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We used to, but with the Reagan deregulation in the 80's, corporations seized control. Ketchup is a veggie according to their rules, so pizza is now "healthy"

spogbiper 2y ago
https://www.straightdope.com/21343649/did-the-reagan-era-usda-really-classify-ketchup-as-a-vegetable https://www.straightdope.com/21343649/did-the-reagan-era-usd... "The story is so convoluted that it defied simple explanation at the time. Even today, the episode can be plausibly presented (depending on the political leanings of the presenter) as either a simple bureaucratic screwup or an unsuccessful effort by the right to pursue its agenda at the expense of the nation’s kids." in either case, ketchup was not actually ever classified as a vegetable in approved legislation: "When the proposed new rules were released for comment in September 1981, food activists went ballistic. Democratic politicians staged photo ops where they feasted on skimpy-looking meals that conformed to the new standards. The mortified administration withdrew the proposal and the USDA official in charge of the program was transferred, a move widely interpreted as a firing."
- gopher_space 2y ago
  IIRC the main frustration wasn’t with the proposal but with the train of thought that led to it. MBAs chipping away at load-bearing structures out of sheer human cupidity.
  - spogbiper 2y ago
    I'm too young to remember anything from the time. I have many times heard people say "american schools classify ketchup as a vegetable" as if it actually was put into practice or true today, both in the states and while talking with people in europe. it's one of my earliest memories of realizing firsthand how "truth" is so easily manipulated.
    - gopher_space 2y ago
      I’ve never heard it put that way, more like “condiment as vegetable typifies republican thinking” as a shorthand for perceived attacks on national infrastructure.
briandear 2y ago
Why should the federal government be involved in schools or school food at all? School lunches should be as local as possible with standards set by the community. At the school my kids went to in France, the local school decided the menu and it was spectacular as the ingredients came from the local farms in the area. Fresh goat cheese delivered by the guy that made the stuff less than 1km away for example.
- spogbiper 2y ago
  in the US, the federal government is involved because they provide (some/most) of the funding for the meals under the Nation School Lunch Program https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp
- toast0 2y ago
  The basic purpose of the USDA is to keep US Agriculture as a sustained business, so that the US has continued access to locally grown food resources. The USDA sets our basic dietary standards, and sets the standards for school meals. The primary purpose of standards for school meals is to ensure agriculture has a market for its products and a secondary purpose of feeding children. The USDA also runs SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, which provides a market for agricultural products as a primary purpose and a secondary purpose of feeding families. If the primary purpose of these things was health, they would come out of the department of Health and Human Services, possibly from its Food and Drug Agency.
- wk_end 2y ago
  You should Google “does the French government regulate food in schools” before commenting about how the US government should be more like France and not regulate food in schools, as the French government very much is involved in regulating food in schools.

spogbiper 2y ago

https://www.straightdope.com/21343649/did-the-reagan-era-usda-really-classify-ketchup-as-a-vegetable https://www.straightdope.com/21343649/did-the-reagan-era-usd... "The story is so convoluted that it defied simple explanation at the time. Even today, the episode can be plausibly presented (depending on the political leanings of the presenter) as either a simple bureaucratic screwup or an unsuccessful effort by the right to pursue its agenda at the expense of the nation’s kids." in either case, ketchup was not actually ever classified as a vegetable in approved legislation: "When the proposed new rules were released for comment in September 1981, food activists went ballistic. Democratic politicians staged photo ops where they feasted on skimpy-looking meals that conformed to the new standards. The mortified administration withdrew the proposal and the USDA official in charge of the program was transferred, a move widely interpreted as a firing."

gopher_space 2y ago
IIRC the main frustration wasn’t with the proposal but with the train of thought that led to it. MBAs chipping away at load-bearing structures out of sheer human cupidity.
- spogbiper 2y ago
  I'm too young to remember anything from the time. I have many times heard people say "american schools classify ketchup as a vegetable" as if it actually was put into practice or true today, both in the states and while talking with people in europe. it's one of my earliest memories of realizing firsthand how "truth" is so easily manipulated.
  - gopher_space 2y ago
    I’ve never heard it put that way, more like “condiment as vegetable typifies republican thinking” as a shorthand for perceived attacks on national infrastructure.

briandear 2y ago

Why should the federal government be involved in schools or school food at all? School lunches should be as local as possible with standards set by the community. At the school my kids went to in France, the local school decided the menu and it was spectacular as the ingredients came from the local farms in the area. Fresh goat cheese delivered by the guy that made the stuff less than 1km away for example.

spogbiper 2y ago
in the US, the federal government is involved because they provide (some/most) of the funding for the meals under the Nation School Lunch Program https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp
toast0 2y ago
The basic purpose of the USDA is to keep US Agriculture as a sustained business, so that the US has continued access to locally grown food resources. The USDA sets our basic dietary standards, and sets the standards for school meals. The primary purpose of standards for school meals is to ensure agriculture has a market for its products and a secondary purpose of feeding children. The USDA also runs SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, which provides a market for agricultural products as a primary purpose and a secondary purpose of feeding families. If the primary purpose of these things was health, they would come out of the department of Health and Human Services, possibly from its Food and Drug Agency.
wk_end 2y ago
You should Google “does the French government regulate food in schools” before commenting about how the US government should be more like France and not regulate food in schools, as the French government very much is involved in regulating food in schools.