July 8, 2009
Page A4
O pinion
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Demand Healthy
School Lunches
For healthier
children
by E i . lie H urley
Given all 1 know about food
and food systems as an adult it
seems slightly funny that as a
child, with parents who dili­
gently packed me a brown bag
lunch every day, 1 was jealous
of the kids who ate school
lunch.
I wanted the pizza, the sloppy
joes and the tater tots — and
not my crummy turkey sand­
wich on whole grain bread. 1
suppose that's because 1, along
with many Americans, had yet
to learn the real impact of un­
healthy food on children.
Today, children and their par­
ents are much more educated
about what a poor diet can do
to a child. As we see childhood
obesity and diabetes rise, par­
ticularly in poor communities.
manding healthier foods, but
their call to action opens the
dialogue about what healthy
food really is and who deserves
it.
Everyone deserves access to
healthy food, especially our
children. It's important that the
Child Nutrition Act includes, at
a minimum, not only free lunch
for low income students, but
also free breakfast and funding
for summer feeding programs.
Healthy food is food grown
primarily locally, minimally pro­
c essed
and
w ith
the
sustainability of the earth in
mind. Food grow n close to
home is not just good for our
personal health, its good for
our economic health and our
environmental health as well.
The closer the food is produced
to the plate it ends up on, the
lower the carbon foot print that
is left. And producing food
close to home means support­
Healthy food is food grown
primarily locally, minimally
processed and with the
sustainability o f the earth in mind
the link betw een nutritio u s
food and healthy children is
more visible then ever.
While 1 may have pined away
for a slice of grade D sausage
pizza from the cafeteria, kids
today are actually fighting for
the healthy food my parents
packed me. Recently in my home
town a group of fourth graders
planned an “eat in” to protest
the
sc h o o l's
u n h ealth y
lunches. The students are part
of a group called Boycott School
Lunches and while their eat-in
was canceled due to pressure
from the school administration,
student b oycotts are taking
place in other areas.
The stu d e n t push for a
healthier school lunch could
not come at a better time. The
Child Nutrition Act, which lays
down the guidelines for the
National School Lunch Pro­
gram, is up for reauthorization
and it's important to note that
those most affected by school
lunch policy are calling for
change. T hey m ight be d e ­
ing local farmers and local small
businesses, which is something
1 think we can all get behind in
these trying economic times.
So, to bring it back to the
kids, it's not just about feeding
them nutritious food, its about
teaching them what nutritious
food is, where it comes from,
and how to grow it and cook it
themselves. It's an understand­
ing 1 didn't have as kid.
I knew what I was eating, but
didn't grasp the greater implica­
tions. Kids nowadays seem to
get it, at least a lot of them. It's
time to get behind their move­
ment and call for holistic change
in the Child Nutrition Act.
This is our chance to push
for and get healthy and local
school lunches for all children.
Please call your representa­
tive in Congress and urge sup­
port of healthy school food lo­
cally sourced in the re-authori­
zation of the Child Nutrition Act
Ellie Hurley is the communi­
cations coordinator o f World
Hunger Year.
Obama Must Stand Up and Fight
b u ild a m ovem ent strong sors. Moreover, there is a vi­
enough to create the political brant movement called Health
space for Obama to operate, the Care Now which is mobilizing
significant public support for
converse is also true.
President Obama could use HR 676 around the country.
Given Obama's stated views
his position to educate the
public on the merits of par­ on Single Payer, these factors
by R on D aniels
ticular policy prescriptions would seem to offer an ideal
When President
and aggressively m obilize opportunity for him to educate
B arack O bam a
grassroots support for the and lead on this issue.
took office after a
Instead of choosing to sup­
proposals he's advocating.
brilliant and his­
This is certainly true when it port Single Payer, he has settled
toric election campaign, there
w ere g re a t hopes th at he comes to the issue of universal on a hybrid formulation which
in clu d es a "public option"
would utilize his margin of vic­ health care.
A recent New York Times/ within a system that will include
tory and enormous popular­
ity to u sh er in an era o f
"change you can believe in."
President Obama could use his
Though it is far too early to
predict the ultimate legacy of position to educate the public on the
his presidency, there are trou­ merits o f particular policy prescriptions
bling signs that rather than
boldly and robustly articulat­ and aggressively mobilize grassroots
ing and fighting for his policy support fo r the proposals.
proposals, Obama is emerging
as a cautious pragmatist who
is more obsessed with "bi­ CBS News poll revealed that plans offered by the insurance
partisanship" than seizing the "Americans overwhelming sup­ industry.
Frankly, having a meaningful
moment to create substantial port substantial changes to the
health care system and are public option as the single­
change in this country.
President O bam a's m ost strongly behind one of the most payer component of the final bill
critical lack of leadership thus contentious proposals C on­ would be an acceptable fall back
far has been the failure to gress is considering, a govern­ position. But, there is a danger
stand up and fight for his sig­ ment run insurance plan to com­ that the public option will be
nature pledge to deliver health pete with private insurers." This shelved. The Republicans and
care to the 47-50 million people is the "public option" feature the insurance companies hate
who are currently uninsured. in the bills being advanced by Single Payer and see the public
As a State Senator in Illi­ committees in the House and option as a Trojan Horse, which
will ultimately evolve into a
nois, he embraced a Single the Senate.
O b v io u sly
m any Single Payer system.
Payer system as the most cost
What has President Obama's
effective and efficient way to progressives prefer HR 676, the
deliver health care for all. And, Single Payer bill sponsored by strategy been as the debate
though I have consistently ar­ Congressm an John Conyers rages in the Congress? On oc­
gued that progressives must which has more than 70 spon­ casion he has hinted that Single
Seize the
moment for
change
|NEW S E A S O N S
M A R K E T
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
A
Payer has merits but has been
unwilling to stand up and fight
for it.
His initial posture was to take
what seemed like an uncompro­
mising position in favor of a
public option. In his most re­
cent press conference, however,
he refused to draw a line in the
sand in favor of a public option
as a component of the legisla­
tion he would be willing to sign.
When the strategy should be
to fight first and compromise
when necessary, O bam a has
apparently capitulated before
putting up a fight.
T herefore, the outcom e is
predictable; the insurance com­
panies will carry the day. There
will be no public option in the
"bi-partisan" plan w hich is
adopted. Millions of Americans
will secure health care cover­
age. Unfortunately, it will be
w ithin a system that is ulti­
mately doomed to crash from
spiraling cost to the govern­
ment and taxpayers because the
program will be tailored to meet
the pecuniary needs of the in­
surance industry rather than
the health care needs o f the
people.
T h is outco m e c o u ld be
avoided if President Obama
were willing to stand and fight!
Dr. Ron Daniels is president
o f the Institute o f the Black
World 21st Century and a dis­
tinguished lecturer at York
College City University o f New
York.
Hudson Miracle
by J im H ightower
T he
N atio n al
Transportation Safety
Board has now issued
its official review of
"The Miracle on the
Hudson" - the US Air­
ways flight from New York City
that struck a flock of geese, lost
all power, and was forced to
land in the Hudson River last
January.
NTSB's analysis confirm s
what we learned from news re­
ports at the time - Capt. Chesley
"Sully" Sullenberger and the
rest of the crew on Flight 1549
performed marvelously in the
face of looming disaster, sav­
ing the lives of 150 horrified
passengers by landing the jet
intact and quickly evacuating
it. Their performance has been
hailed with such phrases as
"stoic," "nearly flawless," and
"heroic."
But another laudatory term
should be applied to them as
well: "union." Practically every­
one involved in averting this
disaster was a union-trained
professional.
Captain Sully himself is not
only a member of the Airline Pi­
lots A sso c ia tio n , but also
served on its national govern­
ing com m ittee and is APA's
former safety chairman.
In d eed , he and his
union have had to fight
airline chieftains who've
tried to cut back on the
sa fe ty tra in in g p ro ­
grams that allowed him
to save those lives.
Likew ise, the cool-headed
flight attendants who so expe­
ditiously moved those nearly-
panicked people off the plane,
are members of their union, the
A ssociation of Flight A tten­
d a n ts, w hich a lso stre sse s
safety.
The ferry crews that zipped
into a c tio n , sk illfu lly and
q u ick ly m a n eu v erin g th e ir
boats right up to the wings to
rescue passengers - they're in
the S e afarers In ternational
Union, which gives them the
safety courses that enabled
them to respond as they did.
The cops, firefighters, and air
traffic co n trollers also per­
formed marvelously - all union
trained.
At a time when corporate in­
terests in all sectors o f our
economy are trying to eliminate
unions, remember Flight 1549 -
the union-made miracle on the
Hudson.
Jim Hightower is a national
columnist.