WASHINGTON D.C. – A group of retired military officers are putting a new spin on school lunches!
School lunches a national security threat? That’s exactly what some former military leaders are claiming. According to them, school lunches have helped make the nation’s young people so fat that fewer of them can meet the military’s physical fitness standards, and recruitment is in jeopardy.
This latest conclusion is led by Mission Readiness, a non-profit group of senior, retired military leaders. The study, which was released today, details a dramatic increase of obesity among young adults age 17 to 24.
A statement on www.missionreadiness.org says, “Military leaders will call on Congress to pass new child nutrition legislation that will remove junk food from schools and improve nutritional standards for all food available to children in educational setting.”
“Wihen over a quarter of young adults are too fat to fight, we need to take notice,” retired Navy Rear Adm. James Barnett Jr. said. According to Barnett, national security in the year 2030 is “absolutely dependent” on reversing child obesity rates.
The school lunch bill, currently awaiting a Senate vote, would establish healthier options for all foods in schools, including vending machines. The legislation would spend $4.5 billion more over 10 years for nutritional programs.
Schools have had lunches for decades an in some cases breakfast. The only thing that has changed is the menu. We never had "fast foods". There was fish once a week, stews, fresh produce and of course milk to drink. Maybe it is the menu and the lack of physical activity that should be investigated!
Any kid could have told you that school lunches were threats.