Letter to the Editor: ‘Forced Health’ column ignorant, naive
Published April 22, 2011
Was it a slow day in news about human rights violations? I had to laugh when reading Taeler De Haes`s most recent column, "Forced Health." In it she describes the actions of a Chicago public school banning sack lunches in favor of mandatory cafeteria lunches with healthier options. She denounces the policy as a violation of human rights, citing that it is as if the public school system is telling parents they are incapable of properly feeding their own junk food-dependent children. Well, it seems they are, given that 34 percent of Americans are obese, a statistic Taeler herself stated.
I don't know where Taeler stands on health care policy, but as she identifies as a conservative Republican, I have my suspicions. If you fear socialized medicine, don't cry foul when paying into a system covering the costs of diabetes or obesity treatments because no one wanted to step up for the health of our nation's kids. There's no better reminder that we live in the United States than when our kids are "forced to eat" and we deem having to exchange a preferred food junk for healthier option as a legitimate violation of human rights.
Comments (2)
3:10 p.m., April 25, 2011
Brad said:
First off, let me start by saying I applaud the efforts of the Chicago Public School System for identifying the issue and addressing it. I think it's great that a school system cares enough about the children's well-being that it would take such a drastic action. With that being said, I agree with Taeler; the action goes too far. It's not the place of the school district to tell parents how much they should spend to feed their child a menu in which they have no say, but my "beef" lies elsewhere. Despite the infringement upon the rights of the parents (and children), I feel the program has much more potential to do harm than good. First, what about the parents who pack exceptionally healthy meals for their children? Why should they have to settle for a "minimum nutritional requirement" lunch when they could have something much better? Also, why would you want to take choice out of a child's lunch? If you present a child with a scenario where he/she doesn't like/is allergic to/can't eat a certain dish or side item, they simply will not eat it. This reduces the amount that a student eats and thus, the child's performance in class. Lastly, think of what would happen to those students who either didn't eat or ate less? They would gorge themselves with snacks as soon as they got out of school, which is quite possibly worse than whatever they might have consumed from a packed-lunch. I agree that something needs to be done about the childhood obesity epidemic in this country, but what children are being fed is a decision to be made by the parents and no one else. If the nutrition of a certain student is bad enough, of course the school has the right to intervene, but on a case-by-case basis and only when it's necessary. You can't force health on the public, you can merely educate them, inspire them, and encourage them. Also, Kristin, if you're going to call-out an article for being "ignorant" and "naive" you should probably include some arguments as to why it is such... or at least an argument as to why your position is correct. I'm not sure I understand the weight of the "she's wrong because she's republican" argument.
7:25 a.m., April 24, 2011
Jonathan said:
We still live in a free society right Kristin? Or does that just apply to only liberal causes? The one size fits all mentality of the left is truly amazing. The parents should decide what their children eat rather than some trendy leftist social engineering administrator in a public school. Maybe some students have a special diet they need and the parents pack that in the sack lunch! Of course some parents are irresponsible and lazy. Of course obesity is a problem, mostly in the lower income community as studies show. What a paradox! On the one hand liberals constantly cry how low income people are starving in the streets and concoct every conceivable social program to shove food at them. Then on the other hand scream about their obesity and demand massive government intervention and one size fits all programs to combat it! Reminds one of the in your face Hollywood starlets who push their "healthy" and vegan lifestyles then turn around and snort coke up their noses.