Why Does Our Government Hate Children and Potatoes?
Thanks to the Lonely Conservative for bringing this new attempt to expand the Nanny State to my attention.
You say potato? The USDA says “starchy vegetable.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to limit how many starchy potatoes American schoolchildren eat each week as part of the federal school lunch program, beginning next year.
I note this because, by a strange coincidence, this potato-related story also crossed my desk yesterday.
Health-conscious cooks could soon be serving up a new superfood – the purple potato.
Provided it is cooked without fat, it has been proved to reduce blood pressure and doesn’t even make you put on weight.
The deep colour of the Purple Majesty variety comes from the same compounds found in blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, red cabbage and aubergines.
[...]
Dr Joe Vinson, who led the research at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, said: ‘The potato, more than perhaps any other vegetable, has an undeserved bad reputation that has led many health-conscious people to ban them from their diet.
‘Mention potato and people think “fattening, high-carbs, empty calories”. In reality, when prepared without frying, and served without butter, margarine, or sour cream, one potato has only 110 calories and dozens of healthful phytochemicals and vitamins. We hope our research helps to remake the potato’s nutritional image.’
So, just as we have a new study that shows that potatoes are good for us and that we should eat more of them, our Federal government has launched a program to take them away from children. It’s a misguided attempt by a building full of bureaucrats to manage our children’s weight through what they eat, not through what they do.
I’m no UDSA expert, but it seems to me that if we let kids outside to run and plan for an hour or two a day, an extra helping of nutritious potatoes wouldn’t be very bad at all. Of course, that means school kids would be at risk of bumps and bruises, not to mention the self-esteem damaging prospects of being chosen last in a game of kick ball. It would also mean that teachers would have to educate children competently in a shorter amount of time. Most importantly, though, it would mean that federal busybodies would have less to do and we’d wonder even more than we do now why we need so many of them leeching off of our hard-earned paychecks.
Hmm…maybe I’m on to something here.
Well, while I’m on a roll (a potato roll, HA!), let me give you a couple of my favorite mashed potato recipes thanks to the lovely Pioneer Woman (with roasted garlic or creamy-style). I say we should enjoy our spuds and cut back the people who do better the larger they grow the government. We’d be a lott healthier and happier if we did.
Other Posts of Interest:
- To the Government, We’re All Kids
- Bill Clinton Proposes Internet Rumor Control Agency, Universe Shudders from Irony Overload
- Also, The Sun Rises in the East and Orbits the Earth.
Category: The Rise of the Nanny State
I grew purple potatoes in my garden this year and, while they’re tasty, the color is off-putting, to say the least. I wonder if they affect blood sugar in the same way as white potatoes. Potatoes are highly nutritious, but they do cause blood sugar to spike.
[...] of lunch and taking away a vegetable that happens to be quite filling. It’s insane.Update: The Sundries Shack linked (and has recipes) – thanks! Tweetvaso linkTags: potatoes, school lunches, USDA This [...]