idleword on school lunch menus: France vs. US

Posted by Pierre Igot in: Society
March 19th, 2003 • 7:20 pm

Great blog item by idleword:

Two school lunch menus

Note that not only do the French students eat more interesting meals than the American kids, but they get a different message from mealtime, too. You get the sense that a French school lunch is considered part of the child’s education. […]

Contrast this with the American school, where the kids are fed a monotonous diet of pizza, burgers, chicken parts and meat. […] Although children are ostensibly allowed to pick healthy foods as side dishes, anyone who’s been through public school in the States knows that the ‘fresh fruit’ and ‘garden salads’ are unappetizing and unpalatable.

This blog item should be read in conjunction with this great article:

We’ve Got to Stop Eating Like This” by Timothy Smith, Fortune

And how is the food at the Calhoun School in Manhattan this year, now that Chef Bobo is in charge?

It’s awesome, says a student diner. The hot dogs don’t bounce.

Bad eating habits and obesity are two major issues in North America. Our local grocery stores here in southwest Nova Scotia are pathetic. The only way to get decent access to fresh produce is… a three-hour drive to the provincial capital, Halifax. We can only afford to do this about once a month on average. The rest of the time, we have to make do with frozen stuff (the little bit that can be found that is not fish sticks, yucky ice cream and frozen pizza) and rotten produce that stays on display for weeks.

Even in urban areas where the selection is better, there are still way too many people who don’t eat properly. Most people here have no idea what real food states like. It’s sad, it’s embarrassing, it’s scary.


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