With 2012 presidential elections looming over the horizon, all eyes are looking at the political ring. One comment can make or break a promising candidate. Voters are fickle and every decision matters. With all of the intensity surrounding the elections, the Obama campaign turns their attention to an important topic: school lunches.
The proposal from Obama was created to limit students to one serving of starchy vegetables a week for lunch, and none at all for breakfast. Starchy vegetables include potatoes, corn, green peas and lima beans.
The Senate, in a rare motion, unanimously stopped the proposal by creating an amendment on the 2012 spending bill for the USDA that bans them from creating “any maximum limits on the serving of vegetables in school meal programs.”
Republicans and Democrats are setting aside their differences to save tater tots.
As strange as this proposal seems, the timing makes it worse. Hundreds of people are protesting the government and Wall Street. Jobs are scarce and tension is high. Why focus on school lunches?
Seeing as complete agreement in the Senate is almost nonexistent, it’s obvious that something is wrong with this proposal. We all can agree that school lunches have many problems. Eating right is important but this isn’t the way to go. It’s already rare for kids to eat the vegetables that are available now, and eliminating more isn’t the right solution.
It’s easy enough to bring them from home, or just give up on school lunches and head over to the vending machines. The government doesn’t have the authority to tell us what to eat.
Another thing-millions of children eat these potatoes. By stopping schools from selling as many of them, the government would have blocked customers from helping those who grow potatoes. Same goes for those who grow the other vegetables. That means less profit, less jobs, and harder times for some Americans.
The government should be worrying about the economy and creating jobs, not worrying about corn on the cob.