First Lady Michelle Obama is spearheading a revolution called 'Let's Move'. She targets childhood obesity and is focusing on both increasing physical activity and changing to healthier meals in schools. Turn off the television and get active, drink more water and eat smaller portions, she advises. She's hitting the same notes as British TV chef Jamie Oliver who is romping around the United States also bringing his message to Americans about changing to a healthier diet, especially with school meals. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cites the reason behind his campaign is to impact the quality of life for school children in the US. Childhood obesity and Type II diabetes are at near epidemic proportions.
Hooray, it's about time this issue was made transparent and handled at a systemic level- meaning changing both the underlying mindset and transforming a key source of the problem. Educating parents about healthy eating is another area needing addressing, yet harder to make a dent in as harder to reach demographically.
Actually, I made a bid to deal with this issue a few years ago after moving back to the US after many years living in England. I spoke to my son's middle school principal about what I saw as the appalling nutritionless stuff offered as lunch. I even got permission to take a photo of what looked like cardboard slabs, later identified as tortillas, pizza slices and French fries. She more or less blew me off by saying that the contract of the food supplier was up in two years and she was considering not renewing them. Before that she didn't want to rock the boat, despite the evidence I cited showing a link between nutrition and academic achievement, which their school was seeking to raise. (She hadn't told me that she was also planning to retire within two years, and I guess this was one battle she just didn't want to fight.) I spoke to other concerned parents at a school event, and it turns out one was a cook in another county school who was attempting to introduce more fresh foods in their school, with great difficulty from the bureaucracy. So I eventually gave up and sent my son to school with a thermal bag lunch from home.
Meanwhile on my next trip to England, I tried to find Jamie Oliver's book that had been rocking the British school system at that time. I planned it bring it back to the US and donate it to a school that would use it. While I didn't find that particular book, I found another family cookbook from Mr. Oliver. Sadly, the recipes he proposed would never have gone down well with an American school-kid audience. Lamb and parsnip stew? Bubble and Squeak- a mish-mash of sausage, mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts? Curried chicken salad with Marmite? I don't think so. Still, I heartily applaud his effort. After all, how does one measure improvement in the quality of life for a child, which is priceless?
We get how Michelle Obama commands the eyes and ears of the American public. But how is a foreigner getting the message out? Through social media- Twitter, Facebook, plus TV coverage and endorsements Jamie is getting from regular Joe's to celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, P. Diddy and Heidi Klum who have all signed and support his petition for change. Maybe the time has finally come to make change happen...all it has taken is British Invasion #2 and modern means of global communication.
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Donna Kim-Brand,
Creative Energizer & Living Legacy Strategist
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