, B and C nutritional
standards saying the government would only provide
reimbursement for Type A meals.
• This created the "a la carte" system, by which the suppliers
would provided individual main dishes and sides allowing
students to choose what they wanted to eat.
• In 1979, the USDA allowed "foods of minimal nutritional value"
to be sold in cafeterias, if a 100-calorie serving provided 5
percent RDA of a single required nutrient.
• This led to snack and candy producers fortifying their products
in order to make them saleable in cafeterias.
• Fortification spread to the general food suppliers, enabling them
to sell traditionally unhealthy food such as pizza as foods
containing all the necessary nutrients.
With fortification,
chicken nuggets and
French fries entered
the school lunches.
Brownies can be
given the same
nutritional value as a
slice of whole wheat
bread!
FAST FOOD and the NSLP
• While food companies were claiming their foods provided
"proper nutrition," with children getting no more than 30
percent of their calories from fat, in fact, the foods were
actually much higher in fat—the wrong kinds of fat.
• The government bolstered claims that the food was healthy,
with their own assurances, claiming the program
could function on a smaller budget and also support the “freemarket system.”
• To this day schools are caught between campaigning for
healthy food choices among their students while at the same
time maintaining a financially viable system by providing
students with the junk/fast food they want and will buy.
NSLP and the FOOD INDUSTRY
• After the National School Lunch Act passed,
any sector of the food industry with declining
profit margins demanded that the Secretary of
Agriculture declare their product a commodity.
• The NSLP is run out of the USDA Consumer
Marketing Service, a section of the USDA little
concerned with nutrition, but with efficient
dispersal of agricultural products.
The NSLP and the
REAGAN ADMINISTRATION
• Under Reagan, large cutbacks to the program led to a stricter set
of rules than the previous system of RDAs.
• In 1980, the USDA created the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
and dictated that the school lunch program must adhere to them.
• The guidelines called for lower fat and salt content of foods and
raised the requirement for vegetables and fruits.
• A small, underhanded loophole allowed a packet of Ketchup to be
counted as a serving of vegetables.
• With decreased funding for the program, and as children were no
longer suffering from "starvation," the USDA lowered the RDA
content of meals from 1/3 to 1/4 of daily requirements.
USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES: 1916-1929
FIVE FOOD GROUPS
FOOD GROUP
DAILY AMOUNT
Meat and Milk
Cereals, Starchy Foods
1 cup milk, 2-3 servings meat
9 1-ounce servings or 20% of calories
Vegetables and Fruit
5 8-ounce servings or 30% of calories
Fatty Foods
Sugars
9 tablespoons or 20% of calories*
10 tablespoons or 10% of calories
* 9 tablespoons fat is actually about 50% of calories in a 2400-calorie meal.
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/E-Appendix-E-4-History.pdf
www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM97Autumn/GM97Autumn2.html
USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES: 1930s
TWELVE FOOD GROUPS
FOOD GROUP
AMOUNT
Milk and Milk Products
2 cups per day
Lean Meat, Poultry, Fish
9-10 times per week
Beans, Peas, Nuts
1 time per week
Eggs
1 per day
Flours, Cereals
As desired
Leafy Green, Yellow Vegetables
11-12 times per week
Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes
1 per day
Other Vegetables, Fruit
3 times per week
Citrus, Tomatoes
1 per day
Butter
No recommendation
Other Fats
No recommendation
Sugars
No recommendation
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/E-Appendix-E-4-History.pdf
www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM97Autumn/GM97Autumn2.html
DR. WESTON A. PRICE
• Began his research during this period,
the 1930s
• To answer the same question, what is a
healthy diet?
• The genius of Dr. Price—he looked at
nutrient levels, noting that they could be
satisfied by many different foods; many
cultures had no grains, vegetables or
fruits, yet were healthy.
• Not trying to please the commodity
markets
• Emphasis on nutrient-dense foods such
as organ meats, butter, cheese, seafood
USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES: 1940s
SEVEN FOOD GROUPS
FOOD GROUP
DAILY AMOUNT
Milk, Cheese
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Dried Beans,
Peas, Nuts
Bread, Flour, Cereal
Leafy Green, Yellow Veg
Potatoes & other fruits and vegetables
Citrus, Tomato, Cabbage, Salad Greens
Butter-Fortified Margarine
2 servings
1-2 servings
Every Day
1 or more servings
1 or more
1 or more
Some daily
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/E-Appendix-E-4-History.pdf
www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM97Autumn/GM97Autumn2.html
USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES: 1956-1978
FOUR FOOD GROUPS
FOOD GROUP
DAILY AMOUNT
Milk Group
2 cups or more
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Beans 2 servings
Bread, Cereals
4 servings
Vegetables and Fruit
4 or more
Note: Eggs not included; No recommendations for fats
or sugars
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/E-Appendix-E-4-History.pdf
www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM97Autumn/GM97Autumn2.html
USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES: 1979-1983
FIVE FOOD GROUPS
FOOD GROUP
DAILY AMOUNT
Milk, Cheese
2 servings
Meat, Poultry, Fish and Beans
Bread, Flour, Cereal
Vegetables, Fruits
Fats, Sweets, Alcohol
2 servings
4 servings
4 servings
Use dependent on
calorie needs
Note: Eggs not included
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/E-Appendix-E-4-History.pdf
www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM97Autumn/GM97Autumn2.html
USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES: 1984 to Present
SIX FOOD GROUPS
FOOD GROUP
DAILY AMOUNT
Milk, Yogurt, Cheese (low-fat)
Lean Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Dry Beans, Nuts
Bread, Flour, Cereal (whole grain or enriched)
2-3 servings
2-3 servings
6-11 servings
Vegetables, Fruits
Fruits
Fats, Oils, Sweets
3-5 servings
2-4 servings
Total fat not to
exceed 30% of
calories; sweets
vary according to
caloric needs.
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/E-Appendix-E-4-History.pdf
www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM97Autumn/GM97Autumn2.html
1992 Food Pyramid
“More Flexible” Food Pyramid
DIETARY GUIDELINE DETAILS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eat a variety of foods.
Balance the food you eat with physical activity.
Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables
and fruits
Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
Choose a diet moderate in sugars.
Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium.
If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
To be added in 2010
•
Saturated fat no more than 7 percent of calories
•
Salt restricted to 3.5 grams per day
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib750/aib750b.pdf
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/report/html/G5_History.htm
THE PURITANICAL DIET
The virtuous, low-fat, low-salt, high-fiber, impossible diet.
Approved by dietitians!
PORNOGRAPHIC FOOD
HEALTHY 4 LIFE
Alternative Dietary Guidelines from
the Weston A. Price Foundation
Healthy 4 Life Booklet with
Guidelines and Recipes
Healthy 4 Life Poster
Press Release and PR
Campaign
Advertisements in
Newspapers
HEALTHY 4 LIFE
Alternative Dietary Guidelines from
the Weston A. Price Foundation
THEN VS NOW
• Food products of the early National School Lunch
Program were aimed at alleviating starvation due to the
Depression. Thus the foods were very high in fat and
calorie content.
• Now, because childhood obesity is such a pressing
issue the federal government has been trying lower the
fat and calorie content of the foods provided.
• However the food provided often remains high calorie
food, only now it is cheap, highly processed food with
less nutritive value.
ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE SCHOOL LUNCH MENU
to provide 1/3 to 1/2 of daily nutritional requirements
Type A
Type B
Milk, whole
1/2 pint
2 pints
Protein-rich food (fresh or processed meat, poultry
2 ounces
1 ounce
Dry peas, beans or soy beans, cooked
1/2 cup
1/4 cup
Peanut Butter
4 tablespoons 2 tablespoons
Eggs
1
1/2
Bread, muffins or hot bread made of whole
grain cereal or enriched flour
1 portion
1 portion
Raw, cooked or canned vegetables or fruits, or
both
3/4 cup
1/2 cup
Butter or fortified margarine
2 teaspoons
1 teaspoons
meat, cheese, cooked or canned fish)
Type A: Schools with preparation facilities
Type B: Schools with less extensive preparation facilities
Type C: Provided milk only
www.fns.usda.gov/CND/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory_5.htm
ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE SCHOOL LUNCH MENU
to provide 1/3 to 1/2 of daily nutritional requirements
Lunch Only
Daily
Milk, whole
1/2 pint
1 1/2 pints
(6 cups)
Protein-rich food (fresh or processed meat, poultry
2 ounces
4 ounces
Dry peas, beans or soy beans, cooked
1/2 cup
1 1/2 cups
Peanut Butter
4 tablespoons 12 tablespoons
Eggs
1
3
Bread, muffins or hot bread made of whole
grain cereal or enriched flour
1 portion
3 portions
Raw, cooked or canned vegetables or fruits, or
both
3/4 cup
2 1/4 cups
Butter or fortified margarine
2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons
meat, cheese, cooked or canned fish)
www.fns.usda.gov/CND/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory_5.htm
THEN VERSUS NOW:
PERCEPTION OF NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Early 1900s
1984 USDA
Recommendations
Milk
6 cups whole
3 cups low-fat
Protein-rich food (fresh or processed meat,
4 ounces
poultry meat, cheese, cooked or canned fish)
Dry peas, beans or soy beans, cooked
1 1/2 cup
Total of 5 1/2 ounces
Peanut Butter
12 tablespoons
Eggs
3
1
Bread, muffins or hot bread made of
whole grain cereal or enriched flour
3 portions
6-11 portions
Raw, cooked or canned vegetables or
fruits, or both
2 1/4 cups
2 1/2 cups
Butter or fortified margarine
2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons
THE NATIONAL SCHOOL
LUNCH PROGRAM TODAY
• In 2008, the program served 30.5 million children per day
and continues to grow.
• All public and most nonprofit private schools are eligible to
participate in the program.
• All products served must meet the current Dietary
Guidelines.
• As of 2008, the program costs $9.3 billion per year.
• Free lunches are provided to those families with incomes
up to 30 percent higher than the poverty level
• Reduced-price lunches are provided to those with incomes
up to 85 percent higher than the poverty level.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/notices/iegs/IEGs09-10.pdf
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/lunch/AboutLunch/NSLPFactSheet.pdf
FOODS OF MINIMAL
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• Foods the federal government has deemed of “minimal
nutritional value” cannot be sold in the cafeteria. This
includes candy, soda, etc.
• The foods are forbidden only in the cafeteria. Vending
machines selling such products throughout the school
are allowed.
• Anyone can petition to get a food moved on or off the
list.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/menu/fmnv.htm
CONFLICTING INTERESTS
DUAL FUNCTION of NSLP
Provide nutritious meals to school children
Help Big Ag get rid of surplus products
HIGHLY SUBSIDIZED CROPS are most likely to be in
surplus: corn, soy, factory farmed meat, conventional
dairy products, conventional processed produce.
BETTER AT LOBBYING? Children or Big Ag?
THE TRUE COST
• In Washington State, each school has approximately $1 per
child to spend for each meal.
• On the state level, foods are purchased on the basis of the
lowest bid, saving money but sacrificing nutrition.
• Other cost-cutting measures include minimizing food prep
facilities, leading to more prepackaged, highly processed
meals over fresh, whole foods.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/335486_farmtoschool15.html
LOCAL, ORGANIC, A SOLUTION?
• The H.R. 5504 Improving Nutrition for Americas Children
Act included amendment that established an organic food
pilot program.
• As states and school districts are given some freedom,
there has been a move toward more local products in
certain areas.
• President Obama has put forth a proposal for a $1 billion
increase in school lunch funding, but schools are still
restricted to the high-carb, low-fat USDA dietary guidelines.
THE REALITY OF SCHOOL LUNCHES
• No food is “prepared” in school kitchens.
• Food is prepared by large food processors, brought in and “fresh
cooked” by heating in steam pans.
• Food “preparers” like to add cheese for flavor and because children
will eat food with cheese added, but new 2010 Guidelines demonize
cheese.
• Fats are restricted but sugar is not.
• Potatoes count as vegetables.
• Green and yellow vegetables are served, but children won’t eat them.
• Fruits are usually canned, with HFCS syrup
• Choice of reduced fat, skim, chocolate and strawberry milk, children
mostly choose chocolate milk.
• Everything served on disposable styrafoam.
Tales from a D.C. school kitchen by Ed Bruske,
The Washington Post, Jan-Feb 2010.
SOME TYPICAL SCHOOL LUNCH MEALS
• Beef crumbles with soy protein isolate and/or hydrolyzed vegetable
protein and many preservatives.
• Heated frozen vegetables mixed with Smart Balance Buttery Spread.
• “Whole grain” strawberry-flavored Pop Tarts, Goldfish “Giant
Grahams,” French toast and dry cereal for breakfast. (Children often
put chocolate milk on the cereal!)
• Pre-cooked scrambled eggs containing soybean oil, modified corn
starch, natural and artificial butter flavor, etc.
• “Beef teriyaki bites,” small patties, pre-cooked with an Asian-flavored
glaze, imprinted with false grill marks.
• “Smart pizza” containing many additives, soybean oil and textured
vegetable protein.
• For the salad bar, packets of ranch dressing containing modified food
starch, MSG, polysorbate 60, calcium disodium EDTA, etc.
SUGAR, SUGAR EVERYWHERE!
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Flavored milks – “soda in drag”
Canned fruit
Breakfast pastries and cereals
Cookies
Fruit juice
Prepared foods
Federal rules place a limit on fat in meals,
but no limit on sugar.
PROPAGANDA FOR FLAVORED MILK
Is flavored milk as nutritious as white milk?
Yes, flavored milk contains the same nine essential nutrients as white milk. Flavored milk
provides calcium, protein, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B12, potassium, phosphorus,
riboflavin and niacin. In comparison, beverages like soda and fruit drinks provide little
more than calories and sugar.
Is flavored milk packed with sugar, which is associated with hyperactivity?
A soda or fruit drink contains nearly twice as much sugar as flavored milk. Furthermore,
the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food
and Drug Administration have found no link between sugar and behavioral problems in
children.
Is flavored milk high in fat and calories?
Flavored milk comes in many varieties, including reduced fat, lowfat and fat free. For
example, a 1 cup serving of lowfat flavored milk has only 2.5 grams of fat per serving,
the exact amount as in white milk.
Does flavored milk cause cavities?
The ingredients in chocolate milk are much less likely to cause cavities than soft drinks
and sticky snack foods. Liquids such as flavored milk clear the mouth faster. Some
studies suggest that the cocoa in chocolate milk may actually protect against cavities.
http://www.eatwisconsincheese.com/wisconsin/other_dairy/milk/chocolate_and_flavored_milk.aspx
SUGAR IN FLAVORED MILK
per 8 ounces
Product
Sugars
MILK:
Plain Milk 1% Lowfat
12g
Horizon Organic Milk Reduced Fat Chocolate
27g
Nestle Nesquik Milk Chocolate Lowfat
30g
Nestle NesQuik Milk Strawberry
31g
Organic Valley Chocolate Lowfat Milk
25g
Hershey’s 2% Chocolate Milk
29g
SODA:
Coca-Cola Classic
27g
Sprite
26g
A & W Root Beer
31g
JUICE:
Capri Sun Juice Drink Red Berry
21 g
Apple & Eve 100% Juice Apple
22g
INGREDIENTS IN FLAVORED MILK
1% Lowfat Chocolate Milk
Lowfat milk, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Chocolate Premix (cocoa
processed with Alkali), Food Starch, Salt, Carrageenan, Vanillin
(artificial flavor), Skim Milk Powder, Mono & Diglicerides,
Polysorbate 80, Propylene Glycol, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium
Citrate, Cellulose Gum, Dextrose, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin
D3.
1 % Lowfat Strawberry Milk
Lowfat milk, Sugar, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Red #40, Blue
#1, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3
LOCAL, ORGANIC?
• No way to prepare vegetables in schools, no one to
peel and cook vegetables.
• Must be prepared in food processing plants.
• Even lettuce must be washed and packaged.
• Local apples? Maybe. But children prefer bananas.
• Local eggs and meat? No way to prepare these.
• Local Cheese? Needs no preparation, seems an
ideal choice.
NO CHEESE PLEASE
• Linda Van Horn, head of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines
Committee has specifically singled out cheese as unhealthy
because of cholesterol and saturated fat.
• Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI): “. . . slightly concerned
with Revolution’s insistence on natural, local ingredients. . .
You can have full-fat cheese from a local farmer, but it’s still
going to clog your arteries and give you heart disease.
Having the food be natural is nice, but a bigger threat to
children’s health is making sure that there’s not too much
salt and not too much saturated fat.”
COINCIDENCE?
New, more realistic soy imitation cheeses coming to market.
“Daiya is a delicious, dairy-free vegan cheese product that can
melt & stretch just like ‘real’ cheese. The product comes in
cheddar and mozzarella as a shredded cheese perfect for
nachos, mac & cheese, pizza, lasagna & more.”
THE TREND TOWARD VEGAN LUNCHES
• March, 2010, Rep Jared Polis (D-Colo) introduced the
Healthy School Meals Act, a bill that would create incentives
and a pilot program for children to receive a vegetarian meal
option at school.
• Supported by the Soyfoods Association of North America
• Push to Meatless Mondays
• UK government advisors mandating less beef and cheese.
ORIGINS OF THE MODERN
LOWFAT, HIGH-FIBER VEGETARIAN MOVEMENT
SYLVESTER GRAHAM
(1794-1851) advocated a
whole grain, vegetarian
diet to promote chastity
and curb lust. Preached
that excessive sexual
desire caused disease.
The Food
Puritans!
JOHN HARVEY KELLOGG (1852-1943),
Seventh Day Adventist who promoted a highfiber, vegetarian diet to combat the twin evils
of constipation and “natural urges.” Preached
against sexual activity, even in marriage!
SCHOOL LUNCHES: TOO BROKEN TO FIX
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Must follow USDA Dietary Guidelines
Influence of Industrial Agriculture
Move towards soy-based vegan food
Low wages for food prep staff
World’s most thankless job
No food preparation in kitchens, only warming.
The fast food culture
Lack of culinary knowledge
Not enough parents insisting on change.
IMPROVING SCHOOL LUNCHES:
A RECIPE FOR BURNOUT?
• In Britain, Jamie Oliver received tremendous
criticism after he succeeded in banning junk
food from school cafeterias. Children were
furious.
• “Many parents object to being lectured by
Londoners like Mr. Oliver.”
• Efforts in the U.S. failed miserably.
• Chef Jorge, head of New York City Schools Food Service: “The
2010-2011 school year will allow us to continue developing and
reinforcing our nutritional standards and policies in an effort to
combat the spread of childhood obesity and the serious
diseases associated with it. SchoolFood’s Executive Chef will
keep on working closely with manufacturers to develop products
that meet our high nutritional and culinary standards.”
IMPROVING SCHOOL LUNCHES:
ORGANIC CATERING?
• Revolution Foods delivering “healthy, home style meals and
nutrition education” to schools in San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Denver and Washington, DC metropolitan areas.
• Organic, locally produced, rBST-free, prepared daily.
• No high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial preservatives,
etc.
• BUT. . . These lunches must still conform to the dietary
guidelines, low in fat, reduced fat milk, etc., etc.
• “Nutrition education” will stress lowfat eating.
WHAT A HEALTHY SCHOOL LUNCH COULD LOOK LIKE
• Raw whole milk as the basis
• Give every student cod liver oil
• If food preparation facilities available, use meat cuts that
are inexpensive and nutritious
Chicken legs and thighs
Stew meat for stews, tacos, burritos, sloppy joes, casseroles, etc.
Sausage, hotdogs containing organ meats
Bones for soup
Foods fried in tallow
• Sandwich/Salad bar with
Local cheese
Local hard boiled eggs
Local sourdough bread
Local butter
Local cured meats
Local salad vegetables
Homemade dressing, olive oil and vinegar
HEALTHY, REALISTIC BAGGED LUNCH
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Raw whole milk in thermos or disguised in conventional milk carton
Lunches can’t be too weird – might need to use white bread
Make sure lunch has plenty of fat—butter on bread, etc.
Sandwich choices
Liverwurst, pate
Tuna fish salad
Chicken Salad
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Salami
Meatloaf
Egg Salad
Soup or broth in a thermos
Pickles
Crispy Nuts
Hard Cheese
Homemade cookies
Fresh Fruit
Fresh vegetables with homemade dip
Hard boiled eggs
Canned coconut juice
Cheese
Natural Nut Butters
Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey
PORTENT OF THE FUTURE?
Boy, two, left in tears as nursery staff confiscate
his 'unhealthy' cheese sandwich
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 9:04 PM on 28th April 2010
City Bans Homemade Desserts at School Bake Sales
The new regulation, designed to combat everincreasing childhood obesity, limits bake sales to
"fresh fruits and vegetables, or one of 27 specific
packaged items" that include low-fat Doritos, NutriGrain Cereal Bars (blackberry only) and Linden’s
Cookies (butter crunch, chocolate chip or fudge chip
cookies in two-cookie packs) among other things.
PORTENT OF THE FUTURE?
New System Tracks What Kids Eat
Big Mother is Watching You!
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School children in Iowa must submit their school lunch
choices to a computer, which matches their selections to a
federal database.
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Kids can’t get their lunch until the computer approves!
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Children must memorize a personal pin code before they
can eat. Cafeteria staff watch to make sure the child and
food match up to what’s in the computer.
PORTENT OF THE FUTURE?
We will make you eat vegetables!
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“Chefs in Schools Making
Vegetables Cool.” Celebrity
chefs and school personal
trying to get kids to eat
vegetables. Good luck!!
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Latest tactic: Add powdered
vegetables to other foods, such
as meat mixes, dips, pasta, etc.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Shills for an atrocious diet!
ROLE OF CHAPTER LEADERS
AND WAPF MEMBERS
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First responsibility is to own children – make their lunches
Provide classes and support for those ready to learn
Encourage local grass-based farmers
Teach gently when there is an opening
Stand up for your right to make your child’s lunch
NOT
• Changing the school lunch program, it won’t happen in our lifetime.
HEALTHY 4 LIFE
Alternative Dietary Guidelines from
the Weston A. Price Foundation
Thanks to Lynda Smith Cowan and Victoria Bloch Coulter