Food+Revolution+Essay

The United States is the unhealthiest country in the world with regards to obesity. We've suffered from this title for years now, and in my opinion it needs to stop. Schools are one of the main suspects of this issue. By serving kids pizza for breakfast and pink milk, schools are killing the future of America. Schools need to realize that just because popping a frozen block of pizza in the oven is easier than tossing a salad doesn't make it ok to serve to kids.

The problem is not only eating unhealthy food, but children are actually deprived of the education they need about food. Jamie Oliver visited a kindergarten class room in West Virginia and most of the children had never seen some of the vegetables Jamie presented. “Are kids being educated about food? I could've gone to many schools. I've done it in England. Kids are very bright, intelligent and brand aware. They can spot a global brand in the distance, but yet they don't know the difference between a tomato and a potato.” These words spoken by Jamie Oliver clearly state that making kids aware of what’s good for you is part of the solution. If kids don't even know what they're eating, then how can you expect them to make a good choice? “All I can pray for is that the moms and dads of America get pissed off.” If the parents even showed the slightest concern about their kid's diet, then maybe schools would take another look at the cafeteria menu.

We can take action by taking over the school food system and actually taking apart all of the food we serve and looking at its real nutritional value. Then we can put together a menu that is not onlyhealthy, but appealing to today's youth. “Broccoli Blast” Would you eat it? The issue with some of the healthy food choices at schools is that they sound more disturbing than actually edible. Kids won't eat something if looks like dog food, whether it's healthy or not. Giving students alternatives to their favorite foods is an easy way to make them eat healthier. By making fried rice with brown rice, and making pizza on wheat dough is a good way to give the menu a healthy twist. “Essentially, you're competing McDonald's.” This quote symbolizes that kids would rather eat McDonald's than school food any day. Schools need to step up, and realize that they need to have food that can be considered “good” but have enough nutrition that it can be classified as healthy.

Serving tasty and healthy food won't only be a benefit to the students, but it will be a benefit to the schools also. When food like “Broccoli Blast” was served, the majority of it was ending up in the trash. Kids want their chips and soda and candy, so if they can't get it from school, they're going to bring it from home. This still doesn't solve the problem. The parents are also a big part of the solution. If they educate their kids about food, and the dangers of having the wrong diet, maybe kids will start to understand how important it is to be healthy.

My opinion about this is that all of America really needs to open their eyes and make a difference with the food industry. People are getting fatter by the day, and it needs to stop. Not only for the sake of the people, but also for the future of United States. Schools should be able to make a healthy menu for the students, no matter how much effort is put in to it. People deserve to get food worth the money they're paying. Schools are in desperate need of a reality check. They need to serve food that is not only healthy, but is also appealing to the students. This way, students will be more willing to eat school food, and schools won't be the ones to blame when everyone is overweight.

In conclusion, I feel that we really need to up our game in the school food category. That extra effort we put into this issue can make a really big difference. If we had a Jamie Oliver in every state our problem would be easily solved. Since we don't have that privilege, we need to step up and do something about this issue. That’s the only way we can push ourselves towards being a healthier country.