With the Supreme Court having ruled that corporations like ConAgra, Coca-Cola and Del Monte have the same rights of people, it makes sense in a bass-ackwards sort of way that Congress has blocked proposed rule changes by the Agriculture Department that would have overhauled the nation’s school lunch program in an effort to add more fruits and greens to menus in the service of reducing childhood obesity.
And so a slice of pizza still counts as a vegetable, menus will continue to be spud heavy and sodium levels will remain at the same stratospheric levels.
In a victory for the makers of frozen pizzas, tomato paste and French fries, who not coincidentally are major campaign contributors, Congress has blocked rules proposed by the Agriculture Department that would have overhauled the nation’s school lunch program.
The Ag Department fired back, issuing a statement that said “While it is unfortunate that some in Congress chose to bow to special interests, USDA remains committed to practical, science-based standards for school meals that improve the health of our children.”
The food companies that would have been impacted by the rule changes asserted that they went too far, while the Centers for Disease Control has found that childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years and more than a third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese.