School lunches are one of the main sources of nutrition, or
lack thereof for students in K-12. At one point in our life we were the
recipient of these meals. Whether the overall idea for school lunch was out of
necessity at one point or convenience of that time, it certainly is everything
but now. As a whole, the people are becoming more aware of what we need to eat
to be healthier and what not to eat.
Zuckerman's article is an interview with a woman who she
dubs the "badass," Professor Marion Nestle, researcher and author of
several health-focused articles and books. Both of these women discussed a major issue concerning
the poor quality of school breakfast/lunch. Obviously people don't get fed for
free, and neither do these students. Zuckerman found that "the money that
these kids generate through the breakfast and lunch programs are tremendous.
Breakfast cost about $3 billion and the lunch at $11 billion. These companies
are very interested in holding on to their share."
The article continues on how un-healthy the food is and
while there is still a large amount of money that certain companies are making
from schools, things are looking slightly better. According to Zuckerman,
"There are now limits on the levels of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium,
and calories...”
This article is great representation
of public health. It's something that can help the future kids, and adults of
America. If kids learn early through their schooling that eating right is one
of the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle, maybe some other health
issues won't surface. This type of problem solving would be more of
preventative health which is what we need.
Love Marion Nestle! I've had the opportunity to hear her speak several times, and she's quite dynamic. Should be a great read!
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