Food Fascism In Wales

Schools in Wales should ban pupils from buying food outside their grounds, says a major study into school meals.

How?

I mean, we all know why, but how, exactly? Stop them from leaving the grounds?

Schools should make it clear that crisps and a drink is no longer an acceptable lunch, according to the Appetite for Life report.

No longer acceptable to whom?

Frankly, what the kids eat while in school should be the least of the issues schools concern themselves with – getting them to read, write and add up past the level expected from a chimp might be a better use of their time. So no doubt this latest affront to freedom will be kicked into the long grass by…

Ah:

Education Minister Leighton Andrews welcomed the findings.

*sigh*

The researchers, from the University of Bath, said they found that the withdrawal of some unhealthy foods such as sausage rolls or confectionary caused tension among pupils and canteen staff.

Sausage rolls and confectionary are only ‘unhealthy’ if eaten to excess. So no wonder their withdrawal is causing 'tension'...

The report revealed that school food providers were torn between the feeling that this did not make commercial sense when competing with high street outlets.

Well, indeed! Most school food providers are expected to run as a business, and expecting them to do this with both hands tied behind their back by forbidding them to provide food that the children actually want to buy is, naturally, the sort of 'business decision' that only the progressives could think would work!

Some pupils resented the fact that they as consumers were denied the right to choose the kind of foods they wanted.

‘Some’? Only ‘some’? I despair...

Clearly, the rest are going to grow up to be the sort of people who leave the comments that Fuel-Injected Moose draws our attention to on this smoking post.

But Education Minister Leighton Andrews said there was a need for school canteens to be seen as an extension of the classroom and not as competition with high street food outlets.

Just breathtaking. The naked desire for more opportunities to meddle and indoctrinate is on display for all to see.

Among the recommendations from this report are these other (particularly egregious) examples:

Local council 'champions' to work with head teachers to work on issues such as potential tensions around healthy eating in schools

Get the council involved! *slaps forehead* Brilliant idea! If anyone knows about ways to really stick it to the poor benighted souls that pay their wages, it's council employees! Can't see how that could go wrong...

A 'learning dimension' to be part of eating in schools, with staff members appointed by schools to encourage this

More staff (or redeployed staff) for the schools, doing anything BUT teaching English, maths and history. Brilliant once again! Where do they come up with these ideas?

Consider restricting all access to offsite eating

Told you. The kids will be locked up and forbidden to leave the premises. And after that will come random searches to prevent enterprising kids running a contraband tuck shop, I'm sure.

Good grief, have these people completely lost sight of their role?

Oh. Silly question...

Researchers said that canteens should encourage pupils to be more involved in the design of menus and the cooking of food as there is evidence that this could have a positive influences on what is then cooked at home.

They clearly think their role is building the Food Brownshirts of the future, Junior Division.

I hope they've put the NSPCC on standby, for when the inevitable happens when little brainwashed Dai tells mum that she shouldn't be cooking that, and how about some nice healthy apple instead, and she snaps and brains him with a tin of Heinz beans....

They said schools should get help in setting clear boundaries which restrict choice in order to make clear that "a bag of crisps and a drink, or a bowl of plain pasta is no longer an acceptable lunch time meal".

I think it's the parent's role to do that, if that's indeed what they believe. Isn't it?

Jenny Randerson, Welsh Liberal Democrat AM for Cardiff Central succeeded in getting legislation on healthy school food passed in October 2009 but it has not yet taken effect.

Ms Randerson said she hoped this would happen following the findings of the Appetite for Life research.

"I strongly welcome the fact that there is decisive action being taken in relation to school meals.

"Pupils being allowed to buy food outside of school undermines the good work of teachers when it comes to educating pupils about healthy eating. "

Jenny, take a good look at the title of your party. See that word beginning with ‘L’, there? What do you think it means? Likewise the word beginning with 'D'...

"I also think that headteachers will welcome the backing of the government in this area.

"Having visited a number of schools for healthy eating initiatives, I have heard from headteachers who were browbeaten by parents into allowing vendors onto the school site selling junk food.

"This simply undermines the phenomonal efforts of school catering services who are trying to provide healthy options and teachers who are educating pupils about healthy eating."

Which is not their job! And god knows, they aren't exactly making a success of their current job, are they, so why you'd want to allow them to diversify, heaven only knows...

Ah, to hell with it. Wales is finished. Let's dig a big trench around it, fill it with burning oil and forget about it. Until this nonsensical report comes across the border, of course. As we all know it wiill.