Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Food Revolution: Much Needed

Last year I started watching the first season of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and I was BLOWN AWAY by the lack of knowledge by children about basic fruits and vegetables. Not only do many children lack any understanding of the fruits and vegetables around them but they are fed JUNK on a daily basis by their parents and then at school.

After last season, I swore off chicken nuggets. I mean they are not allowed in my tummy or Rowynn's unless I get them from Chick-fil-A or make them fresh in my kitchen. I'm not sure if the above link will have the exact episode I watched last year but I highly encourage you to go take a look at the videos just to get a taste.

Last year Jamie headed to Huntington, WV, which was considered the most obese city in America, to help reform the public school lunch program and to educate the citizens of their city. It was absolutely moving to see what kind of junk is pushed into our kids, both at home and at school. It was sad to see that brown bag lunches no longer consist of fresh fruits, healthy sandwiches and veggies sticks but, instead are laden with Lunchables dripping in preservatives, corn syrup and fat. Plus, every school offers sugar spiked milk (chocolate and strawberry) that is obviously the first choice for most kids rather than pushing the healthy white stuff.

This season, Jamie is taking on the glamorous city of LA and is having a hard time getting into the schools to even have a look. Last night was a shocking episode and left me feeling disgusted and sad. Disgusted because we as Americans have NO IDEA where are food comes from or what is in it. We are more concerned with price rather than what we are consuming as fuel for our bodies. I was left feeling sad because our kids deserve better than what we, as parents, or the "government" are providing for our future generation. I encourage you to take a minute and watch the episode.

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