A report in Wednesday's edition of The Arizona Republic reminded me just how much I loved going to middle school in Tempe. It seems that I was right when I once, while scarfing down another delicious burger and fry combo, thought to myself, "You just can't get food like this anywhere else."
Apparently, a six-ounce serving of fries at my old school (offered only to middle school students in the Tempe Elementary District) contains no less than 1,077 calories and 56 grams of fat. Even McDonald's, that beacon of healthy dining, can only cram 520 calories and 26 grams of fat into six ounces of fries.
Maybe you are like me, wondering, "how in the world do they get all that fat into only six ounces of food?" Six ounces? I mean, if you ate six ounces of butter, wouldn't that be better for you than those middle school freedom fries?
The only thing those fries might free you from is your own existence.
Maybe you're the intellectual type who wants some answers. Maybe you want to know why we seem to be failing so thoroughly when it comes to feeding the youth of America, with so many kids now taking advantage of school meal programs.
The answer is complicated, but it rests on a fairly simple fact: We, as a nation, have not made the commitment we need to make either to our own health or the health of younger generations.
Those of us lucky enough to have health insurance are happy to go to the doctor (or take children to the doctor) when we become ill, but we fail when it comes to dealing with the most basic issues (like nutrition) that can affect our health now and far into the future.
Part of what being a child is to begin forming habits that will guide decisions throughout your life. Some of the habits we all form at a fairly young age are our eating habits.
Feeding kids junk food and then sending them to school to eat some more of it has a deeper and more lasting impact than simply making them unhealthy for the moment. Rather, encouraging these unhealthy habits has the potential to start children down the road to obesity and a lifetime of poor dietary health.
Another sad part of this story is the motive behind serving the se fatty meals. According to a report in the January/February issue of Mother Jones, the federally subsidized school lunch program is designed to fulfill the dual role of feeding America's youngsters and subsidizing American agribusiness.
The government spends over $800 million a year buying up food for school lunches, most of it meat and dairy products loaded with saturated fat. Unsurprisingly, the farmers benefiting from that money oppose any meaningful reform or enforcement of federal dietary guidelines for school meal programs.
Now, I know that there is a great deal to be said for giving kids a few bucks and sending them off instead of taking the time to pack something more healthy. Kids want to eat junk food; they complain when forced to ingest anything even marginally good for them. And parents are busier and busier these days.
Still, although this issue might seem small or insignificant, we cannot ignore the far-reaching social and economic costs of an unhealthy population. With children becoming more prone to obesity at disturbingly early ages, we need to take a stand and send a message that simple convenience will not prevent us from ensuring the health and well-being of America's youth.
Therefore, I call on anyone in a position to boycott school lunch programs to do so. This agenda for healthier children can only be advanced by a major consumer revolt; we cannot expect politicians too busy lining the pockets of the rich to respond to an issue they clearly don't care about.
No amount of corporate welfare can justify a program that clearly has such negative effects. No love for convenience can change the fact that school lunches are failing to meet even the most basic health standards.
And, as good as I remember those 1,077 calories being, no desire kids have to get everything they want should stop adults in the world from giving them what they need.
Benjamin Thelen is a philosophy and political science senior. Reach him at benjamin.thelen@asu.edu.
