School Lunch Persuasive Essay

A machine cannot run on bad fuel; likewise, people cannot perform at their best on a poor diet. Similar to most lifestyle habits, our eating pattern begins at a young age. Considering that over five billion school meals are served annually, there is a reason for concern on its impact on our future society's health and eating habits. Currently, America's public school lunch program is failing to meet the potential our upcoming generations deserve. Foremost, is the typical school lunch considered "healthy"? In recent years, we are rising among the most obese countries in the Western world, and we witness the issue beginning in our children. In 2015, approximately 16% of American youth were considered obese (Haynes 5). It is important to note that this particularly targets lower-income and minority families, recognizing that these children have less or limited access to fresh produce and healthier choices. This is strongly relevant to our country's future, considering that obese children are 10x more likely to become obese adults with 90% higher average medical costs. To combat this, we've passed numerous legislation including the well-known Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, pushing schools to meet controversial calorie …show more content…
As an example, it seemed like a good idea to require students to choose either a fruit or vegetable, but time has shown that the requirement does not correspond with consumption but rather with higher food waste (Cha). While this may in part be the fault of the small window of time given to students, that argument is rejected by the reality that the majority of wasted food is thrown away untasted and untouched. If children get in the habit of throwing away healthy food without trying them at school, they're bound to do the same at