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Townhall...
Who Is Policing the
Food Police?
by Susan Brown
Feb 25, 2012
President and Mrs. Obama seem to be terrific parents and should be
commended for the steps they have taken to improve the health and
well-being of America’s kids. Back in December 2010, President Obama
signed the “Healthy, Hunger Free Children Act” into law, and in January
2012, the First Lady, in partnership with U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, unveiled a set of new school
meal standards, they claim “will improve the health and well-being of
32 million kids nationwide.”
As I understand it, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food
consumption guidelines are based on net daily consumption, and school
lunch recommendations are designed to enhance an already healthy diet
consisting of two additional balanced meals and healthy in-between meal
snacks.
Every child is unique. Johnny may prefer his milk at breakfast and
dinner rather than at lunch, while Susie may prefer yogurt in lieu of
milk. Joshua may hate vegetables, so his Mom sneaks them in by serving
veggie burgers at dinner.
Enter: An unnamed (for her protection) 4-year old North Carolinian girl
whose “mom packed” lunch consisting of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a
banana, potato chips and apple juice was apparently deemed unacceptable
according to USDA nutrition guidelines and was given a whole school
cafeteria lunch to supplement the already plentiful lunch - by someone
I affectionately call “Mr. Tubby.” The effort backfired when, according
to the John W. Pope Civitas Institute, “the girl was so intimidated by
the inspection process” she only ate the supplemental chicken nuggets.”
At the time of this writing, the circumstances surrounding the incident
have all the makings of a “whodunit.” The Carolina Journal said the
alleged “inspector” was a “state agent,” others said it was a “state
inspector,” and some school officials say the teacher was to blame. I
just got off the phone with District 46 Representative G.L. Pridgen,
who said he was still caught in the crossfire of information in an
effort to assist the girl’s parents.
When it comes right down to it, “whodunit” doesn’t matter as much as
why “whodunit” did it. Most likely, the USDA did not send an inspector
to pick through sack lunches. Furthermore, it is admirable that the
Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of
Health and Human Services has rules requiring all pre-K programs serve
nutritious meals according to USDA standards -- but those guidelines
and suggestions should end where the role of the parent begins.
It is as if some of those in leadership genuinely believe they know
better than we do what is best for our kids. They don’t. With that in
mind, it is reasonable to assume that USDA-recommended lunches served
by schools may or may not be healthy -- simply because officials
haven’t a clue what kids consume before and after school. Giving a
child a school meal that was designed as a prototypical meal for the
general population could, in reality, be a recipe for obesity based on
an individual’s overall eating habits.
Inspector Tubby’s actions should serve to remind us how well-meaning
rules or guidelines become grotesquely out-of-whack when the government
sees fit to meddle in matters deemed personal. What was meant to help
us hurts us when the government casts out a rule “for the greater good”
and individuals get swallowed-up in the process.
A guideline is only as effective as its implementation. If there are
other “Inspector Tubbys” out there doing the implementing, the
well-meaning USDA guidelines the First Lady created to “improve the
health and well-being of 32 million kids nationwide” could do the
opposite to facilitate rather than impede childhood obesity.
Read this and other articles at Townhall
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