Thanks, Obama.
Michelle Obama has been struggling over the past few years to improve the health of Americans and this past July the USDA created a ban on junk food in schools.
To many people, this ban came as good news—a step in the right direction, a chance to help the growing obesity rates in America—but this ban does have other effects. New laws state that any snack competing with school-provided food may only have maximum of 200 calories and also limits the percentage of sugar and fat in the food.
A major consequence of banning junk food in schools is that the USDA has taken away a primary source of income for many clubs and after school activities that depend on junk food-selling fundraisers. Schools have always offered activities and by eliminating common fundraisers, such as the Spanish Honor Society’s Krispy Kreme fundraiser or Guitar’s gourmet lollipop fund raiser, not only are clubs struggling to support themselves but some clubs will have to identify new sources of revenue. At a minimum, expensive club fees will deter people from joining.
Fundraising at schools provides a service to students and staff and offers a way for companies in the local area to earn money. By changing the laws, the USDA has indirectly affected the communities around them. Schools are large markets for local businesses and with these new regulations in place, large portions of their income will have to come from other places.
The solution to obesity is not found in limiting what can or cannot be sold on school grounds but by educating people about proper eating habits and by selling healthy, appetizing meals for school lunches. Even with education there will still be people who do not follow healthy eating habits and by providing healthy meals we can try to help them.
The solution is not to force people against their will, for it will only cause them to go to extremes.
Instead, change people’s way of thinking and show them the consequences of eating poorly. With the ban of junk food in school, students will simply go to the store and buy more so that they can bring it to school. Therefore, the solution at hand will only be temporary; within a few weeks students will have found ways to adjust to the new rules, negating all of the work involved with these laws.