Your Child’s School Lunch Could Be a Threat to National Security
USDA has released new rules that are part of the Smart Snack in School nutrition standards, and these measures are aimed at eliminating what USDA undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services Kevin Concannon calls an economic and national security issue.
Items such as Gatorade will no longer be allowed in packed lunchboxes according to the federal government because the child could be considered as transporting material that the government has prohibited public schools form providing. If a snack such as cheese and crackers were provided by the school, it might be a threat to national security.
Middle schools are not allowed to provide certain beverages that include caffeine and/or high amounts of sugar, such as various teas, lemonades, fruit punches, coffee and soda. Schools with specific items such as the pink cookies at Elyria city schools in Ohio and Chick-fil-A sandwiches in South Carolina will no longer be allowed to sell those items.
There has been pressure from two different sides regarding these changes. Some politicians believe the rules are not severe enough and need to remove allergy-related foods like peanuts and dairy, while other schools, like Catlin Community School District 5 in Illinois, are opting out of the program.