MovieChat Forums > Food Revolution (2010) Discussion > School food is not the problem.

School food is not the problem.


He's trying to solve a problem that isn't there. DOes he have any proof that the foods that school lunches are the cause of child hood obesity. If anything there giving kids too little food in school. From my experience when i was going to school i didn't get enough food in school and when i got home i was starving and i ate more. Its all about calories and I would guess that these kids are getting more calories at home then at school. Most kids probably eat 1 meal which is lunch at school. Its about what these kids do after school thats making them fat.

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Agree! I know those parents are mad at lunch ladies and government but still they have to cook healthy food at home all the time. When I was at high school I used to eat crappy food as well. But my mom never let us eat any sort of fast and frozen food at home. That's why I don't have faith in this project because for a person who accustomed to microwave fast frozen food, it is too much to cook from scratch. I hope this project changes people's life, because it's not only about the obesity frozen/fast foods can cause cancer and all kind of scary diseases as well.

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"I know those parents are mad at lunch ladies and government but still they have to cook healthy food at home all the time. "

masnuy,
if parents were cooking healthy foods at home, those children would have known how to use silverware and they would have recognized the whole veggies jamie showed them.

that one family jamie showed had a freezer full of pizza and they deep fried everything, he was trying to make a point to parents.

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Umm I know, that's why I'm trying to say it's pointless to be mad at government or policy makers because they have to cook healthy food as well.

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Oh really? Would you please cite your sources that claim that all frozen, microwavable or any other fast foods cause cancer or any other disease?

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First of all I don't claim ALL frozen food cause cancer. I said and I quote "frozen/fast foods can cause cancer and all kind of scary diseases as well." which means frozen food as well as fast food. I hope I don't have to elaborate what fast food is. Second of all, I'm not gonna cite, how about you check the links and google for more if it's possible. You'll be baffled how dangerous those food can be. Of course you can always choose to deny and refuse what you are about to read but denying is not the answer. Fast or/and frozen food is not good for our body and we should avoid eating that crap for good.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6286834.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/4x4_reports/2183386.stm
http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/2007/12/processed-meats-declared-too-dangerous-for-human-consumption/
http://curezone.com/foods/microwave_oven_risk.asp
http://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/processedmeat050305.cfm
http://www.naturalnews.com/023029_cancer_meat_disease.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,208307,00.html

Edit: I tried to add links as much as possible. Hope these will help!

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Kids who brown bag it rarely have sandwiches and fruit like you and I used to have. Almost inevitably they have one of those reprehensible "Lunchables" that is just laced with sodium and sugar, not to mention chemicals.

Parents buy them because they don't have to do anything.

And, on the original topic. No, school food is not "the problem." American eating habits and overall laziness when it comes to food is the problem. Of which, on of the products of that is school food.

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Parents buy them because they don't have to do anything.


Is it because they can't afford buying decent food or parents are just too lazy to prepare?

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In the case of Lunchables, it would be because they are too lazy. It wouldn't be to save money, because Lunchables are really expensive compared to putting some real food in kid's lunches.

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I know you didn't actually say all frozen foods and fast foods cause cancer. Since you didn't say most, some, or even a few you actually implied that. Not all frozen foods or fast foods are the same.

BTW, why should someone check your sources when you do not properly add a link? Here is a hint, use the "url" tag as many people do not have the time to copy and paste the URLs.
http://www.imdb.com/help/boards/markup

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Dude I don't see any difference between you and Lunch lady Alice. If you think "proper link" is more important than the source itself, be my guest! By not copying "improper link" you are skipping important information about cancer. But you are right my mistake, you don't have the time to copy / paste and read something vital but you have time to educate me about using "url". besides teaching how to link is more significant than the cancer disease. Yeahh rriiiighht.

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Ahh yes, I can see you are so stupid you can't even tell the difference. There is a huge difference between what Alice thought was "food" and frozen dinners such as Lean Cuisine. Hell, even Jamie Oliver stated he uses frozen vegetables.

BTW, I did read one of your articles and if you do believe microwave ovens kill then you are indeed as gullible as the idiots featured on the DiHydrogen-Monoxide episode of Penn & Teller's BS. Hell, you probably are one that would ban that potentially dangerous substance. But please keep posting so you can prove to the world just how intellectually bankrupt you really are.


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Are you employed by Lean Cuisine hahahha. Please eat more frozen meals you won't be missed, trust me. hahaha

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No, I am someone who uses critical thinkings skills. But please, keep proving just how intellectually bankrupt you are troll.

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Dude insulting people is not the best way to carry on critical thinking, it's just being an ass!

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Frozen fruits and vegetables are fine, and are sometimes a smarter choice, depending on your usage. If you are cooking for yourself, you can keep frozen and just take out what you need. Having things handy, you will be more inclined to use those things then if you have to run out to the store every time.

More often than not, canned tomatoes are better than the ones at the market because the ones at the market are almost always injected to make them turn red, even though they are in actuality still green.

If you read the ingredients labels of things, you can tell what is made with real food, and what things are chemicals.

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Although I somewhat disagree about the last sentence I do agree with most of your points. Businesses today are drastically reducing their usage of sodium chloride in prepackaged foods. Today they are either using sea salt or potassium chloride in addition to sodium chloride. Frozen entrees, frozen fruits, and frozen vegetables are perfect for single or small households just as long as they are healthy.

As for chemicals, that is where someone needs to use critical thinking skills. Acetic acid, ascorbic acid, calcium citrate, potassium chloride, potassium citrate, sodium acetate, sodium benzoate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride are all chemicals. The key is to know how much of each is harmful. Some people would freak if they were to see any of these in the list of ingredients. With the exception of one or more of the chemicals listed all chemicals are naturally occurring substances within food. Only one is a known carcinogen.

As a matter of fact, Penn & Teller managed to persuade people with a case of chemophobia to sign a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi3erdgVVTw

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I laughed pretty hard at the Penn and Teller thing. That's up there with Ali G getting women signing a petition to end women's suffrage.

For me, though, I would not freak out, but I don't want a chemistry experiment in my food. I am meticulous with my label reading. If I have a choice between 2 different salsas and one has any of the things listed in your list, and another doesn't. I'm buying the second one.

The only thing I will admit to freaking out about is the High Fructose Corn Syrup.

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You would be turned off off? Acetic acid, ascorbic acid, and sodium chloride are all in most if not all brands of salsa. Some may even contain a few other ingredients such as potassium chloride, calcium chloride, and a few others. A real sea salt is made up of numerous salts, not just sodium chloride.

Acetic acid is a naturally occurring ingredient in all vinegars.
Ascorbic acid is the scientific name for vitamin c
Sodium chloride is the scientific name for what we know as halite. Halite is in the forms of table salt and kosher salt.

Calcium and potassium citrates are the calcium and potassium salts of citric acid. They are is formed through a chemical reaction between a calcium or potassium basic solution and citric acid. Since they have a sour and salty flavour they are are known as a sour salt. One notable brand that uses calcium citrate is none other than the calcium supplement Citracal.

Potassium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate are both forms of baking sodas. Baking soda is used in several foods for leavening.

Potassium chloride is a potassium salt for those who either have hypertension, or a low blood potassium level.

Sodium acetate is formed through a chemical reaction from vinegar and baking soda. If there is a recipe that calls for both then it will contain the chemical from mixing or baking.

Sodium benzoate is a sodium salt that is formed from benzoic acid and a sodium basic solution. Although it is not harmful by itself it is harmful when it mixes with ascorbic acid since it will form benzene. Fortunately all benzoates are being phased out.

Citric acid is a naturally occurring chemical in all citrus fruit. While seeing chemical names in the list of ingredients can be frightening most of the time it is irrational fear that is driving us. This fear is rendered null and void by looking up certain chemicals to know what they are. Most of the time food grade chemicals are harmless in the proper amounts. Of course too much vitamin a or even too much water can be toxic and even deadly.

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Oh and spreading FUD by making blanket statements is not being an ass? If you would have read my point you would have seen I was talking about the premium frozen entrees, not just Lean Cuisine but also Kashi and Healthy Choice.

But you are right; I don't need to insult you. You insult yourself every time you post. I mean, come on, microwave ovens are dangerous? That is an old myth that people like you still post, hoping others are just as ignorant. Only those who are willfully ignorant will continue to post or link to such nonsense.

Then to top it all off, you do not even bother to use proper markup for URLs. While it is not necessary by not doing so makes one look lazy and ignorant. It doesn't matter how informative a post or source is by not doing so only turns people off. The more sources you use with no markup the more people are going to be turned off as not many people have the time to copy and paste to see every story. As I said, go ahead and post any nonsense you want to, you are only insulting yourself.


http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/aspartameQA.cfm

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=585

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HEALTHbeat_081606.htm

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/microwave-radia tion-ovens-460709

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I am an electrical engineer. Microwaves do not cause cancer. It's a myth.

The ability of radiation to radiologically activate material decreases with increased wavelength. That's why UV radiation (10 - 400 nanometers), Rontgen radiation (1 picometer - 10 nanometers) or gamma radiation (0.001 picometer - 1 picometer) are known to cause cancer but visible light (400 to 700 nanometers), infrared light (700 - 10000 nanometers) or radio waves (10 centimeters - 10 kilometers) are known to be safe.
Microwave radiation is right in the middle of the safe zone (1 millimeter - 10 centimeters). The reason for the protective glas in front of the microwave is not that the radiation causes cancer but that, if you put your hand into an active microwave the blood in your hand will literally start to boil.

And if you read those articles, they are written by nonscientists. I would never trust somebody who says stuff like "but we all know that the validity of studies can be - and are sometimes deliberately - limiting." with anything. It's like, if your mechanic told you that your brakes are damaged and need replacing. Would you say "ahh, that guy has been wrong before"? You might ask a different mechanic but if several tell you the same thing, it's likely to be true.

Same with their examples "Do not use for baby milk. Bottle could be cold but milk inside boiling hot"...Yeah. Microwaves are optimized for heating fluids. Fluids get heated quicker then surrounding solid materials. But that does not mean they are unhealthy.
"Blood heated in microwave kills patient"...Yeah. Microwaves use standing waves that create local maxima of heat. If you stop the circling mechanism and put some chocolate into the microwave you will see that it melts in some spots and stays solid in others. It's a consequence of the technology and it's the reason why most microwave dishes have to be stirred every couple of minutes. If you put blood into the microwave the blood is getting boiled locally. The boiled blood cells get destroyed and broken down. Our blood system is not equipped to handle dead material in those amounts. Broccoli, while healthy, is quite lethal if put it through the blender and inject the result into your veins. It will clot them shut. But eating damaged material is different. Cooked food is no problem for our digestive system. They acid and enzymes break it down into base components that our blood can handle.

And then there is this study from the 80s. I have never read it, so I wont comment on it. But I'll give this one to democracy. If one study shows harm and a dozen others proclaim safety, I'll assume that the first one was incorrect or that the man had an agenda. And this is no contradiction to what I said earlier. As I said, one can be wrong and there is nothing bad with doubting what you are told but if several experts say the same thing, it is likely to be true.

I think humanity should be wiped out and then we can give evolution a second chance.

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" DOes he have any proof that the foods that school lunches are the cause of child hood obesity".

Remember, you can be thin and unhealthy. Eating processed junk may not only make you obese, but its quite evident that the types of foods you eat also effect your body in a negative way.
They found in the UK - the long term effect of School Dinners (lunches), improved concentration levels, improved marks and even reduced the need to use asthma inhalers. In the UK, one of the doctors mentioned that some children came in, where they had not passed a stool for 6 weeks! Basically from only eating processed junk!
You pretty much hit the nail on the head, kids will eat crap at home - eating at school may be the only opportunity for the child to eat a proper healthy meal, full of vitamins etc.
I think if you start the kids eating healthy at a young age, most kids will adopt the practice in to adult life.

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School food isn't *the* problem, but it is *a* problem. These kids seem to be eating ten school meals a week, forty-odd weeks a year, for 12 YEARS of physical development. If the food is crap, then by age 18 they'll be a lot less healthy than they could be.

But that's not the real reason he's concentrating so much on school food - the real reason is that's the easiest way for him to control the diet of a large number of people. And that showing a horde of kids eating McNuggest and chocolate milk makes great TV.



* * * FedEx just took NINE days to send me an "overnight" package. * * *

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[deleted]

It's a part of the problem. But I imagine one of the bigger problems is that most of these kids aren't eating healthy meals at home. They get 3 meals a day of junk. If 1-2 of those meals gets healthy, then things would improve tremendously.

I know that, for the most part, I ate horribly for lunches during middle school and high school. Either pizza and snack cakes at the school snack bar or fast food (we could eat off campus during high school). Sometimes I might go home, but I can't imagine I ate much better at home because I was making the food!

But for dinner and breakfast, we ate mostly nutritious, real food. Junk was rare and considered a "treat." And these habits are the habits I now follow in my own eating.

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You have an excellent point. Research shows that children who eat school lunches actually eat BETTER and take in LESS calories than children who don't eat school lunches (ie: brown-baggers). Jamie went after the wrong system.

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If I'm not mistake kids who go off to college gain more weight there freshmen year. Its called the freshman 15 because they usually gain up to 15 pounds. Give young people choices and they will screw themselves over. I think the elementary school foods are just fine. What we need in this country (U.S) is to educate people to live a healthy life style for there whole lives.

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"I think the elementary school foods are just fine."

They are not just fine. Pizza and chicken nuggets for breakfast? Give me a break.

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School food is preservative filled crap but the real problem is the parents taking their kids for fast food every week, and then putting them in front of the TV or computer for the rest of the day.




Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.

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It is not THE problem because there are MULTIPLE problems lead to an unhealthy life. And I say unhealthy because just because one is thin does not mean they eat healthy. They can still be inhaling potato chips and corn dogs on a daily basis too.

Of course school lunches is part of the problem. Not only has the food itself morphed into overprocessed crap, but serving sizes have changed dramatically.

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November...

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I read a few of the posts of this thread and oh dear...
I have to assume that anyone saying there isn't wrong with what their serving in schools (pre-Jamie) is either obese/unhealhy themselves and loves the food or feeds their kids the same stuff and want to deflect the guilt they are supposed to feel.

Do you know how that kind of crap "food" affects the brain? We are our brains people, and our brain needs vitamins. People who are healthier pay better attention, feel less tired, have more energy etc = do better in school, feel better about themselves, have energy for sports etc. I can't believe it is legal to serve that processed crap in schools and it's sad that parents also feed their kids crap. I don't really blame the parents, it's a lack of education, but when they learn about what they're doing- they need to take it on board!



The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.-Charles Darwin

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To the initial poster,
Are you serious? Do you really believe this show is pointless just because parents are apart of the problem? You can't honestly tell me that the government and lunch ladies aren't to blame... the government would have a critical role in outlining and approving both the school syllabus alongside other criteria - including food. As for the lunch ladies, while they may have been told what sorts of food they had to prepare, the amount of resistence they had towards even TRYING Jamie's ideas was just ridiculous.
Pizza for breakfast was just ridiculous. Sure, parents might need to cook better at home but that doesn't mean that changes can't even start being made at school. The show isn't about some rapid weight loss scheme, it's about small steps towards a healthier lifestyle. Eating better generally means feeling, thinking and performing better. It's still better to eat healthy food and not exercise as opposed to eating unhealthy food and not exercising.

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I do agree with what Jamie is trying to do. But some of his work does back fire. For example in the town where I live in England the school dinners changed drastically in the local Comprehensive school that my teenage sons and neice attend folowing Govt directives influenced by Jamie. There were no 'unhealthy' snacks or alternatives available whatsoever. So lots of Kids stopped having school dinners and brought stuff from home,some staff were made redundant and in my neice's case we had a big upset in the family because she steadily gained weight,

She couldn't fit into her Leavers Ball dress (you call it the prom I think)My sister had to point out she'd gained weight in the nicest possible terms. She asked around at school and found out she wasn't the only one and a teacher told her a group of girls were into a culture of 'picknicking' every day on supermarket snacks, eg crips chocolate etc, taking it in turn each day to go down and get everyone's order.

The point being I suppose that the situation got out of control because the girls couldn't have the occaisional bar of chocolate or packet of crisps whilst at school.

Any way nothing has changed at school re snack availability but we made a big family effort and the dress fitted in time for the ball!

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