Soc 333 – Assignment 2
1/23/08
Analyzing Environmental Issues
School Lunches: How to Make Cafeteria Food Better for Kids and the Environment
My favorite subject in my mid-1960’s grade school – next to recess – was lunchtime! Remember school lunches; those hot, colorful dishes served on large plastic platters and a carton of milk on the side? Included in the super low price was the promise that you were receiving all the nutrients necessary for a healthy mind and body. You knew this because the head of the school cafeteria was a Nutritionist. Such a title guaranteed you the most balanced and carefully planned diet available anywhere. You felt sorry for those poor kids who could not afford the hot lunch program and had to bring a brown bag from home with some cold, soggy sandwich. How could those brown baggers’ mothers live with their conscience? Hot school lunches were on par with Airline food and Hospital meals. People in the know were planning and preparing menus every week. We’re talking about nutrition.
By the time I reached High School in the late 70’s, a salad bar was added. After that, a potato bar with toppings and more choices of drinks and repeat visits were included in the program. When my own children reached the same level, vending machines with candy, chips, and soft drinks were available in the cafeteria. And their favorite staple ensuring their recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day: French fries! This would be followed by a super deluxe 44 ounce soda from the convenience store on the way home after school and ten years later we have near epidemic proportions of obesity among our nation’s youth. What can be done?
According to environmental author Larry West writing for Earthtalk, an environmental magazine, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture advises a 2,000 calorie-a-day limit as part of a healthy lifestyle, and no more than 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar. However, between 1994 and 1996 Americans were averaging about 20.5 teaspoons a day. Over the past 16 years, the amount of sugar in American diets has increased by 28 percent, with about a third of it coming from soft drinks. A single 12-ounce can of soda has around 13 teaspoons of sugar.” (West, 2007) One response to this kind of information being made public was seen in New York City which was among the first in the U.S. to remove non-nutritious vending machines from public schools. Candy and soda pop were removed and replaced with energy bars and flavored sports drink vending machines. They even invited professional chefs to prepare nutritious foods that would appeal to children.
This trend to cancel vending contracts for soda and candy and replace them with healthier snacks is growing nationwide. According to Mr. West, both parents and school administrators are pushing for healthier food which usually means greener food and that’s good news for the environment. One of the ways this is being done is by “connecting school lunches with local farms.” (West. 2007) The reduced environmental impact of this program which is now operating in 19 states, is significant. Local growers are able to supply organic foods and avoid the costs of transporting, refrigerating, processing, and the extrinsic pollutants associated with such steps. This means fewer pesticides and higher concentration of nutrients in school lunches.
Additionally, cooking classes are taking on a new role of educating students how to grow and prepare organic foods. A great example of this was featured in the movie, “Super Size Me.” Mr. West notes this fact in his article recalling, “Wisconsin’s Appleton Central Alternative School hired a local organic bakery that helped transform the cafeteria fare from offerings heavy on meat and junk food to predominantly whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.” (West, 2007)
Mr. West’s report approaches this topic from three directions. First, his sociological perspective is evidenced from the outset where the title exposes his interest in the betterment of foods for kids and the environment. Immediately following the title is the question posed by a reader of Earthtalk asking how to make cafeteria foods more “eco-friendly.” Added to these revelations are Mr. West’s own statements like, “luckily for the environment,” and, “healthier food usually means greener food.” These all point to the link between healthy food and the environment that shows he is reporting on this issue from a macro perspective. The big picture according to Mr. West, concerns the environmental strain caused by our massive, runaway public school lunch programs that offer little of nutritional value and demand large amounts of resources for processing and transportation.
The second way he presents the emerging solutions to this environmental problem is by way of his sociological imagination. He gives us specific examples on the micro level that show the intersection of biographies with history when he writes about Chef Alice Waters teaching school lunch cooking classes and where he reminds us of Appleton Wisconsin’s alternative school cafeteria transformation. These personal examples bring the problem to our own level where we can relate by inserting our own local situations. This approach clears a path for readers to introduce such solutions locally and thereby spread the positive affects even quicker.
Finally, Mr. West engages critical thinking skills when introducing the problem by presenting the facts of sugar and soda consumption along with his tie-in of poor nutrition and obesity as reported by the Center for Food and Justice. He logically leads us from the national problem to the large-scale programs engaged in by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the smaller scale solutions of local farms supplying local schools, all the way to his final paragraph outlining how parents can improve the lunches they send with their children.
It’s clear Mr. West sees this issue as a problem shared by everyone involved and not just one sided. Parents are crunched for time and therefore not preparing quality lunches for their children. The students are not educated on the facts of good nutrition and therefore not able to assume full responsibility for their poor choices. The administrators are pressured from all sides and under budget constraints that limit their ability to implement structural changes quickly.
If he were presenting his case from a conflict theorist point of view, he would focus on who is benefiting and at whose expense. He might present evidence to show that big corporations like Pepsi and Coke are competing for school contracts that are worth millions to ensure their vending machines are located in as many schools as possible. On the other hand, if he were a structural functionalist, he might show that the situation is simply a function of the whole and will proceed toward a state of equilibrium regardless of whether the environment suffers or the children suffer or both and therefore, we should not be alarmed at the apparent problems since they will work themselves out.
Rather, Mr. West’s view of social structure seems to be that we all make up our society and therefore all share equally in the betterment or detriment thereof. Rather than place blame, he reports the solutions that are making the difference on both national as well as local levels. He unveils steps that are being taken, are working successfully, and can be introduced anywhere.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Larry West (2007), School Lunches: How to Make Cafeteria Food Better for Kids and the Environment, http://environment.about.com/od/healthandchildren/a/cafeteria_food.htm
