Recently the media has reported new findings about the rise in childhood diabetes and its dire consequences. This news has once again raised alarm about the growing epidemic of obesity among our children and youth. The problem is so serious that experts are recommending drastic changes to the way our kids eat. But can complacency, denial and ignorance among the adult population prevent our young people from getting the help and education they need to make these drastic changes?
dinner tables and school cafeteria trays
During a recent school-screening visit for one of my daughters to a high-ranking Eastern college, I had the opportunity to raise questions about the quality of food available through the campus cafeteria. Was their school serving food free of pesticides? Was it non-GMO? What about meat sources? Were students being injected with hormones and antibiotics to factory farm animals? Were natural, healthy and organic food options available in the cafeteria – as has been adopted by some of the cutting edge schools across the country such as Yale, UC Berkeley, Duke and Oberlin Colleges?
The question seemed to baffle the college staff member. She said she wasn’t sure about the quality of the food in the cafeteria. They didn’t know if any kind of focus was being given to providing natural, vegetarian or organic options to students. It was unclear whether the school provided nutrition fare that addressed some of the serious health concerns facing Americans getting younger and younger… fried foods, processed starches, and cafeteria tray covers Visions of sweet desserts floated before my eyes.
This response seems to be somewhat typical of school professionals at every educational level. I recently had the opportunity to ask the food service directors of our local educational institutions about nutrition quality and education in elementary, middle and high schools. I was told that children will not eat food that looks healthy and they only want the kind of food that can be found at any fast-food restaurant. Furthermore, they implied that it was not the school system’s responsibility to provide healthy food options for children. That’s the parent’s job.
While I agree that healthy eating habits start at home and that parents need to demonstrate them to their children in the kitchen and at the dinner table, this absolves our education system of its responsibility to teach good nutrition. does not reject. Our schools should provide information and training on the elements of a good diet and lead by example. That is, clean, healthy cafeteria food. And healthy can’t and shouldn’t be “unsuitable for a child’s taste buds”. Healthy, natural food, prepared with good recipes, can be far more palatable than the fast food that now dominates school cafeteria lunch menus.
Sadly, political concerns have hindered progress on the campaign for better school meals. We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to this important issue and allow large food conglomerates to dominate school cafeteria fare by default.
Eating Healthy From Romper Room to Retirement
The foundation for lifelong healthy eating begins in childhood. If we introduce kids to healthy, natural foods, give them dietary knowledge, and teach them how to cook delicious meals, they can carry good eating habits into adulthood.
Taking children to the local farmers market to shop for produce is one example of expanding the way they learn about and shop for food.
We need a radical approach to transform our food system. Taking the cafeteria school food is important if we want to avoid childhood overweight, malnutrition and diseases caused by poor quality nutrition for our youth. The evolution of food on our planet depends on a gentle but firm revolution in the market, the kitchen and the cafeteria.
Source by Diane Hoch
