President Trump hasn’t only been setting his sights on upending former President Obama’s policy agenda. He’s coming for the former First Lady too. Michelle Obama’s campaign to promote healthy lifestyles for adolescents in part required them to eat nutritious meals at school. A 2012 rule enacted under President Obama was designed to limit sodium and increase whole grains in school breakfasts and lunches.
Last year, the USDA significantly scaled back those nutritional guidelines. Several Democratic states attorneys general are suing the agency and secretary Sonny Perdue for rolling out the changes without properly notifying communities. They filed the civil suit Wednesday in Manhattan.
They claim that the USDA, under President Donald Trump‘s watch, made changes in 2018 to the aforementioned standards “without providing the public an opportunity to comment on them and in contravention of nutritional requirements for school meals established by Congress.” The main issue appears to be sodium and whole grain levels.
The plaintiffs include New York, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
New York AG Letitia James argued low-income communities will be hit hardest by Trump’s decision to supposedly lower the health standards.
“Over a million children in New York - especially those in low-income communities and communities of color - depend on the meals served daily by their schools to be healthy, nutritious and prepare them for learning,” she said.
Yet, according to some students, it did the exact opposite. The meals came with fewer calories and therefore kids were left with little energy in their classes. High school athletes, who needed the extra calories for after school practices, were especially concerned about making it through the day.
Then there was the whole issue about the lunches’ lack of taste.
I have a feeling not all students will be on the AGs side.