California nutrition Nazis attack school bake sales
I never thought I’d live to see the day when having a bake sale would mean breaking the law. And it’s all because some over-zealous nutrition nuts think they have the right to tell you how you should eat. Can you imagine the day when the almighty government dictates what you can and can’t eat? Makes me shudder to think of the UDSA and its “food pyramid of death” being the law of the nutritional land.
But back to the bake sales
Back in 2005, the California state legislature passed new nutritional guidelines to limit the kinds of snacks that would be available for sale on public school premises. The law says that snacks can only contain a maximum of 35 percent sugar by weight, that only 35 percent of the calories can be from fat, and only 10 percent of the calories from saturated fat.
The true target of the guidelines were the vending machines at the schools, which used to contain the usual coin-operated fare of candy bars, chips, and sugary drinks. But part of the collateral damage of the law was the innocent tradition of the school bake sale.
The left wing in California is turning the public school system into another battleground in their ongoing war against the “evils” of poor nutrition under the guise of “protecting the children.” And like all “logic” from the left, it’s driven to the extreme, with absolutely no exceptions. Honestly: who else other than an agenda-driven lunatic could reasonably suggest that laws targeted at vending machines should be extended to short-term bake sales? It’s idiotic.
In the People’s Republic of California, no special occasion is left unscathed. Even the tradition of the class birthday party has been put in the crosshairs as some killjoys suggesting that cake and cupcakes be replace by “nonfood” treats. For a kid, this is sure to take the “happy” out of the birthday.
“I don’t think all celebrations need to be around food,” opines Ann Cooper, the surely humorless director of nutrition services for the Berkeley, California school district. “We need to get past the mentality of food used for punishment or praise.”
Punishment? Praise? We’re talking about little kids having tiny breaks in the school day to celebrate a holiday or a birthday lighten up! But in Berkeley, even a kindergarten birthday party is seen as an opportunity to make a political point.
Thankfully, there are some state officials who haven’t completely lost their minds. Stephanie Bruce, the president of the California School Nutrition Association, questioned the extremes of the policy, saying, “It concerns me we’re not teaching moderation.”
But Ms. Bruce is missing the point. The zealots behind these actions aren’t concerned about “teaching” anything. They’re concerned only about imposing their version of “right” on everyone else.
After all, that’s how true Marxists operate.
I’m not arguing with the fact that carrots are healthier than carrot cake. Naturally, I believe that kids should eat the right foods. That doesn’t mean the government should make a law about it.
The bottom line with any issue like this is personal freedom and individual liberty. When the left is in control, the first thing they do is impose their vision of what they believe is right on everyone else. Today, they take away your ability to have a homemade brownie; tomorrow they take away your ability to choose the kind of healthcare provider you want.
And if you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, talk to me after four years of Obama and let’s see where you stand.
