food+revolution

Obesity! It’s been around for a long time. In the past it use to be just rich people that were overweight, but now more middle and under class people are overweight. Why is that you may ask? Well, if you ask celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, he would tell you it is the food. More and more companies have been purchasing processed foods because it’s the cheep easy way out; it’s even happing in public schools. More schools are giving their students unhealthy food. Frozen processed deep fried chicken and beef instead of salads? Is that what students should be eating? I think not.

Jamie Oliver, of Food Revolution, has been working with schools in the UK and changing their eating habits and what they serve in the school lunches. He came to America with the same goal. He was asked on the food choices at schools there compared to the schools here and he said they use to be like here, selling processed crap and food die, but he helped change that. Most working in the school board will say it a money problem, that it’s too much to get healthier food, but Jamie doesn’t think that the case. “The ones selling cheap shit are good at selling cheap shit. It’s easy to sell cheap food. It’s not about the cost difference. Good cooking is generally about the ability to knock up a mixture of things. If you have $5, $10, or $50 if you can cook, it doesn’t really make much of a difference. The deal breaker is knowledge.” It’s not that people don’t know the food isn’t healthy; they don’t even have the basic knowledge to know the difference between a potato and a tomato. Jamie asked some student “Where does honey come from?” you would expect everyone to know this, however almost every student got it wrong. “A bear? A tree? Bees?” these were the answers he received. It isn’t even their fault. Most of them did not learn small little food facts from either school or their families. They just need to learn that the food you should eat should be good for you.

The schools need to figure out that just because the first ingredient of the food is chicken or beef, doesn’t mean it is healthy to eat. More students knew about diseases from being obese than where food comes from. “These kids didn’t know where honey came from, but they sure knew about diabetes. They shared stories of entire families- parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins- suffering from the disease.” These kids know so much of the things that can happen from not eating right but know no way to prevent it. “They begged for information and education so they could make better choices and avoid these bleak futures.” These students need to be taught how to eat right. It all starts with knowledge. “They soaked up the knowledge, and told me how it shifted their perspective- in only one hour. It doesn’t take much. But it takes more than nothing.

The LA school district last year introduced a new menu of food in their schools. Things such as black bean burgers, tostada salads, and fresh fruits are on this menu, however most students don’t even bother getting in line. But why? This food sound like it would be good, right? Well that’s not what the students think, they take one taste and think one thing this isn’t what I want so I don’t think it tastes good. More students during school either bring unhealthy food from home, such as chips, or don’t eat than students that get food. Some students even take advantage of the off campus passes and started a black market of unhealthy fast food in their schools. Months before they introduced this new menu, the district held a taste test of the food they were going to be served to the kids. When they read through the comments from the test 75% came back as positive responses, however when they put the food in the schools the feedback was not so good. One student that went to the tasting said the food was really good but at the school the food was either watery or overcooked. “No matter how healthy food is if it’s not appetizing people won’t eat it.” So is it a problem with the food or the way it is served? Maybe a little bit of both?

I really feel the food in schools is horrible. I will only eat the food if it is a salad or a sandwich that looks like it isn’t very processed. The food they serve is over processed crap. I don’t think they should be giving use foods that are like that. There not only bad for you but sometimes the food doesn’t even look edible, burn or under cooked. I admit I am not the person that eats the healthiest thing but I know what is bad for you and what is good. The small amount of fruit, which they don’t refill once it’s gone it’s gone until the next day, is hardly anything to choose from that isn’t repetitive. They need more verity to choose from. They need to find better chooses for our schools with food people will like. I get they are try to do what they can to make the food healthier but all they really need to do is take out the processed meats and add in more fruits and veggies, is it really that hard? The answer to that would be, not really.

Well, as you can see there are many, many, many problems with the way students are served food in schools today. There lack of knowledge isn’t really helping with that. Our schools need help and they need it now, these small changes they are trying are somewhat working but they need to take a bigger step. Our schools have come a long way from one or two years ago, but they still have a ways to go.