House Republicans are criticizing President Obama's efforts to push school districts to provide healthier lunches for the nation's kids. Watch out kids, eating healthy is the "nanny state overreach!" And we wouldn't want those potato farmers to suffer now, would we?
The school lunch guidelines have not been changed for 15 years. The new guidelines will require schools to cut sodium in subsidized meals by more than half, use more whole grains, and serve low-fat milk (communists!). The limit of one cup of starchy vegetables a week means that they couldn't have french fries every day (hence the concern about the poor potato farmers).
This is all a part of the war against Michelle Obama's healthy eating campaign. Outspoken conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and my personal favorite (Michele Bachmann) have all attacked Ms. Obama for her efforts to promote healthy eating. And it's also a part of the Republican party's lack of concern for the nation's children (especially the poor ones, who are the most likely to eat hot lunch every day).
Furthermore, the Republican party is also none too happy about the proposal to require restaurants to post nutritional information on menus. Because of course, we shouldn't know how unhealthy the food is, should we?
Since when did health and wellness become a political issue? How can you possibly be against that?
Because healthy eating cuts down on Big-Pharma's and the meat and dairy industries' profits. With healthy eating, you have no need for cholesterol treatments, blood pressure pills, statins, and less consumption of meat and dairy. So, the corporate masters do not remotely like the promotion of healthy eating.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's because the subject is one for civil society, and one which parties outside of government are already doing. Just because it seems 'benign' doesn't mean that the purpose of state is to busy itself looking for warm-fuzzy, image enhancing issues that just expand their intervention into the way civil society operates.
ReplyDeleteIt's deeply shortsighted to think that Government must do all of the 'nice' things that factions and interest groups demand of it. Sooner or later, the state BECOMES the society, as was the case behind in the DDR where I used to live.
I hardly think we are at risk of becoming like the DDR by promoting healthy eating! Obesity and unhealthy eating are heavily contributing to our health care crisis. We have dangerously high rates of childhood obesity and diabetes.
ReplyDeletePromoting healthy eating is a proactive measure, and it's necessary to keep our country from further decline. It's not just "warm and fuzzy."