Last night I watched Food, Inc.  Ever seen it? It will BLOW YOUR MIND.  It raises serious concerns about the environmental and health impacts of the fast food industry.  It will inspire you to figure out how to get healthy food into schools.

Most people, especially in cities, have no clue about where their food is actually coming from.  Do you ever stop and think: Why is this burger SO CHEAP? Seriously, when you think about it, burgers are cheaper than vegetables! And how much labor goes into harvesting & shipping a vegetables versus raising and slaughtering a cow?  Common sense would tell us that veggies should be cheaper.  But when you see how meat is obtained now via mega-slaughterhouses feeding our distribution channels, it all makes sense. No wonder its hard to eat healthy when you’re broke! But what happens when you force meat through a hyper-efficient system designed for one purpose: low price? You get contamination, son!

In December of 2009, USA Today did a study regarding the quality of food in our nation’s schools.  Do you know what they found out? Hold on, this requires large, bold font:

Meat used in school cafeterias was REJECTED by fast food joints like KFC!

I know, I know. Ridiculous, huh? School’s only get 15-20% of their food from the government but that 15-20% is made up of key commodities like beef, chicken, fruits, and vegetables! (What else is there?)

The USDA stands by its position that schools get high quality food.  But the bottom line is that you get what you pay for and the school’s can’t afford to pay for the good stuff.  And I know what you’re thinking: so what, we’re going to pay out the #@$@! for organic food in school cafeterias now? Healthy eating in schools doesn’t have to be an extreme undertaking.  It starts with simple decisions such as replacing junk food vending machines with healthy vending machines.

The Child Nutrition Act addresses some of these quality concerns, but until its passed our kids are out of luck.  So for now, PACK THAT SACK LUNCH!