Trump’s administration has announced a new set of school lunch guidelines that directly undermine the changes previously brought forward by former FLOTUS Michelle Obama.
According to the proposed guidelines of the Food and Nutrition Service, which is overseen by the Department of Agriculture, the new rules will “simplify meal service and reduce food waste.”
While Michelle Obama previously challenged the matter of child obesity by getting more veggies and fruits on the menu, the new regulations aim to remove the limits and allow educational institutions to cut down on fruits and veggies while providing students with more fast food alternatives such as fries, burgers, and pizzas.
The new regulations were announced on the day of Michelle Obama’s 56th birthday, whereas the former FLOTUS previously launched the ‘Let’s Move’ initiative in an attempt to reduce obesity in children and promote a healthy lifestyle.
“I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition,” Mrs. Obama said at the time.
The proposed new guidelines, which were welcomed by food manufacturers, follow after plenty of school districts expressed their frustration over high amounts of food waste and more substantial food bills caused by the diversity of foods, particularly fruits and veggies, on the menu.
“Schools and school districts continue to tell us that there is still too much food waste and that more common-sense flexibility is needed to provide students nutritious and appetizing meals. We listened and now we’re getting to work,” USDA defended the proposed guidelines in their statement.
As the critics of the proposed regulations argued, however, “the proposed rule would allow anything that might be allowable as an entrée on any one school day to be served as an a la carte item every single day” according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
“In practice, if finalized, this would create a huge loophole in school nutrition guidelines, paving the way for children to choose pizza, burgers, French fries, and other foods high in calories, saturated fat or sodium in place of balanced school meals every day,” Colin Schwartz of the Legislative Affairs of the CSPI added.
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Replaced!