What qualifies as a healthy school lunch and who gets to make the call?

    Tell-tale signs something might not be entirely healthy: it tastes good, it’s featured in a cartoon and popular toppings include bacon.

    The USDA recently failed to pass proposals that would limit the use of potatoes, restrict sodium content, increase the use of whole grains and include more tomato paste on pizza in school lunches. The move was an effort to make pizza a healthier lunch option and count as a serving of vegetables.

     

    Set aside for a minute the fact that tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable, and chew on this: who should dictate what constitutes a healthy school lunch, and then who should be responsible for making sure kids eat right in the cafeteria?

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    Head over to Speak Easy for the discussion, and look for more details on the USDA proposals Monday from Health & Science reporter Carolyn Beeler.

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