Persuasive Speech: School Lunch Change in America

Introduction:

I. Irony: incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result. Meet America, one of the unhealthiest countries in the world. Meet America, one of the countries most obsessed with healthy eating. This is what Michael Pollan, the Hercules of modern food philosophy and western diet, calls the American Dilemma.

II. On this lovely Wednesday we will take a look at the state of nutrition in the American school system.

III. The first lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama, from the white house website (June 17th 2009), announced at the opening of the white house garden the unacceptable conditions of over one-third of our students being obese. This has many negative outcomes on our society.

IV. First we will take a look at the problem with school nutrition itself, then its causes in our society, and finally solutions and how we can help solve this crisis.




Body:


Transition #1: First we are going to take a look the increasingly grotesque conditions of our public lunch system for schoolchildren.



I. Problems



A.

According to USA Today (December 9th 2009), even the standards of fast food (a problem itself) are currently higher than the standards applied to school lunch nutrition. The major problem in the United States with school nutrition is a lack of availability in funding and The Children Nutrition Act’s out of date standards. The United States has a policy that states that the Children Nutrition Act can only be revised every five years. Quoting the Time Magazine article “The War over America’s Lunch,” April 26th, 2010 the country is expected to “serve wholesome meals at fast-food prices. And not just that: kids have to like them.”




B.

All over the map at every level there is a need for reconstruction of nutrition in schools. From the United States Department of Agriculture, since the National School Lunch program was started in 1946, over 219 billion lunches have been served throughout the nation. The majority of these meals have been considered unsatisfactory by the general public. The meat approved for school lunches, that would be disapproved for fast food eateries, is served to approximately thirty one million students This for some students is the only meal they receive consistently on a daily basis. For example, NPR’s health blog, our kids are served food that KFC has rejected for not meeting quality needs. This is company whose newest selling point is eating bacon and cheese between two pieces of chicken.




C. (Harms: Direct and Indirect)




1. Close to 30%, according to the Columbus Family Health Examiner, of students in America do not meet the requirements necessary for them to join the military. It’s increasing at such a rate that the military and government has now deemed it a national threat. High level officers in the military have testified their complaints and wishes for schools to take harmful foods out of the school diets and vending machines.


2. Not eating proper meals affects student’s grades. These students are the future of every industry that competes in an rapid international world. A personal example of this is my own connection between eating at school and my grades. When I was in junior high I ate school lunches for a while with a steady decrease of grades. The problem was I could feel my body unfocused and unsettled after meals. Lacking the nutrients needed to maximize my potential, I saw my grades drastically change. Only once I began taking my own lunches again did I feel any type of energy return to my schoolwork.


3. The health of our families and citizens will continuously decrease if these trends continue. Imagine the limited opportunities that many of us already receive decreased more because our education system respects corporate benefits more than the backbone of the country, citizens.


4. Providing cheap and easy lunches to school systems are created by companies with horrible quality standards. Once programs created to benefit us are used as political tools we lose a strain of democracy in which we the people are supposed to be in charge of our health and well-being.
Transition #2: We have the right to fight our American right to well being, let’s look at the causes of this travesty.



II. Causes


A. The United States government: Here in America, especially with recent budget cuts and economic failures, it is increasingly tough to give attention to the school food programs in the country. As more people fall in our class system, the decision to focus on what we eat becomes less important in the school system.

B. Corporations own most of the market and media that serves and sells foods to the government. The relationship between corporations in America and the government has grown in most industries and has become inseparable. Most lunches are shipped to schools where they are reheated (like TV Dinners) instead of made at the schools. Many chools hire, according to Fed Up with Lunch (May 27th, 2010), food service management companies. Companies like Aramark, Sodhexo, and Chartwells promise to better conditions but move slowly due to the profits they currently receive. The USDA makes money off of lunch, the only part of the school day where they have any control, the choice between profit and health was an easy one. They chose money.



C. The greatest harm here could very well be ourselves. Not us as people, but our American ideology. American ideology is stubborn; we believe that no solutions other than our own are logical. Rush Limbaugh, as reported by the Food and Research Action Center, has said that needy kids should just eat fast food or go dumpster diving in the summer. This attitude isn’t as uncommon as we think. In America we worry about which foods to eat instead of the amount of food that we’re eating. One of the basic principles of American Political Culture is individualism. A belief that every person is in charge of their own fate which leaves us less than charitable on many occasions. Parents for instance are influences for children’s decisions and should be examples. Parents should be activist for their children’s health but have also become occupied with provision for the family monetarily. It is impossible for many parents to do both on their own.


Transition #3: After all, this is our problem; here are some possible solutions for this serious hindrance to our futures.



III. Solutions



A. Ann Cooper, the executive chef of Berkeley public schools, who in The New Yorker (September 4th 2006) called the USDA “a marketing arm for agribusiness,” suggest that we implement France’s public school lunch program. With government subsidies this would be the plan that most fits with American schools. Time Magazine, Feburary 3rd 2010, discusses how the French school system teaches children’s the proper choices of eating very early on. Most importantly, the French believe in the importance of school’s progress, they heavily fund food programs in schools.



B. Contact your government officials, Sign petitions; with large numbers these have a major impact on how fast officials act. Jamie Oliver, leader of a food revolution dedicated to changing school’s approach to food, has a petition on jamieoliver.com with over half a million signatures to submit to government officials. This year is the year where congress revisits the school lunch programs so it is very important to make our voices heard.



C. Be a good influence for children around you. Become active in the community that you live in. I have brought with me a pamphlet of information of places where you can become more education on the needs and happenings of school nutrition.


D. Volunteer in some of the school nutritional programs. Donate to many foundations available. Some of these foundations include One Tray, California Food Policy Advocates, and Healthy Schools Campaign.



Conclusion:


I. We have discussed the problem with our school system’s food programs, the causes of these programs failures, and ways to resolve the issue.


II. We value equal opportunity, lets provide that to this and future generations through our actions and belief in their ability.


III. When looking at the people making the decisions about our children’s eating just think of how school lunches may have made them think that way. Ironic isn’t it?