Congress pushes back on healthier school lunches

BrewerGeorge

Wow! You just contradicted the common belief on MFP that it doesn't cost more to eat healthier. ...

Even if you believe that (It has not been my experience.) it wold only work because you're not counting your time and labor as a cost. School cafeterias run as businesses with employees, so labor and wages absolutely play a big part in the cost of the meal. Does Marge spend 3 hrs steaming and peeling tomatoes, or does she spend 20 seconds opening a can? All that time costs money.

As individuals, we can afford to ignore labor costs. Schools cannot.

CorinthiaB

You would rather spend more on health cost for these kids then to do a little preventive.

Please reference where, in the Constitution, it is the federal government's responsibility to provide health care for anyone.

The government doesn't control our lives! I have yet to see the government tell me that I had to attend college, I have to have a child, or I have to be heterosexual.

They may not control all aspects of our lives, but they do control things that affect our lives from taxation to ridiculous regulations. If you're interested, I could provide you with some info. Here's one link, for now, with some great info: http://truthisscary.com/2010/11/8-examples-of-how-the-government-is-trying-to-take-total-control-of-our-food-health-money-and-even-our-dignity/

You know you do have the option to go live some where else! The Constitution gives you that right! Plus, don't talk to me about the damn Constitution. For years the Constitution allowed for slavery. The Constitution is a man-made document created years ago. Plenty in the Constitution need to be updated!

CorinthiaB

They may not control all aspects of our lives, but they do control things that affect our lives from taxation to ridiculous regulations. If you're interested, I could provide you with some info. Here's one link, for now, with some great info: http://truthisscary.com/2010/11/8-examples-of-how-the-government-is-trying-to-take-total-control-of-our-food-health-money-and-even-our-dignity/
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There are rules that must be followed and if that is control of your life then so be it! Like I said you can always go live some where else! How about Syria?

PlanetVelma

They may not control all aspects of our lives, but they do control things that affect our lives from taxation to ridiculous regulations. If you're interested, I could provide you with some info. Here's one link, for now, with some great info: http://truthisscary.com/2010/11/8-examples-of-how-the-government-is-trying-to-take-total-control-of-our-food-health-money-and-even-our-dignity/

There are rules that must be followed and if that is control of your life then so be it! Like I said you can always go live some where else! How about Syria?

Wow, was that really necessary?

KimmieBrie

The government already controls too much of our lives. They shouldn't dictate what a child eats, that's what parents are for. If parents don't want them to eat the school-prepared meals then they should pack their own lunch. Simple. We all know it costs more to eat healthy and I for one don't want to pay more in taxes to support the increase in costs the schools would incur. Again, parents should bear this burden.

Agreed. I'm tired of everyone pawning off personal responsibility on everyone else. My kid is fat because of the school lunches... the schools need to feed my kid better. Really????????? Schools have been serving up crap since I attended and there was never this obesity problem.... tells me there is another cause - like maybe allowing your kid to sit in their room 24/7 with TV/net and video games and never doing anything active with them because you are "too busy". Parents are responsible for their childrens nutrition, not me, not the feds, not anybody else. Accountability is very lax these days.

Improvised

If parents are truely concerned about what their children eat, then they will pack their lunches, and serve healthier food at home.

CaptainGordo

They may not control all aspects of our lives, but they do control things that affect our lives from taxation to ridiculous regulations. If you're interested, I could provide you with some info. Here's one link, for now, with some great info: http://truthisscary.com/2010/11/8-examples-of-how-the-government-is-trying-to-take-total-control-of-our-food-health-money-and-even-our-dignity/

There are rules that must be followed and if that is control of your life then so be it! Like I said you can always go live some where else! How about Syria?

Wow, was that really necessary?

Yeah, the mods already edited her comment about "crazy *kitten* Christians". Charming...

CorinthiaB

The government already controls too much of our lives. They shouldn't dictate what a child eats, that's what parents are for. If parents don't want them to eat the school-prepared meals then they should pack their own lunch. Simple. We all know it costs more to eat healthy and I for one don't want to pay more in taxes to support the increase in costs the schools would incur. Again, parents should bear this burden.

Agreed. I'm tired of everyone pawning off personal responsibility on everyone else. My kid is fat because of the school lunches... the schools need to feed my kid better. Really????????? Schools have been serving up crap since I attended and there was never this obesity problem.... tells me there is another cause - like maybe allowing your kid to sit in their room 24/7 with TV/net and video games and never doing anything active with them because you are "too busy". Parents are responsible for their childrens nutrition, not me, not the feds, not anybody else. Accountability is very lax these days.

If parents should bare the burden then schools should return the federal funds. However, if the schools are taking the federal dollars then the federal government has the right to have input into what is being served.

CorinthiaB

Wow! The Constitution does mention free speech. It is only free if it is in agreement. By the way i am a Christian. Just a Christian who doesn't force my thoughts on others!

CaptainGordo

If parents should bare the burden then schools should return the federal funds. However, if the schools are taking the federal dollars then the federal government has the right to have input into what is being served.

Power over education is not enumerated as a federal government responsibility in the Constitution. It should be handled on a local level. I'm all for no federal funds or say in education. the Dept of Education should be dissolved.

PlanetVelma

Wow! The Constitution does mention free speech. It is only free if it is in agreement. By the way i am a Christian. Just a Christian who doesn't force my thoughts on others!

Could've fooled me.

CaptainGordo

Wow! The Constitution does mention free speech. It is only free if it is in agreement. By the way i am a Christian. Just a Christian who doesn't force my thoughts on others!

The freedom of speech protected by the Constitution protects us from government limits on our speech, not expression on a privately-owned web site. This site is not yours, and the owners can censor user comments. Just like I cannot hang a sign on your front door, the site owners can decide what content appears on the site.

CasperO

If parents should bare the burden then schools should return the federal funds. However, if the schools are taking the federal dollars then the federal government has the right to have input into what is being served.

Power over education is not enumerated as a federal government responsibility in the Constitution. It should be handled on a local level. I'm all for no federal funds or say in education. the Dept of Education should be dissolved.

"... Provide for the common defense, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE and ensure the blessings of liberty to ourselves,,,".

Also - the school lunch thing is actually handled by Dept. of Agriculture, not Education. Perry doesn't want to wipe that one out, or at least he doesn't think so... Hehehe...

CaptainGordo

If parents should bare the burden then schools should return the federal funds. However, if the schools are taking the federal dollars then the federal government has the right to have input into what is being served.

Power over education is not enumerated as a federal government responsibility in the Constitution. It should be handled on a local level. I'm all for no federal funds or say in education. the Dept of Education should be dissolved.

"... Provide for the common defense, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE and ensure the blessings of liberty to ourselves,,,".

Also - the school lunch thing is actually handled by Dept. of Agriculture, not Education. Perry doesn't want to wipe that one out, or at least he doesn't think so... Hehehe...

Some quotes from the founders regarding the General Welfare Clause of the US Constitution:

“With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”
– James Madison, Letter to James Robertson April 20, 1831

“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every State, county and parish and pay them out of their public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision of the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, every thing, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police, would be thrown under the power of Congress…. Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America.”
– James Madison, Letter to Edmund Pendleton, January 21, 1792

“[We] disavow and declare to be most false and unfounded, the doctrine that the compact, in authorizing its federal branch to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States, has given them thereby a power to do whatever they may think or pretend would promote the general welfare, which construction would make that, of itself, a complete government, without limitation of powers; but that the plain sense and obvious meaning were, that they might levy the taxes necessary to provide for the general welfare by the various acts of power therein specified and delegated to them, and by no others.”
–Thomas Jefferson: Declaration and Protest of Virginia, 1825

CasperO

I didn't necessarily say I agreed with it, I just pointed out where the justification was, 'cause the question was asked. If you don't like it write your congressman.

CaptainGordo

I didn't necessarily say I agreed with it, I just pointed out where the justification was, 'cause the question was asked. If you don't like it write your congressman.

(whips out stationary) :laugh:

Understood. Thought I'd add the citations though, as it is a commonly misconstrued phrase.

smpreston

Congress should get back to telling people who they can marry and women can do with their bodies. That is much more important than the health and wellness of children.

CaptainGordo

Congress should get back to telling people who they can marry and women can do with their bodies. That is much more important than the health and wellness of children.

They just need to go home. :laugh:

fit4mom

Our local potato commishoner did a diet of potatoes only, His cholesterol went down and he lost weight. Pizza can be healthy. I wish the government would back off on eraticating things and be willing to change them. Why can't standards be in place vs complete undoing. KFC got rid of lap top meals and I don't understand why we can't reward our kids for healthy eating Like putting a toy with healthy food vs suing restaurants to remove them. So many restaurants are going away from being kid friendly and this includes all the local McDonalds making over their restaurants to be adult oriented. People are capable of change if you give them the tools as many have learned here on MFP.

CaptainGordo

Our local potato commishoner did a diet of potatoes only, His cholesterol went down and he lost weight. Pizza can be healthy. I wish the government would back off on eraticating things and be willing to change them. Why can't standards be in place vs complete undoing. KFC got rid of lap top meals and I don't understand why we can't reward our kids for healthy eating Like putting a toy with healthy food vs suing restaurants to remove them. So many restaurants are going away from being kid friendly and this includes all the local McDonalds making over their restaurants to be adult oriented. People are capable of change if you give them the tools as many have learned here on MFP.

The potato commissioner story is a great example!

Standards should be set locally, by each state. The government gains power by telling us what we can and cannot do. If they can't do it through legislation in Congress, they subvert the law and use regulations. We don't need nannies -- that is what monarchies and socialist states are for.

tuffytuffy1

My son's school just sent around a survey to the parents asking question such as whether certain foods should be available daily, weekly, just as a treat, or never. I responded that ice cream (available every day) should be never; that pizza should be once a week; same with fries.

I was happy to see that they also asked if we would like fresh veggies with light dip, fresh fruits (right now it is usually something from a can), that sort of thing. My son is in 1st grade and he actually hates pizza and fries, if you can believe it, and he would like fresh veggies and dip and the fresh fruit and cheese too. I'm not counting on any huge changes, but this would be a great step in the right direction.

CasperO

Nobody's telling you what you can and cannot feed your kid. If you want to send little Wallace and Clymnestra off to school with a 5 gallon bucket of Tic-tacs and a 6 of Jolt! Cola that's your business.

This is all about what the US Dept. of Agriculture will pay for. There are actually some pretty good reasons for somebody a little removed from the area having some input. Can you imagine what the lunch menu in Hershey PA might look like with no oversight?

You don't want your kid eating Michelle Obama's arugula salad, fine. Take care of his lunch yourself. NP

jennajava

The Constitution does not grant any power over what kids eat or their education to the federal government. They need to butt out and let each state, and then district, handle it themselves according to the dictates of the local population.

This. If the government starts telling us what we can eat, what's next?

CasperO

Did anyone here actually read the article?

CaptainGordo

This is all about what the US Dept. of Agriculture will pay for. There are actually some pretty good reasons for somebody a little removed from the area having some input. Can you imagine what the lunch menu in Hershey PA might look like with no oversight?

You don't want your kid eating Michelle Obama's arugula salad, fine. Take care of his lunch yourself. NP

Local control is important, because one can vote with his feet. When the feds make the calls, one cannot escape their poor decisions.

CaptainGordo

Did anyone here actually read the article?

Yep.

CasperO

Would you still feel this way if you lived in Bentonville Arkansas and half the school board worked at Tyson and their menu was "All chicken nuggets! All the time! (tm)"? How about if you were jewish and the local hog farm made sure bacon was on every plate?

Local control isn't necessarily less corrupt, it just ensures the source of the corruption is closer to you.

And again, if you don't want your kid eating the federally mandated square meal, brown bag.

leslielt

The schools I've been too had choices. There were lines for what sort of food you wanted: salad, pizza, chicken, fruit, etc. But those were middle and high schools so maybe its the elementary schools we're talking about?

And here's an idea how about bringing recess back? Remember slides and jungle gyms?

CaptainGordo

Would you still feel this way if you lived in Bentonville Arkansas and half the school board worked at Tyson and their menu was "All chicken nuggets! All the time! (tm)"? How about if you were jewish and the local hog farm made sure bacon was on every plate?

Local control isn't necessarily less corrupt, it just ensures the source of the corruption is closer to you.

And again, if you don't want your kid eating the federally mandated square meal, brown bag.

As you said, I could always send my kid with a sack lunch. I could also vote with my feet, and move.

Sadly, most federal regulations affect things that cannot be solved with a sack lunch, though. This is one of many things that they need to stay out of.

CasperO

So you really just hate the government and want it to go away. Interesting.


Our local schools still have recess. Playground, jungle gym, monkey bars, balls, hopscotch, the whole works. They get 1 period a day, 45 or 50 minutes.