Goodbye candy bars and sports drinks. Hello baked
chips and diet sodas.
The government for the first time is proposing broad
new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful, a
change that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks
and greasy foods on campus.
Under new rules the Department of Agriculture
proposed Friday, school vending machines would start selling water,
lower-calorie sports drinks, diet sodas and baked chips instead. Lunchrooms
that now sell fatty "a la carte" items like mozzarella sticks and
nachos would have to switch to healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups
and yogurt.
Under new rules the Department of Agriculture
proposed Friday, school vending machines would start selling water,
lower-calorie sports drinks, diet sodas and baked chips instead. Lunchrooms
that now sell fatty "a la carte" items like mozzarella sticks and
nachos would have to switch to healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups
and yogurt. Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat,
calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current
standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and
lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunch rooms
also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. And food sold
through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has not been
federally regulated.
"Parents and teachers work hard to instill
healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when
kids walk through the schoolhouse door," said Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack.
Most snacks sold in school would have to have less
than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat
milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some
sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited.
Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in high schools and middle
schools, and 8-ounce portions in elementary schools.
The standards will cover vending machines, the
"a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly
sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake
sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also
would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events,
goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students
bring for their own personal consumption.
If you go to school in New Jersey, your vending
machines and school stores, along with the a la carte lines in your cafeterias,
will no longer be able to sell snacks that are high in fat and loaded with
sugar. Items that list sugar as the first ingredient will be eliminated and
snacks will contain no more than eight grams of total fat and not more than two
grams of saturated fat.
Soda and junk food will be replaced with
more-nutritious alternatives. You will still have choices, but instead of candy
or chips, you may have to decide between an apple or carrot sticks.
It has always been the role of government to help
solve problems, including and especially health crises. Obesity is a health
epidemic across our country, and we have a responsibility as a government and a
society to do all we can to promote good nutrition and healthy eating so we can
reverse this alarming trend.
New Jersey is proud to be the first in the nation to
adopt a statewide school junk-food ban, and we hope other states follow our
lead.
The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes
designed to make foods served in schools more healthful. Nutritional guidelines
for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall.
The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free
and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, has been working
for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of
unhealthful foods around campus a "loophole" that undermines the
taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.
"USDA's proposed nutrition standards are a
critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are
places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as
well," Harkin said.
Last year's rules faced criticism from some
conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government
shouldn't be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the
Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers and proposed different
options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in
high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a
12-ounce. portion.
The department also has shown a willingness to work
with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet.
Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains
in subsidized lunches.
Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other
critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to comment and
suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school
year.
Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center
for Science in the Public Interest, says surveys done by her organization show
that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.
"Parents aren't going to have to worry that
kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a
healthy school lunch," she said.
The food industry has been on board with many of the
changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law
two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most
caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and
PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have
lobbied to keep them in vending machines.
A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association,
which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the
number of calories kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie
sodas.
Transcript of Should schools sell soft drinks and
candies to students, in
Should schools sell soft drinks.
Why Should They Soda is a drink that most teenagers commonly drink and most drink controllably. The school should then put at least one drink machine in the school selling all drinks for around $1.00 or $1.25. Just because many people think it is unhealthy which it kinda is it's the kids decision and they can make decisions for themselves. If they believe they are overweight they can start working out and playing sports.
Why Shouldn't They No, soda should not be sold in schools. It is so unhealthy and does not provide anything that will help the students during the day, schools should be promoting healthy choices, not giving them sugary calorie filled drinks that will make them crash. It's a very bad choice to have this junk in schools. The Percentage 53% say yes,and 47% say no. What About Snacks!! Not all junk food is unhealthy for you. For example sugar and salt are vitual to one's health. They provide strength and resistance. Also, junk food is not unhealthy if you only eat small amounts of it. The opposition states that you shouldn't eat too much junk food. But, the topic is stating that junk food should not be sold at school no matter what.
Why Should They Soda is a drink that most teenagers commonly drink and most drink controllably. The school should then put at least one drink machine in the school selling all drinks for around $1.00 or $1.25. Just because many people think it is unhealthy which it kinda is it's the kids decision and they can make decisions for themselves. If they believe they are overweight they can start working out and playing sports.
Why Shouldn't They No, soda should not be sold in schools. It is so unhealthy and does not provide anything that will help the students during the day, schools should be promoting healthy choices, not giving them sugary calorie filled drinks that will make them crash. It's a very bad choice to have this junk in schools. The Percentage 53% say yes,and 47% say no. What About Snacks!! Not all junk food is unhealthy for you. For example sugar and salt are vitual to one's health. They provide strength and resistance. Also, junk food is not unhealthy if you only eat small amounts of it. The opposition states that you shouldn't eat too much junk food. But, the topic is stating that junk food should not be sold at school no matter what.
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