Does that look like a healthy school lunch to you?

Do you think pizza sauce counts as a vegetable? Well, according to Congress, pizza sauce still counts as a vegetable.  It seems that Congress wants to keep pizza and french fries on school lunches across the country. Now I’m not against kids having pizza and french fries on occasion, but should pizza sauce really count as a vegetable? Recently, the Obama administration proposed healthier school lunches, so clearly Congress disagrees with the president.

If you don’t think school lunches should be healthier, go eat one. If you can’t, you can also look at the stats which from the CDC where estimates show that about 17 percent,or 12.5 million,of children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese. The USDA wanted to change the guidelines that would have changed the pizza sauce vegetable standards and also would have limited starchy veggies like french fries. The USDA clearly lost out to the special interest groups representing the frozen food industry that want to continue serving unhealthy foods to our children.

This country has an obesity crisis, and children are being hit the hardest. Their impressionable minds are being manipulated every single day. Their favorite TV shows and stations are filled with commercials aimed at them advertising unhealthy foods and drinks. Our “Fast Food Nation” entices children at an early age by offering toys and games to accompany unhealthy food.

We can’t really make the choices for children at home like their parents can, but we can help them eat healthier and live healthier at our nation’s schools. We eliminate recess, we cut back on physical education, and we still continue to serve them junk. How exactly is this teaching our kid’s about healthy living? We need to take a stand for the children, the future of this country. An obesity epidemic is unacceptable in a country with the knowledge of health and science that we have. Our children should live longer and healthier, not the other way around!

What do you think: should pizza sauce count as a vegetable?

Here’s a revolutionary idea: get to know your town’s teachers. They’re pretty easy to spot; chalk on their shirts, rulers in hand. They’re the ones teaching our kids how to take charge of America.

Investing in education is an investment in ourselves. Moreover, it’s an investment in our businesses, in our technology…the minds of our children will enable the prosperity of tomorrow, and our schools will either discourage or encourage their dreams.