5 Reasons You Should Support Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

The new season of Food Revolution began last night to mixed reviews in the foodie world. There are many that laud Jamie's efforts and others that say this is nothing but Hollywood at its best, glossing over reality and not giving credit to all of the other school food improvement programs that have been in the works for decades.

While I am personally aware of the limitations of the show as it is a television show, I feel that there is still merit in supporting Jamie's efforts if you are looking for supporters in the food movement. Here are my reasons:

1. Let's consider it a "gateway" revolutionizer. Let's be honest, while you may be aware of numerous programs working towards improving school food and you may recognize that Jamie is barely scratching the surface of what you do every day in your activist role, there are plenty of people in this country that have not even begun to think about their food. Jamie's nice-guy-next-door attitude and goofy techniques are inviting enough for people to come along for a laugh before they even realize they are listening to a foodie sermon.
2. Ratings roar in this culture. As I often write about our spending power in this blog, in this instance we also have our watching power. Winning an Emmy for Season 1 was very nice, but can also seen as a little patronizing pat on the head, "Nice job Jamie. Aren't you happy now? Now go away!" Ratings are everything in television (just look at how many weight loss programs have sprung up since the airing of NBCs big hit The Biggest Loser) imagine, for a moment, what kind of new TV can be created if Food Revolution continues to garner that kind of success.
3. TV still drives a lot of day to day discussion. As sad as this is, with all we have going on in the world and our lives, television still seems to be a hot topic in most groups. Well, let's give our food fight a chance to make it into day-to-day discussions.
4. Jamie is doing the right thing. Perhaps he is limited by the production, or the scope of each season, but, in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Jamie Oliver's message! He's doing what he can and I think it is pretty awesome. He's a television personality. He's a chef. He's a dad. He took these three parts of himself and said I have to do something about this! And he's doing it!
5. Seeing the learning curve is part of the issue. I think it has been obvious since day one of season one that Jamie was learning on the job here in the US. Some may say, "Why doesn't he just consult with some experts to get through all that before he goes to air?" I think showing all of these obstacles has two overall benefits: (1) It gives those of us who have not battled for school food an idea of what a monster the undertaking is, and (2) It gives a huge amount of credit to the organizations that have been in place in our country for decades!

I heard a anecdote today in a webcast about global crises that actually had me thinking about our fight for good food in schools, in society and in our homes, it went something like this:

Whenever there is a time of change we have three groups of people. We have the few amazing change-makers that have figured out what we need to solve our problems, how to move forward and how to succeed. However, on the other end of the spectrum we have the nay-sayers, those who are very vocal about why all of those solutions will not and can not work. Unfortunately, we make the same mistake all of the time: we run to the nay-sayers and expend all of our energies convincing them while ignoring the largest group of all, those in the middle, on the bench waiting to see what the group, as a whole should do. We should stop working on the nay-sayers and get those people off the bench.

I think Food Revolution, as a television show, speaks to the bench in a huge way. While you may think there are more effective change-makers in the game than Jamie Oliver, I believe we have to respect that he is building our team! So let's support this cheerleader for our cause, as we guide each new teammate to the local or national organization that can best move our cause forward!

Groups That Are Working On School Food:

• Farm to Schools 
• Slow Foods USA (Slow Food in Schools Project)
• Cook for America
• One Tray
• Better School Food
• The Center for Ecoliteracy (the same folks that helped bring us that AWESOME Food, Inc. Discussion Guide!)
• Marion Nestle says she is gathering up resources for school food advocacy, so keep your eyes on FoodPolitics.com

If you know of more groups, or involved in one that I missed, please let me know! (One of the great joys of blogs: they can ALWAYS be added to!!)

Jamie's Back for Another FOOD REVOLUTION

Last year, Jamie Oliver's Emmy award winning Food Revolution show in West Virginia was my appointment television every single Friday night. I am ecstatic to say that the Revolution has return to the States and the show begins TONIGHT!

If you missed last season, the media buzz, and the Emmy's and you are wondering what's going on with Jamie Oliver here in the USA, I think his TED talk best encompasses his passion and mission in his revolution.



This season Jamie is bringing his revolution to Los Angeles, California. It is on ABC on 8pm eastern (but I am sure if you miss it it will be somewhere on the Internet). I am so excited to watch the show, I also think the switch from Fridays to Tuesdays will make it easier for more people to watch!

While you wait for the first episode to begin, you can start to get involved in this revolution in a number of ways:

• Sign Jaime's Petition for a Food Revolution
• Try out a Food Revolution Recipe
• Donate to the Food Revolution Foundation

I'd love to hear what you all have to say about the show, the food revolution or just school food, in general!!

Happy watching tonight!

USDA Revamps School Lunch!

It has been on the mind of so many for so long... Why are we feeding the kids that in school every day?! Whether you are a parent, a teacher, or just a student wondering why you could not be granted healthier options in your home away from home for just about 50% of every year, the topic of school food has been one of national embarrassment. There were always some schools and some programs that stood out like beacons of light showing what could be, what might be, but it seemed that the school food industry at large was missing the point. That was, of course, until Thursday, January 13, 2011.

The New Rules
The USDA released new regulations for school breakfast and school lunch, outlining types of foods, calorie counts, fat and sodium content amongst a bunch of other details to adhere to that are all pointing in the right direction. Let's first take a look at the table that describes the basic breakdown of weekly meals for school aged children as outlined in their report:

This chart is taken from a very long document called The Fedral Register

The table has the foods outlined by weekly servings, so the lunch goal is that students in Grades K-5, for example,

• will have 2.5cups of fruit per week with no less than 0.5 cup per day, 
• 3.75 cups of vegetables per week, with no less than 0.75 cup per day,
• 9-10 oz of grains per week, with no less than 1 ounces per day,
• 8-10 oz of meat or meat alternates per week, with no less than 1 ounces per day,
• 5 cups of fluid milk per week, with no less than 1 cup per day,
• staying within a daily calorie range of 550-650,
• less than 10% of calories coming from fat, 
• no more than 640 mg of sodium per day, and
• nutrition labels or manufacturer specifications must show ZERO trans fats.

That's a lot to take in. God bless the cook! Personally, I get nervous when things get super-itemized, but I guess when working with such an enormous and varied industry, there has to be some way to regulate it.

The Big Changes
Here's the real question: How much better is this than what we had before? Well, the good people at the USDA even made a handy-dandy table for that! Check this out:

Click image to make larger.

The major improvements I see here are in the vegetables and the grains. We have moved away from merely "encouraging" schools to serve whole grains, to placing a minimum requirement of whole grains on the menu. As for the vegetables, I simply love what is going on there - VARIATION!! How wonderful! All different types of veggies: Dark green, Orange, Legumes and Starchy all have their own minimum requirements, and then there is even more flexibility allowed in the "Other" category. This is something that makes my soul smile.

How It Translates
We have looked at it in black and white, now the question is, what does this all end up looking like? A sample Elementary school menu has been constructed comparing the old school lunches to the new school lunches. Here is a clipping from it:

I don't know how the kids will feel about it, but I am loving the extra fruit and veggies!

Criticisms?
I am completely overjoyed by the release of this news and I believe it is going to have an impact on the children that live through it, but I, in all good conscience, can not say that this is yet "perfect." So what are some of the pitfalls, or, rather, improvements for our future, that we can still keep our minds on?

1. I can't find anywhere in The Federal Register any word about where these fruits and veggies are coming from. Are they locally grown, are they organic? Sarah Parsons of Sustainable Food summed it up well, "Phasing in more organics could have boosted kids' health, as pesticides have been linked to a host of health problems from cancers to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to reproductive problems."
2. Marion Nestle of Food Politics adds another salient point about the sacrifice we make to meet the strict standards, "...the foods are accompanied by strangely tasting miracles of food technology such as reduced-fat mayonnaise, low-fat salad dressings, and soft margarines.  Why?  To meet nutrient standards." 
3. And, finally, what about sugar? Why didn't any sugar regulations make it to the regs? When interviewed for Grist, Dr. Walter Willet, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School for Public Health, points a finger squarely at flavored milk.  "These highly sugared milks make absolutely no sense whatsoever," Willet told Ed Bruske in an interview. "The use of sugar as an important part of the diet makes absolutely no sense nutritionally, especially when obesity is the No. 1 health problem facing our nation." 

So, of course, there is still more to be done, but, for now let us revel in our baby steps toward a healthier tomorrow. Our children will be presented with healthier meals which, in turn can help them become healthier humans to create an even healthier society and planet... life is good!