Essay on Two Different Perspectives
Imagine yourself in the school lunch line, choosing your daily meal. You reach for the ice cream bars from the fridge, but there are none left. It’s been replaced with yogurt and salads. The chocolate chip rainbow cookies have been replaced with carrot sticks. Worried, you rush to get some chips and a soda from the vending machine. But where the machines once were, are now replaced with an empty, white wall. President Obama has been requesting for middle and high schools to ban candy and soda from school lunches and vending machines. It’s not the government's decision to decide what we eat and where we eat it! Sugary foods and drinks should not be banned from school.
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The removal of vending machines and snacks must stop. Why is there so much talk about banning soda and candy from schools? When our country faces a problem, such as our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic, it’s more easier to simply blame sugary snacks, rather than tackling the roots of the problem. But no kid would eat all that sugary food in just 30 minutes! Obese kids would probably eat sugary and fatty foods, but not on school grounds. Many people who have tried to lose weight by avoiding tempting foods. But many people who try cannot keep their promise. Banning sugary snacks from school is setting yourself up for failure. If you try to ban snacks & sodas from schools, the students will most likely revolt. Trying to remove vending machines containing sugary snacks and sodas is a waste of time. Soda and candy should not be removed from
Since nearly the invention of commercially sweetened foods and advertising that celebrates their goodness, sugary foods and drinks have been identified as the cause of several chronic diseases, contributing to poor health. When a person’s diet contains a lot of sugar, especially when it begins early in life, it is likely to cause health problems and possibly death at a young age. For these and many other reasons, it is essential to carry out research in order to establish the extent to which these foods affect people’s health. In gaining more information on this issue, the argument can be made that the government should ban sugary foods and drinks should be sold in elementary and middle schools.
This doesn’t help kids focus in the classroom for hours after consuming these fatty and sugary foods. The kids will get a sugar high but then crash hours after and won’t be focusing in class but instead, falling asleep during an important lesson. Anita states that, “school cafeterias, of all places, should demonstrate how a healthy, low-fat, well-balanced diet produces healthy, energetic, mentally alert people,” and teaching this at high schools is the best place to change the food because in this generation, kids are becoming overweight and unhealthy because of all the “junk food” they are eating. Teenagers in high school tend to eat more when they are stressed, so if they serve unhealthy foods in the cafeterias then the student will eat the “junk food”, but if the “junk” is switched with fruits, vegetables, and some salads then the students wouldn’t have the sugar high and be focused
In conclusion, school stores and vending machines shouldn’t be banned. Schools can make the most money by having those. Many schools don’t have any other options that would raise more money, and depend on school stores to run school functions. Students have more options if they have a school store. Schools stores and vending machines shouldn’t be banned. Call the FDA and other government organizations that are concerned about health, and spread the word.
In the prompt, “Should Candy and Soda be Banned from School”, Tom Vilsack and J. Justin Wilson respond to the best of their ability, each having a different perspective on the issue. The first response which is written by Tom Vilsack, states that by removing unhealthy high calorie snacks, students will live a healthier lifestyle and will be more educated. While, J. Justin disagrees, claiming that by removing unhealthy snacks, students will be incapable of making their own decisions which undermines student’s ability to make the right choices for themselves. Personally, I agree with Tom Vilsack’s opinion of banning candy and soda from school because as a student, I have experienced this issue and find it extremely difficult to find something healthy to eat during school hours.
In “Hooked on ‘Caramel-Colored Gold,” Melody Nelson claims “Despite the increased awareness of the benefits of good nutrition, we are a nation hooked on junk food, and many school administrators are taking advantage of the situation ” (par. 3). Nelson propose a ban on vending machines in schools because junk food is unhealthy for children, and they risk future health problems. I agree with Melody Nelson and believe that vending machines should be banned from school campuses, because they sell unhealthy food, they cause more money to schools for hiring extra custodians, and they are affecting children learning abilities.
Do you ever walk into the cafeteria and see overweight kids drinking sugary drinks and eating unhealthy food? You may think some kids brought this type of food in from home. Some do, but others get that so called “junk food” from your own school cafeteria. Many people believe this statement and are trying to get schools to remove those types of food from the school. School’s take a major part in child obesity with the food they serve in their cafeterias.
To properly discuss the impact of unhealthy snacks provided in schools, one must observe what the advocating and opposing parties argue. By listening to both perspectives, one may approach the issue clearer and without bias. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for updating nutritional standards of all foods offered in schools. With this responsibility on the agency’s shoulders, Americans wish to have their opinions heard by those deciding how to approach the issue of nutrition in schools. As the USDA proposed a plan to update the nutritional requirements of vending machine items and school lunches, Americans took action and responded in dramatic fashion. Accepting feedback from the American people, the USDA received 250,000 comments concerning their proposal to update nutritional standards. Among the 250,000 comments sent to the USDA, some stated high school students should not be allowed access to caffeinated or sugary beverages on campus to suggesting that schools drop vending machines altogether (Shah). Th...
Although there is a risk of upsetting people who are not worried about the health and wellbeing of today’s youth with selfish reasoning for wanting to keep junk food, ridding schools of junk foods will prove itself to be very beneficial. Children can choose healthier options without being ridiculed by others, wondering if what they are eating is good for them, and/or worrying about negative effects. One’s health cannot be overlooked as it is the livelihood of that person and much more. It is not a subject that can be taken lightly. Action to change the current conditions of America’s population’s
cafeterias, and there should be a limitation on use of vending machines to after school
Did you know that more than 35% of America is obese? Do you want to be one of them? Eating many fast food items can cause you to become obese, addicted, and overall unhealthy. Fast Food should be BANNED from schools. Soda can also cause a caffeine addiction, which many people can go through, and eating fast food a lot can cause a fast food addiction. Despite these problems, schools have been serving children fast food in schools and are putting vending machines in the cafeterias to replace much needed staff. So, as childhood obesity continues to grow in the USA, fast food is still being served in schools, and kids are still eating it. So as the Director of Nutrition Services, I know that fast foods are bad for kids due to unhealthy added fats, sugars, and sodiums. They should be removed from school systems in the U.S.
Some people may question why schools are only banning soft drinks and not junk food as well. Authors Beverly Ann and Ballaro Griswold address the concern recanting that schools do not want to only ban junk foods, because they amount to tens of thousands of dollars to schools profit annually. It is ridiculous to think that only banning soda will change anything overall. Even the artificial coloring and preservatives used in junk foods attribute hyperactivity in students(pars. 2-4). When I was in school, the lunches consisted of pizza sticks, biscuits and gravy, every kind of chip, and every Little Debbie snack imaginable. As it was back then, children can buy unlimited snacks and drinks. Some kids used to eat two or three pizza sticks, a bag of chips, “meatloaf”, all washed down with a Dr. Pepper. Making a little dent in the issue by banning sodas is chipping away at the bigger problem of things, sure, but it is not enough to make a remarkable difference. If students have such poor eating habits, they most likely stem from the home they grow up
There is a global crisis arising from the poor eating habits which the majority develop at an early age, and stick to, for the rest of their lifetime. Every year, many individuals lose their lives from the complications related to poor eating lifestyle such as obesity. The schools are the foundation of every discipline and lifestyle that people adopt, and so for the nation to have a healthy lifestyle free from health-related complications, the first and foremost step, is to avoid junk food in schools such as soda, candy, and cakes among others. Thanks are in the 2012 mandate for changing the school menus from junk food to healthy foods including fruits and vegetables.
"Childhood obesity, it's our tsunami, it's our Katrina." (Sanders-Butler). Childhood obesity has become a key problem in American society. More children are obese in the United States than any other country in the world. Part of the problem is the vast amount of fats and sugars in American diets. A larger portion of the health problem is the amount of sugar ingested daily in various foods. Schools all over the country are stocking their vending machines with junk food full of white refined sugar. For these, and many other reasons, high fructose and white refined sugar must be removed of school lunches and or vending machines.
Schools have been debating if vending machines are truly necessary in schools, they can provide many benefits but also be seen in a negative way. The big issue with having vending machines is that the high calorie snacks cause obesity. But, not all snacks are unhealthy. Having vending machines give students the right to make the decision to eat healthy or unhealthy.
Also, they claim that vending machines can be stocked with healthy items. However, the transition to healthy items in vending machines has caused some schools to lose money. According to usnews.newsvine.com, Seattle schools have banned junk food in vending machines since 2004 and before they made this change they earned $214,000 from vending machines, and now make $17,000. This proves that stocking vending machines with healthy items is not something kids are responding well to. Therefore, the alternative to healthy items makes kids disband from vending machines.