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What's On Your Plate? the documentary film about kids and food politics…

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December 16th, 2009 by Angelica

Although it’s hard to believe, school lunches are unhealthier for your children than most fast food chains, including McDonald’s and KFC. We’re following up on Nate’s great post about cafeteria food.

A recent investigation conducted by USA Today showed that 77 million pounds of “old hen meat” are being served in schools, amounting to approximately 145 million dollars. Spent hens, so called because they can no longer hatch eggs, are not a favorite consumer product due to their brittle bones, which are prone to splintering. Although a common component of pet food, “old hen meat” cuts short for human expectations: they increase rates of salmonella, especially in children. Campbell Soup Company, as well as the KFC Company, do not use spent hens due to “quality considerations.”

But there’s still hope for school lunches. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan revealed that the USDA was beginning Farm-to-School Tactical Teams in order to give cafeteria fresh food. In addition, they are also giving schools access to 50 million dollars so they could purchase fresh and locally grown produce. New purchasing guidelines are also being installed, focusing primarily on organic and healthier food.

Most kids consume the greater part of their daily calorie intake throughout the school day. For most kids, school lunches set an example for proper eating habits. The habits they pick up at schools now could stay with them the rest of their lives. We hope that the USDA will work on making cafeteria food more nutritious and tastier.

One Response

Ariana writes:
January 20th, 20101:26 amat

While I agree that the USDA could probably work at making school food even more nutritious, I think it is important to note that the article stated that the guidelines the USDA follows for school meat are more stringent than the guidelines followed for meat sold to the general public (still disheartening, as I am an adult … luckily, mostly vegetarian at this point!!) Educating children in school about the food they eat goes far beyond providing them with “proper” food on their plates. Instead of literally spoonfeeding them, they should be clearly taught about “what’s on their plate” – how to make wise food choices, where their foods come from, why natural/whole/organic beats out processed/packaged. I am excited to catch the documentary, because I think it is something that everyone, from 2-102, could learn from. Unfortunately, without people understanding WHAT they are eating, and WHY certain foods are better for them, nothing will change! Our society and our governments (both local and national) need to step up their approach to the “food issue” and start fully and accurately educating both children and adults before it gets any worse….