Why are Healthy School Lunch Options Unavailable
White House Objects to PCRM Poster Invoking Obama Children
Aug 12, 2009
The controversial poster, which according to Washington Post writers, "went up last week, 14 in Union Station," shows eight-year-old Jasmine Messiah posing the question, "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?" As the new school year begins, Jasmine is not the only person with that question on her mind.
According to the Post article, PCRM President, Neil Barnard related that at a conference this spring, in a hearing on childhood obesity before the House and the Senate, Jasmine had an opportunity to voice her concerns saying, "I have something I want to say...At my school, there isn't anything I can eat. There isn't anything healthy at all."
In 2007, the American Medical Association passed a unanimous resolution recommending that healthy vegetarian or vegan options be made available within schools. Despite this call for reform, most of the over 94,000 schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, which subsidizes the cost of U.S. school lunches, have chosen not to comply; many, ironically, citing cost.
A February 2008 photo essay, in Edutopia magazine—Bag Lunch: What's to Eat in the Global School Cafeteria, illustrates the clearly abysmal situation typically encountered in the U.S. school lunchroom; starkly contrasting it with school lunches in Russia and Japan.
Edutopia's Example of a Typical American School Lunch Contains:
- 2 plain Hotdogs on White-Bread Buns (optional ketchup and mustard)
- 9 Tater-Tots
- 2 Broccoli florets
- 2 Cauliflower florets
- 1 individual pre-packaged serving of Processed Dipping Sauce
- Milk (unspecified fat content)
The Typical Russian School Lunch is Depicted as Providing:
- 1 bowl of Borscht (a traditional beetroot and cabbage soup)
- 1 portion of Buckwheat
- 1 slice whole grain Rye Bread
- 1 small Beef Cutlet
- 1 glass of Apple Kissel (a traditional drink made from fresh fruits)
How does the U.S. School Lunch Compare to that of Russia?
Ostensibly, many would assume that since Russia has had more than its share of economic problems in recent decades, that its school lunches may have suffered as well. On the contrary, this country's typical school lunch is both inexpensive to produce, and abundant in nutrition, as shown in a detailed analysis at NutritionData.com. This sample lunch is stunning, in that it is low in sodium, it is also a good source of complete proteins, provides Vitamin A at 100% of the recommended daily value, and is an excellent source of Vitamin K, magnesium, manganese and selenium.
Unfortunately for U.S. school students, like PCRM Poster Child Jasmine Messiah, school lunches do not stack up so well. The NutritionData.com analysis of the typical U.S. school lunch indicates that it contains 816 calories (more than 1/2 the average adult woman's daily requirement, in one meal)—a whopping 443 of these calories come from fat. Almost incredibly, it also boasts 2,133 mg of Sodium.
Will President Obama's Administration Respond to the Mounting Public Outcry?
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the American Medical Association, parents everywhere, and even eight-year-old children like Jasmine Messiah, are aware of the inadequacies of offerings provided by the National School Lunch Program in the U.S. They are calling for reform.
In the August 11, Washington Post article, it was reported that Jasmine also wrote a letter to the children of President Obama, in which she stated, "I'm glad that your school, Sidwell Friends, already has lots of healthy options in the cafeteria...if we work together, we can make sure all students can eat healthy school lunches." Along with Jasmine, the American public can hope.
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