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U.S. Department of Agriculture

Healthy school lunches under attack: Our view

Too many lobbying cooks are trying to undermine nutrition rules.

The Editorial Board
USA Today

In the food fight over school lunches, let’s stipulate a few facts.

School lunch

One of every three children in the United States is overweight or obese. About 27% of young Americans are too overweight to join the military. Children who are obese are at higher risk for serious diseases —  from high blood pressure and joint problems now to heart disease, diabetes and cancer later in life.

Provide flexibility in the lunchroom: Opposing view

Those facts alone are enough to prove that taxpayers have a vested interest in providing nutritious school lunches, and a federal law passed in 2010 with bipartisan support did just that. French fries, breaded chicken on white buns and iceberg lettuce were banished to make way for healthier proteins, including turkey and roasted chicken, whole grain breads and pastas, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

But as Congress moves to reauthorize the $11 billion-a-year program this fall, some key improvements are under attack. Leading the charge is the School Nutrition Association, which represents school food directors and workers and gets nearly half its revenue from the food industry.

Industry players have already lobbied successfully to roll back proposals that would have eaten into their profits. The potato lobby fought guidelines to limit servings of starchy vegetables to twice a week. Frozen pizza makers won their battle to keep counting tomato paste as a vegetable.

The nutrition association's current wish list includes a proposal to freeze at the halfway point a mandate that all pastas, breads and pizzas be rich in whole grains. Another would open a loophole in the smart snack program, allowing salty or higher-calorie items to sneak onto the a la carte lunch line. A third proposal would dump the requirement that every child take at least one fruit or vegetable at lunch.

Most of the arguments for proposed rollbacks don't stand up to closer scrutiny.

Last year, when lobbyists insisted many school districts could not meet the whole-grain requirement, Congress allowed waivers. You have to wonder how cumbersome the requirement really is when less than 10% of  the nation's school food operations   sought waivers, often for just a few items.

The industry has already figured out how to produce foods rich in whole grains to meet the 2010 law. If their school lunch customers demand more whole grain items, they'll find a way to comply. Waivers simply prolong the process, allowing more children to eat less nutritious food.

Critics also insist that healthier menus have led to more waste, pointing to the findings of a University of Vermont study conducted in just two elementary schools. A study in 12 middle schools by the University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found  less waste. Dueling conclusions suggest more research is needed before changes are made.

There’s also this: Kids have been dumping food for as long as they’ve been eating. The answer isn’t to give up and feed them junk; it’s finding ways to make healthy food more appetizing. Salad bars, or simply slicing apples rather than serving them whole, have worked in some schools.

No doubt, schools face a daunting challenge to produce healthy, appealing meals on limited budgets. Even so, many places are proving that it can be done. West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the nation, adopted healthier lunch menus in 2008, ahead of the federal law. "If a little coal mining state can" meet the mandates, says state nutrition director Richard Goff, then other states "can do it, too."

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

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