In a time when the public is constantly concerned with sex-offenders and Europe determining the fate of the world, we are far too distracted from considerations of what we should eat. Why is this so? The knowledge people have of food, of what is good and what leads to health problems such as heart disease, is quite accessible, right?
For years, public school lunch systems in North America and Europe have been facing criticism. Balanced lunches are not the only thing that cafeterias serve, and many hungry students opt for unhealthy foods choosing them because they are cheap. Last Monday, the US Congress passed a spending bill that would approve pizza with tomato sauce as a vegetable in the school lunch system. As a pizza enthusiast, I unabashedly endorse that pizza is delicious. It’s a pie with cheese and slices of fattening meat and usually tastes like ambrosia. As the US is one of the countries leading in obesity, it seems only fitting that Congress, with donut-glazed eyes, is allowing young children to be subject to a “balanced” lunch of such items. With the aforementioned ingredients, it’s difficult to understand where the vegetables come in on your typical single-topping pizza: pepperoni, cheese, tomato sauce, and dough made of yeast, flour, sugar. The tomato sauce is the closest to vegetables out of any of those ingredients, and it should be noted that the tomato’s technically a fruit.
Efforts by food activists such as Jamie Oliver and Michelle Obama are still going strong. Jamie Oliver has successfully introduced healthy public school lunch programs in England with fresh ingredients and attuned children to healthier foods. Further, an activist group named “Mission: Readiness” is demanding that Congress amend its bill, which includes unhealthy foods that kids already eat enough of. “We are outraged that Congress is seriously considering language that would effectively categorize pizza as a vegetable in the school lunch program,” Amy Dawson Taggart, the director of the group, wrote in a letter to members of Congress. The group claims that poor nutrition in school lunch programs is a national security issue, as obesity is the leading medical disqualifier for military service.
Following the current rationale of Congress, when I eat Popeye’s fried chicken, I should no longer feel remotely ashamed since anyone can walk on over to Pizza Nova, and get four slices of greasy, meaty, cheesy vegetables.
