tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041351940135831902.post8620720285301781395..comments2024-02-13T17:18:33.498-05:00Comments on Better D.C. School Food: Associated Press' Big Chocolate Milk FailEd Bruskehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12217850970833353800noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041351940135831902.post-13140567157734322312011-05-19T12:32:49.947-04:002011-05-19T12:32:49.947-04:00Thanks very much for your comments. I don't th...Thanks very much for your comments. I don't think I've ever said USDA sets standards for the amount of sugar in school food. In fact, I've made a point of saying--repeatedly--the sugar is the one thing USDA should be regulating but doesn't. The American Heart Association agrees. I think if you want to feed your kids chocolate milk, you should do so in the privacy of your own home. The average kid these days is getting 20 percent of her calories from added sugars. That's way too much, and we see the results. There are plenty of other ways to get essential nutrients besides sugary milk. Schools should focus on those, and leave the sugar to parents.Ed Bruskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12217850970833353800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041351940135831902.post-38969886471170755662011-05-19T12:23:56.916-04:002011-05-19T12:23:56.916-04:00You may be right that schools are not a freedom of...You may be right that schools are not a freedom of choice environment but, as a parent I don't mind my children drinking flavored milk because they won't drink milk otherwise. I would say that you should not have the right to choose what is best for my child. I am fine with my child drinking it but, because others can not control their own children we must control them all? My kids eat a healthy diet loaded with whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. They are very active and both at healthy weights. I don't force my kids to eat certain foods and I don't deny them certain foods. I teach them to make proper choices and that is what schools should be doing as well. You are right, kids should not be taught to expect sugar with their food. They should be taught to consume it in moderation. You are inaccurate in saying that the USDA sets standards in that, they Do Not set standards for the amount of sugar that can be served at breakfast or lunch. They do regulate total calories and several other macro and micro nutrients but, not sugar. And, you said yourself that the AHA now says that limits should be placed on the amount of sugar in flavored milk. They are not however, asking for a ban. Milk is not an essential nutrient because it is not a nutrient. Milk is a food product that does contain some essential nutrients. These nutrients could very well be obtained from other sources but, as you said we are required to offer milk with all meals. I would not be opposed to allowing School Food Authorities to offer other beverage options but, that is an entirely different argument.NOLA Directornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041351940135831902.post-82324981740945513862011-05-19T10:11:51.951-04:002011-05-19T10:11:51.951-04:00Great comments. Schools are not a freedom of choic...Great comments. Schools are not a freedom of choice environment. Parents can let their kids eat whatever they want outside of school. The issue, as you rightly point out, is sugar, which now has been directly linked with obesity, diabetes and heart disease risk. Kids should not be taught to expect sugar with their food. This is an entirely new development in human evolution--due solely to our processed food culture--and one with dire health consequences, which are already becoming apparent. The USDA does set standards for the school lunch program, which will continue to allow flavored milk. But even groups such as the American Heart Association, which previously did not focus on flavored milk, now say that limits should be placed on the amount of sugar in flavored milk. Most of the world's population gets along just fine without flavored milk. As Walter Willett, head of the nutrition department at Harvard University, has rightly said, milk is not an essential nutrient, as much as the U.S. dairy industry would like us to think so. But if we are going to insist that kids be served milk at school, we should be teaching them to drink the healthier version, the one without sugar.Ed Bruskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12217850970833353800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041351940135831902.post-50400988477451287812011-05-19T09:06:22.924-04:002011-05-19T09:06:22.924-04:00Whatever happened to freedom of choice? Does this...Whatever happened to freedom of choice? Does this freedom not include our children? I am a School Nutrition Director and I am against banning individual food items because of one simple reason: Where does it stop? How many items do we ban until we are left with few options that the children will not eat? We have already worked out agreements with our milk company to give us a chocolate milk product with significantly less sugar and they are switching from high fructose corn syrup to sugar. The focus of the USDA and other governing bodies should be to give us the nutritional standards to operate our programs and let us do so. If you want us to limit sugar, let us do it in the meal pattern as a whole. Most Dietitians will tell you that to cherry pick items or nutrients to ban from a diet is a recipe for failure. What if the various organizations that you contact do not support banning chocolate milk? What if a significant amount of children in Los Angeles quit drinking milk all together because chocolate milk is not available there? Will you give up this crusade? The thing with you and people like Jamie Oliver is that you have great passions but, you aim them at taking away freedom. You could be great allies to school nutrition and to the children themselves if you re-focussed that passion to improving the program as a whole. Work for better, less processed food. Work for more funding. We sincerely need your help but, not like this.NOLA Directornoreply@blogger.com