Potatoes fed school children now restricted to 1 cup PER WEEK.

[beefsteak]

Headszup.

I've gotten word from a buddy's buddy from a Texas Hold'em player, sober as a judge, attending a private home game. The "source" is employed by Simplot, and is one of the sales team who sells industrial food for Simplot to the nation's school cafeterias. This tidbit shared has stunned me.

Currently in a 60 day comment period is a new federal regulation that limits how much potato can be consumed by school children to 1 cup a week.

Anyone besides me think this is whacked out?

Makes me wonder if Simplot has a lock on taters and Monsanto can't figure out any other way to totally shut this one down.

beefSTEAK and 'taters here

[osoab]

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FNS-2007-0038-0001


Changes in Minimum Amounts and Types of Food: Breakfast
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Proposed
requirement requirement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fruit........................... \1/2\ cup per day. 1 cup per day.
Grains and Meat/Meat Alternate.. 2 grains or 2 meat/ 1.4-2 grains per
meat alternates day plus:
or 1 of each per
day.
..................
1-2 meat/meat
alternates per
day.
..................
(Range reflects
difference by
grade group.)
Whole Grains.................... Encouraged........ At least half of
the grains to be
whole grain-rich.
Milk............................ 1 cup............. 1 cup, fat content
of milk to be 1%
or less.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Changes in Minimum Amounts and Types of Food: Lunch
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Proposed
requirement requirement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fruit and Vegetables............ \1/2\-1 cup of \3/4\-1 cup of
fruit and vegetables plus
vegetables \1/2\-1 cup of
combined per day. fruit per day.
Vegetables...................... No specifications Weekly requirement
as to type of for dark green
vegetable. and orange
vegetables and
legumes and
limits on starchy
vegetables.
Meat/Meat Alternate............. 1.5-3 oz 1.6-2.4 oz
equivalents equivalents
(daily average (daily average
over 5-day week). over 5-day week).
Grains.......................... 1.8-3 oz 1.8-2.6 oz
equivalents equivalents
(daily average (daily average
over 5-day week). over 5-day week).
Whole Grains.................... Encouraged........ At least half of
the grains to be
whole grain-rich.
Milk............................ 1 cup............. 1 cup, fat content
of milk to be 1%
or less.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bingo.


As recommended by IOM, starchy vegetables (e.g., white
potatoes, corn, lima beans, and green peas) would be limited to 1 cup
per week to encourage students to try new vegetables in place of the
familiar starchy ones. In addition, schools would be allowed to offer
other vegetables (as defined in Appendix A-2 of the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines) over the course of the week as specified in the proposed
meal pattern. Schools using canned vegetables would have to select
products with low sodium to stay within the proposed sodium limits.

Looks worse than just tater tots. Are they saying one cup combined or one cup each allowed.

This is a weird read.

[Book]

http://blog.pennlive.com/thrive/2008/02/IdahoPotatoes.jpg

This is WAR!

[BrewTech]

That IS whacked... potatoes are good food. What are they substituting... GM corn? GM soybeans?

ETA: never mind... I should probably just read the piece before commenting.

[ximmy]

I remember reading somewhere that the food pyramid was designed to have Americans eat more of the food the farmers were producing... they didn't give a dam about people, only food profits.

[Cobalt]

Spuds are easy to grow and if you eat spuds I suggest you either grow your own or never spend much time on a spud farm.

Potato farmers are one of the highest users of agriculture chemicals per acre and they use them from the planting all the way right up too harvest time.



When potatoes are ready for harvest they spray what is called top kill on them, it destroys the vines which keep the harvesting machines from being bound up.

You drive by a field out here that is nice and beautiful green and within a day of spraying the field begins too die, within 3 days not one green stalk can be found and the vines are brown and crumbled on the ground.


Don't worry, the USDA has determined the use of chemical top kill is a much cheaper and therefore a more acceptable way to kill vines then using mechanical means to break the vines and let the sun dry them out.

[osoab]

I was thinking last night that these changes are due to rising food costs and not for all the health benefits that are being touted.

Basically, fedgov wants to decrease portions fed by changing up what is fed to the youngins.