Okay, no matter your ideology, this is ridiculous:
RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.
The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.
The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.
When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.
The Daily Caller version goes on to make a case about liberal over-reach, etc.,
The story has sparked national outrage against bureaucrats and politicians who aim to force food standards and health initiatives into place through legislation and regulatory action. North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Rob Lockwood told The Daily Caller it’s the latest example of why government “intrusion” isn’t helping anyone.
“More parental inclusion, less government intrusion would go a long way to solving our nation’s woes,” Lockwood said in an email. “Today is not a strong day for big-government, nanny-state enthusiasts.”
Here’s the thing, though, any ideology can go too far. Do liberals want kids to have healthy lunches? Ummm, yes. My apologies. Do liberals think this action is appropriate? I dare say only the most extreme ones do. As a parent who has received repeated complaints from school because my kid’s lunches never have any fruits and vegetables, I am personally sensitive to the issue. Look, neither David nor Evan would eat any fruits or vegetables we send with them and pretending otherwise is just a waste of good food. Should schools provide healthy lunches? Yes. Should pre-schools and daycares over-rule the lunches parents send from home? No. Also, I totally object to the requirement of one meat. Protein, sure; meat, no. This strikes me, in part, as more interest group lobbying (i.e., the meat industry) than being about health.
Anyway, when government does over-reach like this, I think liberals need to be just as forthright in calling it as do conservatives, as it undermines the liberal project by suggesting that valid and worthwhile government goals (kids being offered healthy meals in preschool and daycare) are not valid and worthy goals. There’s a balance here, and this case clearly shows that balance going too far.
On a side note, I appreciate how the Carolina Journal, an admittedly conservative publication, just does solid reporting and lets the facts largely speak for themselves. The Daily Caller, in contrast, is interested in completely hyping the story from a conservative perspective. While pursuing a conservative perspective, the Carolina Journal is so fair, in fact, that they’ve even interviewed me on occasion. Obviously, I don’t agree with the overall ideology of Carolina Journal, but this is my idea (at least the stories I’ve read) of what a solid conservative publication should be.
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