Not content with doing what the state Constitution actually authorizes them to do, the Virginia Senate now wants to regulate school lunch menus:
RICHMOND, Jan. 29 — The Virginia Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to phase out the use of artery-clogging trans fats in food sold at public schools, from the cheese pizza in the cafeteria to the chips in the vending machine.
The bill would direct the state superintendent of public instruction to develop guidelines for the elimination of the additive, which has been associated with heart disease, in meals and snacks sold during school hours.
The legislation would not impose a deadline, but lawmakers would follow the issue to ensure that public schoolchildren have healthier food, said Sen. John S. Edwards (D-Roanoke), the bill’s sponsor.
“So much of the food children eat is from the school system, so the system ought to be providing nutritious and trans fat-free food,” he said.
What they ought to be doing, actually, is providing a quality education and giving parents, and not bureaucrats in Richmond, more control over their children.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Doug, may I ask if you have stopped for just a moment to ponder why you have a problem with the government feeding children healthier food? Aside from the good Christian kindness aspect of it, did you pause to consider that a kid who does not grow up with clogged arteries or chronic obesity is more likely to be an economically-productive member of society — and a taxpayer, to boot?
You may have a problem with universal education, and I am sorry if you do, but Thomas Jefferson proposed that radical notion and those of us whose families have been in Virginia since the 1700s think it’s still a good idea for people to be educated and fed.
And kids who have lunch (and breakfast) are better able to learn, compete for jobs, raise a family, pay their share of the common defense, and have empathy for their fellow humans, which is, as I recall from reading the New Testament, one of the things our Savior calls us to do.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I agree 100% with Curious. I live in DC and have a child who is a second grader. The school lunch calendar they provide us shows very unhealthy food, leaving us no choice but to give lunch boxes to our children. I wish there was some initiative for regulation here as well. Apparently, for some dark reason Doug doesn’t want children to be healthy… or maybe he owns some Crisco stock!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Patty,
Don’t be ridiculous. I just don’t want the government telling people what to eat.
If parents don’t like what’s on the school lunch menu, then they can do what mine did practically every school from 1st grade through 12th — send me to school with lunch.