What Will They Get Us to Eat Next?

Some people think school cafeterias should be required to provide low-fat and/or vegetarian lunch options to accommodate the eating habits of all students. Do you agree or disagree?

            Troubling as it may seem, it is indeed the truth that cafeterias still provide students with low nutrient foods. This is a problem because apparently, in spite of previous efforts, low nutrients must be the majority of what the food is made of and its pure junk— pure junk. What does that mean for the kids who are eating these foods? Let's be frank, students will either become obese or develop health problems. In addition, the kids develop bad eating habits. To help the students out, it is best for cafeterias to serve low-fat and/or vegetarian lunch options.

            Let's think for a moment. Synthetic foods have never done any of us any good. Most of the nation's public is obese, every street corner has a fast-food restaurant, and there are still thousands of people who are not educated about the foods they eat. No one mentioned to read the label! Yet, people still eat it because it tastes good, right? People like what they eat and, it will be a while before they stop, but what if they do not stop? Rather, what if the public cannot? Then it will slip into a habit and keep in mind people, children have trouble with self-control—they're worse off than adults.

            Cafeterias should join in on the movement against obesity. Have the lunch lady or lunch man serve healthier foods instead of slapping two bread buns with hardly any meat on the them. Make it so that the students have no choice other than choose a healthier menu. It would also be a huge bonus for the students if there was a chart listing the sodium content, total carbohydrates, calories, sugars, trans fat. In other words, show the nutritional facts. Instead of just having milks and juice to choose from, cafeterias should have water as a choice, too. School cafeterias need to be consistent with these changes because in order to end a habit a person needs to be persistent with his or her changes.

            It would be interesting if the school cafeteria could grow their own food. You know the type of food where you don’t have to worry about the pesticides or added hormones. The very type of food parents would fall head-over-heels for in their student’s school. If a school were to grow its own food it would save money because it would limit the need to buy. Aside from that they could buy it from the farmers market (the organic foods). By doing this, it reduces pollution and minimizes the unneeded or unnecessary chemicals that go into making the food or making the food taste good.

            Overall, cafeterias need to stop what they are doing and make a turnaround in the kitchen. In layman terms, cafeterias need to provide healthier foods on the menu. Only then can bad food habits be on the verge of nonexistence. Perhaps this method of breaking habits should be applied to other problems too, such as watching too much TV and not getting enough exercise; reducing gang violence in neighborhoods; and top this, getting students to study more—we don’t want an educated fool.