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People say they want to live free....but yet they are all happy over the government (in any form) dictating what their kids should and should not be eating. It isn't that no meat is a big deal...it is the audacity of it all.
I'm glad my kids are out of school. I would send them to school that day with a boxed lunch with roast beef just to make a personal statement.
I don't think anyone would care if you did so, and if that's what your kid wants to eat then there's nothing wrong with that. At most (all?) schools kids are free to bring their own lunch; I usually did when I was growing up. Government (and schools) dictate what the kids eat in school lunches every single day; if they serve a beef option one day and not chicken that's also "dictating" what some kids are going to eat.
I think giving it a formal name ("Meatless Mondays") is a bit silly, though, and probably unnecessarily politicizes what really shouldn't be seen as such a big deal.
I don't think anyone would care if you did so, and if that's what your kid wants to eat then there's nothing wrong with that. At most (all?) schools kids are free to bring their own lunch; I usually did when I was growing up. Government (and schools) dictate what the kids eat in school lunches every single day; if they serve a beef option one day and not chicken that's also "dictating" what some kids are going to eat.
I think giving it a formal name ("Meatless Mondays") is a bit silly, though, and probably unnecessarily politicizes what really shouldn't be seen as such a big deal.
Exactly. If they forced everyone to buy it that's one thing but I think I can guarantee that some percentage of kids are unhappy every single day with what's offered for lunch. My son doesn't eat beef, (if he bought his lunch) he would be unhappy every day there was beef on the menu.
Most kids eat meat, but that doesn't mean they have to eat it every single meal, every single day. Kids can choose just as well on days where they have a choice between something with beans or lentils or cheese. I see no compelling reason why kids HAVE to have a meat option at every single meal.
I agree that both options being cheese-based is an issue: sort of like offering ham and a BLT sandwich for the two options on a "regular" day. But since no schools are advocating a 5-day-per-week only vegetarian plan, I don't see how having one, or even two, days a week with "only" vegetarian options is limiting anyone's choices and preference or forcing a vegetarian diet on anyone against their will, any more than kids are already limited in their options.
Because it is purposely taking away the thing kids like to eat. Most kids like meat. It may be politically incorrect to say so but most kids do not eat and do not want to eat a lentil entree. They don't like it, they don't want it. It's fine to have a choice for those who do like it but it is ridiculous for the liberals who run schools to force their aversion to meat on kids.
Is it really that normal to have meat for lunch every day?? I might have some dinner left overs that might or might not contain meat for lunch, but having meat would be more the unusual then usual. My eleventh grade son has been eating pb&J for years, as did my daughter. My other son ate a big raisin bagel for most of his school years. Our MS and HS offers a salad bar, pizza and then some sort of hot meal daily - something for everyone. I just looked at the lunch menu for our HS on-line and it's pizza hut pizza every Friday, which I guess is probably cheese or pepperoni. We have at least three dinners each week without meat, and I don't really think we're that unusual.
Now, what would I rather my child eat for lunch at school... a healthy beef and vegetable stew made with lean meat, or a meal based on high fat, high sodium cheese?
Because it is purposely taking away the thing kids like to eat. Most kids like meat. It may be politically incorrect to say so but most kids do not eat and do not want to eat a lentil entree. They don't like it, they don't want it. It's fine to have a choice for those who do like it but it is ridiculous for the liberals who run schools to force their aversion to meat on kids.
Most kids like to eat chicken nuggets and french fries, too. That doesn't they need to eat it at lunch every day. I would say that the same thing goes for unhealthy vegetarian meals.
Liberals are not the only vegetarians, by the way, and many liberals eat meat. In the case of this specific program they made the mistake of going along with a formal name connected with groups that have overly political leanings, but from a general standpoint offering two non-meat choices in itself does not have to be construed as a political statement.
Maybe if more kids had exposure to lentils they'd realize that they like them. My son loves lentils, and has eaten them from an early age.
And even if is a financial issue, I still see nothing wrong with it (but agree they should lay off the cheese); it's equally easy (or possible, if chosen wrong) to offer healthy vegetarian lunches at is to offer meat options, so what's wrong with saving a little money, exposing kids to some different foods (as I'm assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that most parents who have a fit over this are not serving up vegetarian meals at home, perhaps in the misguided assumption that to do so is to become a liberal?)? Vegetarian meals only one or two days a week isn't taking away any real choice, isn't hurting anyone, can be perfectly healthy, might save a few bucks, and the kids are still getting plenty of meat options on the other days, or if their parents are so dedicated to providing all meat, all the time, they can pack a lunch those days.
Now, what would I rather my child eat for lunch at school... a healthy beef and vegetable stew made with lean meat, or a meal based on high fat, high sodium cheese?
Let me think about this for, ohhh, a nanosecond.
I think one of the issues is that the meat served by many schools isn't particularly healthy, either; it's more often the really fatty stuff, and comes cheap thanks to subsidies. Same with the cheese. Maybe a few days of nutritious yet affordable meals would free up some money to offer higher quality meat options on the other days, not to mention more fresh fruit and produce for every day.
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