The push back is going in the direction of improved school lunches. The announcement, with First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and celebrity chef Rachael Ray, should give supporters great joy and pride.
The first major overhaul of school lunch in over 15 years is cause for celebration.
Yes, pizza and French fries have a more prominent position in school lunches, thanks to moves by (mostly) Republicans. Funny how conservative politicians complain that government shouldn't tell people what to eat, yet they want government to make sure more of their French fries get served in public schools.
Well, French fries and tater tots. The move by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) is more about potatoes, trying to find ways to keep potatoes but make them healthier.
School lunches can get healthier, but the potato will almost certainly be fried in French fry form or tater tot form. Yes, the potato is healthy when baked and boiled, but the chances of that happening in school lunchrooms are slimmer than having a Republican president push for more school lunch funding.
On the good side, school lunches will come in with reduced sodium, more whole grains, and more choices for fruits and vegetables.
One overlooked change is a change from "nutrition-based" or "nutrient standard" to a "food-based" system. Think fewer fortified foods and more real foods, a pleasant and very positive change.
We see the contrast of school lunch reform with a Democratic-controlled Congress vs. a Republican-controlled Congress. The positive improvements stem from legislation fashioned when the Dems were in charge. Classifying pizza as a vegetable and fighting for more potatoes -- under a GOP-controlled Congress.
In presidential years, the primary focus is on who runs for president, as it should. Michelle Obama has fought harder than anyone in power for these improvements. Every two years, citizens get to vote for who goes to the House and Senate. It does matter who is in charge of the House and Senate.
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