September, National Cholesterol Awareness Month, is the ideal time for schools to start teaching kids the importance of a healthy, low-fat diet. They can do this best, not in the classroom, but in the cafeteria. Health teachers' efforts to encourage children to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains will have little impact if the lunch ladies continue serving kids cheese pizza, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, chocolate milk and other high-calorie, cholesterol-laden foods that fatten our kids and send them on their way to an early grave.
According to the American Obesity Association, approximately 30.3 percent of children ages 6 to 11 are overweight and 15.3 percent are obese. About 30.4 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 19 are overweight, while 15.5 percent are obese. Rates of obesity-related diseases-such as type-2 diabetes, asthma and hypertension-are rapidly rising in young people.
The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that there is compelling evidence that atherosclerosis--hardening of the arteries--begins in childhood and progresses slowly into adulthood, where it often leads to coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. The AHA theorizes that elevated cholesterol levels early in life play a role in the development of atherosclerosis and recommends lowering cholesterol levels in children and adolescents.
This is why the school cafeteria should be part of the remedy rather than contributing to the problem. Unlike meat, eggs and dairy products, plant-based foods contain no cholesterol and have been shown to reverse heart disease. Researchers have found that a vegetarian diet rich in soy and soluble fiber can reduce cholesterol levels by as much as one-third. David Jenkins, professor of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Toronto, has reported that "the evidence is pretty strong that vegans, who eat no animal products, have the best cardiovascular health profile and the lowest cholesterol levels."
The late Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote, "Children who grow up getting their nutrition from plant foods rather than meats have a tremendous health advantage. They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer."
Yet only five percent of elementary, six percent of middle and 10 percent of high schools currently offer vegan options-and even then the options may only include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or salads.
These schools should follow the example of the more progressive districts that are making it easier for students to choose healthy fare. The Bloomfield Central School District in upstate New York provides locally grown vegetables and fruits, whole grain and bean salads and at least one vegan soup each day. Schools in Collier County, Fla., offer soy products and salad bars filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Grady High School in Atlanta opened an all-vegetarian lunch line. A student-run Smart Cart at James Logan High School in Union City, Calif., was so successful that the school began incorporating vegan foods into the regular lunch menu. The Fairfax County school system in Maryland, outside Washington, D.C., offers soy milk and other vegan options.
The high schools in Appleton, Wisconsin, profiled in the documentary Super Size Me, serve fresh whole foods and a plant-based option each day. One school for troubled youth documented a drop in violent behavior and a rise in attendance and academic performance after the school began offering more vegan foods.
Students at schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)-the second largest school district in the nation-have had access to healthy, cholesterol-free vegetarian food since the LAUSD Obesity Prevention Resolution passed in 2004.
While People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals promotes a vegetarian diet for ethical, as well as health, reasons, there should be no animal rights debate about this topic. The school lunch line should be a source of nourishment, not disease.
www.PETA.org
Heather Moore is a freelance writer and a senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Norfolk, Va., where she lives with her rescued dog, Carly. Heather frequently writes on animal rights and health issues as a freelance writer and for PETA. Her articles have appeared in IMPACT Press, Enlightened Practice Magazine, New Mobility, Satya, Wadi, Vivid, Writer?s Post Journal, and other publications, and her letters and op-eds have been published in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Las Vegas Review Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Miami Herald, Dallas Morning News, Orlando Sentinel, Spokesman Review, and other leading papers.
"While People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals promotes a vegetarian diet for ethical, as well as health, reasons, there should be no animal rights debate about this topic. The school lunch line should be a source of nourishment, not disease."
What about the ethical rights of plants?
I agree with the gist of your article, "garbage in means a garbage body out." Although, I am not sure you made that point except through some actuarial tables of diseases. Do we really need another person to stand up with a Book of Numbers and make claims this way, without regard to principles?
Do vegan people look healthier than meat-eaters? If the stats you quote are false, then does your argument fall away? (I think it does.)
If you want to argue that animals have the same rights as humans, then make it.
If you want to argue that certain foods are healthier, then make it.
But don't cross the two. It weakens both arguments.
by
Steve Consilvio (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 80 comments)
on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 3:39:44 PM
Even though she writes for PETA, the author went out of her way to AVOID the argument about whether animals should have the same rights as humans, turning her message into an animal rights debate, or discussing the ethical rights of humans vs. animals vs. plants, etc. She focused solely on making the point that schools should offer more plant-based meal options to avoid obesity and disease in our children. The stats she quoted are not false; if anything, they're understated. Whether or not vegan people LOOK healthier than meat-eaters wasn't her issue -- it's that a diet void of bad cholesterol and saturated fat (which happens to come from animal-based products) equates to healthier humans.
If you're curious and open-minded, search the net for more facts on this issue -- maybe try sources other than the U.S. government (USDA), American Dairy Association, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council or the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association... :-)
by
pck (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 9:57:57 AM
Compare the human dental structure to that of any predatory animal. We more closely resemble herbivores. Chimpanzees consume less meat than most Americans... and they have fangs. Meat isn's the main culprit however. It's the growth hormones in it and the unnatural quick fattening diet that brings it to market sooner. This goes down the food chain into ourselves and our children. The full effects are not seen in short lived livestock as they are in humans. A cow, pig, or chicken is brought to market so quickly that it doesn't have time to suffer from coronary disease or cancer.
by
Matthew Peters (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 78 comments)
on Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 11:31:10 AM
3 comments
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