Operation: Lunchbox

The startling relationship between the nutrition of America's schoolchildren and the United States Military was highlighted earlier this week by the release of a report deeming school lunches a national security threat. It seems righteous enough: some high-ranking retired military officials have decided that the preeminence of insalubrious foods in the federally-funded school lunch program is detrimental to our childrens' health, and that more wholesome alternatives must be implemented in order to ensure the security of future generations. Considering that most low-income families rely on the free and reduced cost breakfasts and lunches that are provided to students in publics schools as their primary source of nutrition, it's a no-brainer that the content of such meals should provide children with the optimum nutrients to bolster their development and their ability to perform well in school. However, it would be naive to trust this seemingly well-intentioned military suggestion, as these officials are not at all concerned with the overall well-being of our nation's low-income children. Rather, they are worried that the extreme prevalence of obesity in American children is providing them with a lower yield of potential military recruits. And they are not ashamed to say so.

According to the report, twenty-seven percent of potential young recruits (aged 17-24) are overweight and deemed "too fat to fight." They are calling it Mission: Readiness, as if as soon as the weight problem is solved, American youth will be ready and waiting to commit themselves to a life where their worth is determined by their ability to fight. But this is not a military problem, it is a public health crisis that is fueled by an insufficient and profit-driven food system that plays on the susceptability of many Americans by providing them with cheap, preservative-laden, hormone infused, sugar-charged items that somehow pass as real food. And as a growing number of our children are subject to poor diets and diet-related illnesses, the menus in most schools continue to offer foods which are too high in saturated fat and cholestoral and too low in nutrient and fiber rich foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

The group of retired officials are urging congress to reshape the lunch program by removing junk food and high calorie beverages from schools. If the suggestions of these military officials are heard (which is a great possibility considering the presence of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vislak with the group on Capitol Hill this past Tuesday, and the history of military influence on school lunches), then the hope for reshaping American childrens' diet will be recharged, but with a sinister twist. The message being sent here is clear: the government only cares about the well-being of our children when we think of them as no more than future fighting and killing machines. But if our nation's children are not predisposed to being soldiers, then I suppose... let them eat cake.