EINNEWS, November 19—Will the political Tea Party battle find its next battleground in school lunch rooms?
At a time when First Lady Michelle Obama is elevating the cause of healthy food, particularly for children, Sarah Palin appears to be drawing a line of sugar in the sand with the argument that government should butt out of peoples’ food choices.
“I’ll intro kids 2 beauty of laissez-faire via serving them cookies amidst school cookie ban debate; Nanny state run amok!” Palin twittered earlier this month. And then she did, by visiting a Pennsylvania school and distributing cookies.
“Who should be making the decisions what you eat and school choice and everything else?” Palin asked the students. “Should it be government or should it be the parents?”
What kid wouldn’t vote for cookies?
Palin’s new found interest in food choices comes just as government agencies are finalizing food guidelines that serve as the basis for what’s served in school cafeterias, advice given to food stamp recipients and what the health community considers the gold standard for nutrition.
Michelle Obama is invested heavily in the cause of healthy food. One of her first acts as First Lady was to plant an organic garden near the White House. She’s campaigned actively for better nutrition throughout the U.S. Her work has supported health leaders who are trying to combat the epidemic in obesity, particularly among children.
But she has run into increasing resistance from the food industry. Beverage manufacturers are pushing back on calls for less sugary drinks. The salt industry doesn’t appreciate calls to lower salt intake. Fast food chains are stepping up their advertising to children.
And with Palin’s recent entry into the battle, which clearly backs the big food industry, the contest for the hearts, minds—and stomachs—of young people appear to be moving into the political arena.
For more fast food news, visit Fast Food News Today (http://fastfood.einnews.com), a fast food media monitoring service from EIN News.
