Inadequate Public Funding and the Sale of Competitive Foods as a Revenue Source

This is a guest blog-post by Professor Timothy D. Lytton

First Lady Michelle Obama’s recently launched Let’s Move campaign to reduce childhood obesity has put a spotlight on reforming school food.

The primary reason for the abundance of unhealthy foods in schools is inadequate public funding of school meals and schools in general. Unfortunately, the sale of unhealthy foods, popular among students, is an essential source of revenue for many schools.

Today, most schools are dominated by foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt. These items—pizza, burgers, French fries, cakes, snack foods, soda, and candy—are sold in cafeterias, vending machines, and school stores. In addition, students sell these foods to raise funds for extra-curricular activities, parents provide them for in-class birthday parties, and teachers give them out as rewards.

Unhealthy Foods in the Cafeteria

School food services sell unhealthy kids’ favorites as a la carte items in the cafeteria to make up for inadequate school meal subsidies. Additionally, they have incorporated them into the subsidized meals themselves in order to avoid losing student participation in the meal program. (The Federal funding is paid per participating child).

Here’s how it works: Read more…

In addition to Michelle Obama, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack is pushing for the removal of junk food from schools. The plans include adding more children to  free breakfast and lunch programs.

“Our children deserve better nutrition, and our country’s better and brighter future depends on it,” Vilsack said. “And with the reauthorization of the Childhood Nutrition Act scheduled this year, there won’t be a better time than now to act boldly.”

Schools will get more fresh fruit and vegetables and more whole grains for kids. Some of this to be sourced locally!

At least that’s the vision.

Will this really happen?

As with many bold initiatives, this one will probably be watered down, or in our case, sugared up. The last time sugary soda was removed from school vending machines, Snapple was the alternative. Nutritionally, both are bad.

There is a substantial cost element here. The government’s corn and soy subsidies have made sugary and fattening products very cheap compared to whole foods, so how will schools be able to afford these new programs? Don’t forget that vending machines help schools financially -  for every candy or cola sold, the school sees a few cents from the manufacturer.

With so many lobbies looking out for the interests of the food industry, it will be interesting to see how Vilsack and Obama’s plans will play out. While we wish them luck, we remain skeptical.

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School lunch is a hotly debated topic these days.

Around 30 Million children are served a hot lunch every day. The National School Lunch Program is funded and regulated by the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA. Participating schools get cash minimal subsidies and donated commodities from the USDA for each meal served (now there’s an incentive to get all the kids to eat..). The meals must meet specific nutrition requirements, and eligible children must receive free or reduced price lunches.

So what are people fretting about?

The low budget for the meals usually means preprocessed chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fries, and a host of other fast foods that may be filling, but hardly nutrient rich. Parents, educators, and nutrition professionals would like to see children getting better food. Entrenched businesses find that concept difficult to accept.

Baltimore public schools, serving 80,000 children, decided to try out a new concept – Meatless Mondays. Instead of protein from meats, they are serving up beans and cheese. This is in order to reduce the amount of saturated fats and cholesterol from the meats (although cheese, an animal product, also contains saturated fats and cholesterol).

The decision, reports Eliza Barclay for the Atlantic, has caused the meat industry serious grief. No less than 4 organizations have attacked Baltimore’s moves:

The American Meat Institute says that kids are being deprived of much needed protein. A bogus claim stating that 75% of kids are protein deficient is totally unbased. In fact, there are barely any Americans with a protein deficiency these days.

Pork Magazine alleged that the decision was made without any dietetic consultation. Unfortunately for them, the entire meal plan was created by a school dietitian and a chef.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance and Missouri Beef Concil were just plain “shocked” and hoped this maligned decision would not spread to other communities.

While the  business fears of the meat industry are understandable, only good can come of Meatless Mondays. Nobody is being forced to become a vegetarian, and a good portion of the kids will probably be having some form of meat for dinner anyway. So why the fuss? Introducing children to vegetable lasgana, various bean dishes, and other additions such as whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables is but a small measure in trying to fix childhood obesity.

Onwards and upwards, school lunchers. Get ready for for tasty Tuesdays and weight-loss Wednesdays…

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The terms “Natural” and “Naturally Raised” ring an assuring tone when affixed onto meat labels at the supermarket. Who wants to buy an artificial chicken. “Natural” conjures images of endless plains where cattle roam freely, and open ranges where hens peck and scuttle about to their heart’s content.

Wake up! There is currently no textbook definition for these terms. Nor is there a proper USDA definition:

Natural:

1. A product can be called Natural if it contains no artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredients, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient, AND

2.  the product is not more than “minimally processed”:

Minimally processed = “traditional processes used to make food edible or to preserve it or to make it safe for human consumption e.g., smoking, roasting, freezing, drying, and fermenting, or those physical processed which do not fundamentally alter the raw product and/or which only separate a whole, intact food into component parts, e.g., grinding meat, separating eggs… and pressing fruits to produce juices.”

3. All products claiming to be natural should be accompanied by a brief statement which explains what is meant by the term natural…

Naturally Raised:

The naturally raised marketing claim standard states that livestock used for the production of meat and meat products have been raised entirely without growth promotants, antibiotics (except for ionophores used as coccidiostats for parasite control), and have never been fed animal by-products.

This rather loose definition means that animals raised in huge factory farms, with no access to pasture or open air can still be considered naturally raised. Poultry can be called natural, even when injected with a saltwater broth to increase weight by 15%.

The USDA is aware of the situation and through its Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) arm is inviting the public to weigh in on the matter.

Want your voice to be heard? Here are the instructions for going online and submitting your suggestions:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the ability to
type short comments directly into the comment field on this Web page or
attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and, in the ``Search for Open Regulations'' box, select ``Food Safety
and Inspection Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, and then click
on ``Submit.'' In the Docket ID column, select FDMS Docket Number FSIS-
2006-0040A to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and
related material available electronically. This docket can be viewed
using the ``Advanced Search'' function in Regulations.gov.
    Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROMs, and hand or courier-
delivered items: Send to FSIS, OPPD, Docket Room, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue,
Room 2-2127, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.
    All submissions received by mail and electronic mail must include
the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2006-0040A.

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Neither. The top spot goes to Prime Beef.

Followed by Choice, then Select, then 6 more levels.

The USDA defines 9 quality levels for beef. They are stamped on the carcass but by the time you buy your cuts at the butcher counter, you’ll only know by examining the sticker pasted onto the plastic packaging.

From the USDA:

• Prime grade is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking (broiling, roasting, or grilling).
• Choice grade is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are, like Prime, suited to dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts, such as those from the rump, round, and blade chuck, can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked. Such cuts will be most tender if “braised” — roasted, or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.
• Select grade is very uniform in quality and normally leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only the tender cuts (loin, rib, sirloin) should be cooked with dry heat. Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.
• Standard and Commercial grades – are frequently sold as ungraded or as “store brand” meat.
• Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.

Want to take a guess what’s in your TV Dinner, hot dog, or burger?

What to do at the supermarket:

We used to never remember what the top 3 grades where. A friend suggested remembering the acronym PiCkS when buying beef. good luck.

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A) Strawberry ice cream

B) Chicken

C) Plastic foam

D) None of the above

Answer below

Read more…

Horizon Organic, the country’s largest organic milk products distributor, has recently announced a new line of “all natural” products. This is dismaying to many fans of the organic movement, because it would cause an erosion in revenue and profit to organic farmers.

You see, “Natural” is an undefined term, at least from a regualtory perspective. Which means products labeled “Natural” will enjoy the Horizon aura of health, but cost far less to manufacture, reaping a hefty profit to Horizon.

The first products are toddler yogurts, called Little Blends, and are expected to roll out later this month. Milk Breakers, a boxed vanilla / chocolate drink is slated for later this year.

According to Horizon, their natural products will be produced “without added hormones, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup.” [source: LA Times]

What you need to know:

This is a great marketing move by Dean Foods, the mega dairy corporation that acquired Horizon back in 2003. In professional lingo this is called brand extension. You take the well known spotted cow logo of Horizon Organic and plaster it on new line of products.

What’s deceptive here, is that the new product line is NOT organic. The amorphous “all natural” claim is not defined by the FDA or USDA, although a  an FDA spokeswoman said “the agency does not object to using the term on food labels ‘in a manner that is truthful and not misleading’ and if the product has no added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.”

But this is too open ended. For example, High Fructose Corn Syrup is considered by some manufacturers as a natural product, because it is made from corn.

“All natural” foods are one of the fastest growing product categories in the US in the past year. It’s no wonder all the big manufacturers are jumping on board. It’s great for sales, because it lets consumers feel good about their choice, even with no real backing.

At the end of the day, this move will deteriorate even further consumer perception of differences between organic and natural food. This ultimately hurts organic farmers, who are already struggling in a tough economy.

Horizon has previously been called out for production practices claimed to be out of line with organic principles. It seems that the bigger you grow as a company, the harder it is to adhere to your original beliefs and principles.

And don’t get us started on toddler yogurts. What’s the problem with junior enjoying a regular yogurt? Is it caffeinated? Does it have alcoholic content? But that’s the subject for another post.

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t get duped by “Natural” labels. They do not necessarily mean the product is healthy for you. If you want no growth hormones, antibiotics, and free pastured cows, you’ll have to cough up the cash to pay for the more expensive organic products.

And if you are buying conventional, look beyond the front of package marketing hype and read the nutrition panel carefully. Look at daily values for nutrients and examine the ingredient list.  A high amount of fat and sugar in a product may count as natural, but they definitely do not make it a healthy food.

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photo credit: Mr. T in DC

1. Extolling veggies – they are naturally low in calories, but high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

2. According the USDA, we’re supposed to get 5 servings of vegetables a day. That’s about 2 and a half cups worth.

3. Unfortunately, less than one third of Americans meet their daily vegetable requirement.

4. If you buy smart, you can meet your daily requirement for less than $2.50 a day.

5. Vegetables start losing their nutrients the moment they are picked, albeit slowly. Once in contact with water or heat, the process is greatly accelerated.

6. Wash vegetables just before serving.

7. Eating raw vegetables retains more nutrients than heating them. And if you’ve ever tasted fresh corn, minutes after harvest, you know it’s not as weird as it sounds to eat uncooked.

8. Choose veggies from all color ranges, as each color represents a different set of nutrients.

9. chopping vegetables into larger pieces helps maintain nutrients better than finely chopping because less surface area comes in contact with air or water that leech out the nutrients.

10. Steaming, microwaving, and a pressure cooker are the best cooking methods to retain nutrients.

11. Keeping the vegetable peels on is recommended where possible because the peel and area just below contain large amounts of nutrients such as fiber.

12. If preparing veggies in boiling water (for example corn on the cob), nutrients leech into the water. Don’t lose them by discarding this water, use it to prepare a soup or broth.

13. Remember ADEK – Vitamins that are fat soluble (Vitamin A, D, E, K). A tablespoon of olive or canola oil on a freshly prepared garden salad actually improves the bio-availability of these vitamins.

14. Vegetables can be served as a snack – carrot sticks, celery sticks filled with peanut butter, cherry tomatoes, etc,..

What to do at the supermarket:

If you’re on a tight budget – buy veggies in season, they’ll be much cheaper than imports from the other side of the planet. Check the frozen section at the supermarket – many times you’ll find cheap vegetables as well. Their nutritional value is often close or equal to that of their fresh equivalent.

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flickr photo: Ben + Sam

Every day, 30 million school children get a free or subsidized meal as part of the National School Lunch Program. The Child Nutrition Act, enacted in 1966, saw school lunches as a place where all kids could get at least one meal a day that met their nutritional needs.

The law is revisited every 5 years to review nutritional standards, and powerful industry forces try to influence which foods make it to the dining halls. The next 5 year review is happening now, and there’s a alot of buzz in the press about the nutrition situation in schools.

Did you know, for example, that in Chicago, every single day, the most popular lunch dish is sodium and fat laden nachos. How is this a nutritious lunch, you ask?

Unfortunately, schools are strapped for cash. With a budget for lunch at about $2 per child, it’s much easier to source greaseburgers and fries than fresh fish, salad and whole wheat bread.

Adding to the problem is kids’ taste preference. Many children have been conditioned from age zero to prefer  junk food. Schools get reimbursed based on the number of children who participate in the lunch program, so if it’s healthy food that nobody wants to eat, no money for the school.

Aside from lunchtime, schools are brimming with vending machines selling kids more crap such as candy bars, soda pop, and sodium rich snacks. Many parents would like to see these vending machines disappear, but the financial reward to the school is very high. For every dollar revenue, the school gets a few pennies back from Snapple, Mars, and others. Tell a school system superintendent to give up on this easy cash flow and you’ll hear how much the extra cash helps pay for very important educational programs.

Selling to kids at school is very important strategically to food marketers. They know that getting kids hooked on their products will promise lifelong loyalty. John Alm, a former CEO of Coca-Cola once said – “The school system is where you build brand loyalty.”

By the way, the situation in Canada is not much better, as Dr. Yoni Freedhoff writes in his blog Weighty Matters: Children learned in science class about eating healthfully, but were reprimanded by the school for complaining publicly about the junk food being served in the school cafeteria.

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Sara Lee is the number one fresh bread manufacturer in the US, so there’s a good chance you’ll find some of their loaves in your local supermarket. We wanted to take a look at a product that caught our eye due to it’s somewhat oxymoronous name – how could a white bread be whole grain? Isn’t whole grain bread supposed to be, well, not white?

Ah the wonders of food science and marketing.

The company boasts, on the package, albeit in small print: Made with whole grain. 30% whole grain (This product provides 10 g of whole grain in a 2 slice serving. USDA recommends consuming 48 g of whole grain every day.).

What’s really inside?… Read more…