Pukka school tucker
There’s nothing like celebrity to get an issue moving. Health groups have been banging on for years about food in schools and its relationship to child obesity. But now that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is on the case (with a campaign highlighting the crap British schools feed kids), Tony Blair’s actually promising to do something.
Blair says he’s going to introduce nutritional standards for the levels of fat, sugar and salt in school meals, governing, fund new kitchens for schools, and ban junk food ads during children’s TV. Will New Zealand’s Labour Party follow?
It seems unlikely. Sue K’s been talking about these issues for some time, but has received little support from Labour. She’s pushing for:
1) Schools to adopt a water-only policy;
2) The Health Ministry to issue guidelines about the sorts of food schools should sell;
3) Schools to reject sponsorship from (among others) fast food companies;
4) Junk food ads to be banned during children’s TV.
