Argumentative Essay: Hungry For Change

Hungry for Change Why is it that law mandates public school meals have a minimum calorie intake, but not a maximum? This owes itself to the fact that when nutrition standards were established for public schools, it was to solve the problem of undernourishment. The majority of school aged children used to walk to school, played more outside, and were more active in sports. This resulted in children burning more calories than school meals provided. Nowadays, the problem has become over nourishment of less than ideal foods to children getting less exercise (Pollan). There have been some attempts to combat America’s problems with incorrect eating habits. In 2010, President Obama established a task force on childhood obesity. The action plan included …show more content…
However, MyPlate has many flaws. It is corrupted by political interests. The industrial food system has a surplus of dairy, corn, and beef. The government subsidizes these harvests, dumping them on the schools, and displaying these products in the MyPlate symbols instead of lower-calorie and lower-fat foods (Pollan). Harvard created, in response to MyPlate, the unbiased Healthy Eating Plate. The Healthy Eating Plate goes more in depth, addressing more nutrition issues. It says to avoid processed meats, drink more water, and specifies on what qualifies as a fruit or a vegetable (Labrie). The nutrition standards for school meals appear to have been improved on paper, such as that the government has clarified that foods like pizza or French fries can no longer be considered vegetables. Aligning with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an increase in fruit and vegetable availability at lunch and breakfast is being enforced (Concannon). However, availability does not necessarily mean consumption. Simply providing healthier options alongside unhealthy options is not appeasing the problem. Out of habit, students will certainly select and eat the unhealthier