The nation’s largest teachers union has published an article supporting the new federal school lunch regulations championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, despite the fact that students across the nation have complained about the food and not getting enough to eat.
“The National Education Association believes when it comes to the health of America’s youth, it’s best to think of exercise and nutrition as different sides of the same coin,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “Students need both to perform well in school and develop healthy lifestyles that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
“Educators are encouraged to educate students about the new standards. We can creatively engage and educate students to increase acceptance. To encourage students to consume foods which they may not be accustomed, schools may employ multiple strategies, including taste tests before introducing new foods on the menu, creative marketing/presentation of foods, and offering multiple choices within food components,” Van Roekel said.
Newsflash to Van Roekel: You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Or more fittingly: you can put fat-free imitation chocolate syrup on tofu, but it’s still tofu. “Taste tests” aren’t going to do anything to increase student appreciation for food they don’t like. And they’re still going to be hungry if they don’t get enough.
EAGnews has reported extensively about cafeteria employees being forbidden from serving second portions and throwing extra food away, students in virtual revolt over black bean salads, as well as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s solution to the problem: Let them eat snacks!
So apparently there’s no going back under this administration, and the NEA will do its part to “increase acceptance” for a one-size-fits-all government program that is upsetting many students and parents.
Everyone knows the NEA is dedicated to the Obama administration, but even to the point of making kids go hungry? This is truly ridiculous.
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