Friday, April 07, 2006

Junk Food Education

The April 7th Lawrence Journal-World story entitled “Bill aims to rid schools of junk food options” discusses the problems of junk food in our nation's schools and the recently introduced federal legislation intended to update the nutrition standards for all food sold/distributed in our public schools. However, the article ignored what I thought to be the fundamental reason why junk food has infiltrated our nation’s public schools over the last twenty years. As the general importance that US society places on public education as slowly waned, along with the associated funding, public schools have, in part, resorted to good ol’ fashioned capitalism to make up the difference.

Deals with junk food manufacturers to place their vending machines on school campuses have proven lucrative. But the consequences have proven unhealthy to our nation’s children, and over the long term the increase in obesity (and associated health problems) that this has helped create will further stress our nation’s increasingly dysfunctional health care system.

I agree with the general sentiment that problems often arise when implementing federal legislation and regulation at the local level, often due to inadequate accounting for local variability. But this doesn’t negate the fact that such federal actions are sometime needed to balance the interests of capitalism with the long-term health and welfare of the nation, albeit in a smart, efficient, and effective manner that is accountable for local needs.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey mjharmon, cool blog. I was really looking for info on
but glad I droped by. Way to go.

Anonymous said...

Hey there mjharmon, I was looking for an educational blog experience on 4ecorp com and I found your blog-site. this post isn’t exactly what I was searching for but it did get my and interest. Now I know why I found your excellent blog-site when I was looking for 4ecorp com related information and I’m glad I did even though its not an exact find. Great Informative Post, thanks for the read and educational experience.

Anonymous said...

Hello mjharmon, I’m just searching the web for the next big thing on 4 ecorp.com and noticed your great site. Although this post wasn’t actually what I was looking for it DID get my attention and interest. I see now why I found your great
website when I was searching for 4 ecorp.com related information and I’m thankful I found your blogsite even though its not an exact match. Excellent Post, thanks for the read (It’s a keeper).

Anonymous said...

Hi there mjharmon, I’m out surfing for the latest information on fuel saver and found your great site. Although this post wasn’t exactly what I was looking for it certainly peaked my interest. Now I see why I found your page when I was looking for fuel saver related information and I’m happy I found your wine blog even though this isn’t a perfect match. Great Post, thanks for the read,