Letter: Parents must demand healthy food at school

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002 | 8:57 a.m.

Two weeks ago the U.S. Department of Agriculture admitted to using up to 2 million pounds of turkey meat linked to a deadly outbreak of listeria for the national school lunch program. The government's solution has been to start irradiating the meat sent to schools.

However, irradiation kills only selected pathogens, only those present at the time, and only up to a certain depth. It does nothing to hardy pathogens like the hepatitis virus, or those inside a large meat slab, or those added during subsequent processing.

Moreover, no amount of irradiation will address the tragedy of American children getting fatter at an alarming rate, with the percentage of significantly overweight black and Hispanic youngsters more than doubling over 12 years and climbing 50 percent among whites.

Early dietary flaws become lifelong addictions. Overweight children become the 60 percent of U.S. adults who are overweight or obese. Obesity is a precursor to heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases that kill 1.4 million Americans annually.

Parents must insist that the USDA stop using the national school lunch program as a dumping ground for surplus meat and dairy commodities, and that schools replace greasy fast food fare with wholesome plant-based foods and beverages.

DEBBIE DILL