School Lunch Proposals Set Off a Dispute

For the first time in 15 years, changes are being proposed to the federally financed school lunch program. A quarter-cup of tomato paste on pizza will no longer be considered a vegetable, but potatoes apparently will continue to be


The proposals are predictably being blocked by makers of frozen pizza and French fries, saying kids won't eat their food if they are implements.  


The National Potato Council, not surprisingly, agreed. They said the proposal to offer fewer weekly servings of potatoes in favor of other vegetables and fruits was overly restrictive. John Keeling, the council’s CEO says “... 90 percent of the potatoes served in schools are baked, boiled or mashed.” 


I doubt that's true, but even if it is, a Harvard study says that even boiled potatoes contribute to weight gain and other problems, like obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. 


Lawmakers from agricultural states are also against the new proposals.

The House has passed a bill directing the Agriculture Department to basically start over with a new proposal while the Senate has restricted the department from cutting back on potatoes.

“This whole fight obscures the fact that the U.S.D.A.’s proposal is about helping kids eat a wide variety of vegetable and make lunches overall healthier,” said Margo G. Wootan, at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit research group. “It’s about our children’s health. I think that point has long since been lost."

Good point.