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Welcome to F is for French Fry
By Deborah Lehmann —
The United States is facing an obesity epidemic. One-third of adults and 16 percent of children are obese, and those numbers are growing quickly. One study projects that 86 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2030. In 2000, we spent $117 billion on obesity-related healthcare, and that number is slated to reach $950 billion in just 20 years. For the first time, American children are expected to live shorter lives than their parents, as obesity could cut U.S. life expectancy by up to five years.
Our country is in the midst of a nutrition catastrophe. And our public schools are feeding it, churning out young eaters with a taste for sugar, salt and trans fats. Teachers may not spell it out on the blackboard, but every day children are learning that C is for Cheetos, F is for French fry and L is for Little Caesar’s.
In the cafeteria, students eat McDonald’s hamburgers and Domino’s pizza. In the classroom, cash-strapped schools use branded educational materials provided by the food industry. After-school sports programs often rely on beverage companies like Coca Cola for scoreboards and uniforms.
In the 1920s, when many American children were underfed and undernourished, mothers and health advocates saw public schools as a unique solution to a national nutrition crisis. A national school meal program, they thought, would not only feed students, but would also teach them how to eat. It would create a generation of healthy Americans who would pass on good eating habits to their children and ensure a country with a strong future.
Today, schools must once again step up to reverse a national nutrition crisis. Some are slowly beginning to do so. California, for example, has banned fried foods and sodas from all campuses. Many districts are now encouraging teachers to provide healthy snacks for birthday celebrations and to reward students with non-food items.
But a slice of Domino’s pizza with low-fat cheese and a whole-wheat crust still encourages children to eat Domino’s pizza. And a classroom appearance by Ronald McDonald may promote reading, but it also subliminally promotes the French fries, Happy Meals and chicken nuggets that contribute to Americans’ expanding waistlines.
Schools are a powerful force in children’s lives, and they play an important role in shaping the attitudes, habits and abilities of the next generation. F is for French Fry examines what kids are learning about food in school today and how these lessons are shaping the Americans of tomorrow.
February 17th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I’m so glad to have found this blog! What you’re doing is really important. Keep up the good work!
May 27th, 2009 at 7:43 am
My own experience as a child in Sweden was very different from today’s North American approach. Lunch was 100% state subsidized. A single hot menu was the only choice (with unlimited milk/rye bread). We had little discretionary money. There were few nearby hot dog outlets (serving boiled wieners/potato mash). Given the lack of choice 99% of us chose the meal of the day. My parents were stunned at my sudden acceptance of the full range of foods that I now accepted!
I realize that this model (which I experienced in the 1950’s) cannot now be entirely replicated in North America (children with money have unlimited choices). I do think, however, the central theme can still be implement (given the political will). Pollan/ Bittman type meals served to children at minimal cost could successfully compete with the ubiquitous fast fry industry.