It's both, actually. In some municipals (like the one I live it), we can by beer in grocery stores. Other municipals (like the one I used to live in), we have to go to special stores to buy beer. We have to go to a different special store to get stronger stuff in either, though.
(Tesoro) AND.... there's the problem! It really is (partially) a huge parenting issue. Kids stomp their feet and scream NO! and parents get embarrassed and buy them that toy, give them that candy, those nuggets, etc. Schools do the same. It's easier to give them what they want then to deal with the tantrums, and possibly, easier to keep them calmer with the food that doesn't give them any extra energy and instead makes them tired. And, no, I live in the US, and went to school here, and I don't ever remember there being healthy food until I got to high school and could choose the salad bar. It is getting worse though.
That's not quite right. Obama (well, I guess mostly Michelle Obama, but there's his name on it too) were trying to replace things like fries and pizza with healthier options, but lobbyists somehow convinced congress that the tomato paste on a pizza qualifies as a vegetable serving, and therefore pizza should be allowed to stay. A similar argument was made my lobbyists for potato growers and so fries were allowed to stay. Job creation, fixing the economy, serious issues like that, congress can't do anything. Supporting childhood obesity, on the other hand, gets bipartisan support. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. And by "somehow convinced", I mean "threw money at". And people wonder why there are mass protests in every major city...
I know fries are potatoes, but so is potato chips. The 'potato' part is healthy. What they forget is the oil the potato is fried in. That's the bad stuff. Same with chips. The potato is safe enough, but it's everything that goes with it that's bad for you. Pizza is no different. It doesn't matter how healthy the tomato sauce is when everything else is really bad. Each part of the pizza might be healthy if you eat it individually, but the combination isn't.
It brings to mind the BBC's April Fools hoax in the 50s, where they did a report on the spaghetti trees of Italy. I should point out that that was a deliberate hoax.
Trying to tell schools what they can serve is also time that could have been spent on jobs. The federal government has no business even being involved in the issue.
This is what I had in my head. Correct me if I'm wrong: If the food in the schools are bad, children are going to go to their parents for the food they know taste better. Me, personally? I had cheese sandwiches from home every lunch during middle and high school. I actually hate hamburgers and other fat food. I'm gonna have to agree with LaGas. This country has gone crazy. Instead of trying to find out how to create new jobs, they're gonna tell people what they can or cannot eat?
Time has been spent on jobs. Republicans are refusing to give an inch to Obama until the election next year, which means that any legislation he might write that would help the economy and create jobs will be shot down by default. Like I said in one of my earlier posts, Congress couldn't unite to pass his $17b job creation plan, presumably because there are no lobbyists for fixing the economy, but Big ...Pizza... get to push their changes through with almost total bipartisan support. I guess the point is that you're for small government, and presumably most of the Republicans in Congress are too, but that didn't stop them taking their dirty pizza money.
That's because the Republicans and Democrats are both corrupt, both tied to corporate and special interests, and both seeking to expand power at the federal level that doesn't belong there. The most ridiculous thing of all is that the fanboys from both sides are still somehow convinced that the party they favor is looking out for them.