As a substitute teacher, I am often in classrooms where meals are served to the children.

I am so outraged by the kind of foods that are given to the children. Yes, there are usually fruits and vegetables, but they are ignored by the kids who are only interested in the sugary foods, fried foods and meat. Now as a raw food person, I try to get them to at least try their carrots or grapes, but they usually throw them away but still they eat every bite of the gross pepperoni pizza dripping in grease. And then of course, they give them chocolate milk to wash it down with. And we wonder why child obesity is an epidemic in this country.

This is very hard for me, because me my job is to serve the food, not comment on its quality. There really is nothing I can do, but still, it hurts me. In the words of Shakespeare: "But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue"

I've done a few things this month to combat this-

1. my youngest is given juice instead of milk

2. At home, he is encouraged to eat raw.

I figure, being a newbie, it is the little changes. It works! He's lost nearly 10 lbs and is only asking for fruit for snack and breakfast!

Mia

Educated the parents! Start a raw food support group in your area now! Ha! ha! For sure. Why feel bad - when you can spend your time/energy doing something good?

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2007 10:32PM by davidzanemason.

irradiated food goes to public schools. also they force vaccinations to attend, very bad

i just pack lunch for my kids

and i've never had to vaccinate my kids to attend school. there is always an option to decline for personal reasons.

schenzy

<<This is very hard for me, because me my job is to serve the food, not comment on its quality. There really is nothing I can do, but still, it hurts me. In the words of Shakespeare: "But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue">>

then break your heart but break it fast and as efficiently as possible
then you will see this in a different light

wow purenkind that is great...i have never heard of schools that allow that ...i know that none from my home state do and all schools that i know of here in cali don't either..where do you live?? it must be an ideal place...we weren't allowed in school with out the vaccines..actually my little gal i watch just had 3 vaccines last weekend to get into 8th grade!!!
that is awesome news though
love earth angel
xoxoxoxoxxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

In all fairness, I wouldn't eat hybridized seedless non-organic grapes or cold carrot slices either. If they were given high quality, good tasting organic fruits like figs or persimmons, I bet they would be more interested.

Force the change you want to see in the world through direct, socialist democracy!

[www.dreamingearth.net]

i'm afraid even high quality organic delicious foods wouldn't taste good to a child who was not used to them. they are being programmed to respond and prefer high sugar, highly processed foods that give a certain feel to the mouth and a strange comfort.

it is so sad. i have the same problem with children's food and parent's who buy into it. my friend says her kids never ate fruit before i took care of them and now she has to buy it at least once a week, because they love it now. but every other thing they eat is from a package, usually noodles or something sugary. and i hate having to tell people i would prefer that my kid not eat that crap. i use my gluten intolerance as an excuse (i will get sick if he eats it and then i kiss him or something like that).

i don't know if biting your tongue is the solution, but i don't know who you should let it loose upon....

as for vaccinations, we have polio, but nothing else, and we're not sure if we'll get the rest. i'm doing the research and am not too compelled yet...

peace-

Feeding our children healthy, organic raw food is a huge challenge even for aware and involved parents. If the option to homeschool is available to a "nuclear intact" family, the ability to feed the kids raw, organic, vegan/vegetarian is optimal. However think about all the configurations of families out there.

So few of us have control over our children's environment. For instance, even though my husband and I choose not to own a TV and are extremely judicious in the choice of movies we provide for my kids, they are still exposed to mainstream media in restaurants, at their father's place, at friends' and other family members' homes and even at school. Advertising and its effects are everywhere. We regularly receive pamphlets that have been distributed in class lauding the merits of cows' milk. Think about the vending machines in the halls of schools and recreation centres.

That our current economic system rewards businesses who are selling the next generation of consumers cheap junk food is anathema to the health of our children. And it all begins with "the bottle", which has become a ubiquitous symbol for babies.

I can understand that as a teacher it must be incredibly difficult to witness the degradation of your students. It pains me so much to see my kids (and so many others) subjected to adult greed and abuse of power...the dairy industry, the candy industry, cereal companies, chain restaurants, et cetera... Who's got the billion dollar advertising budget? Not the parent, that's for damn sure!

I let my kids watch Supersize Me. They were grossed out and they think Mc Donalds is rotten- but guess what? When their Dad takes them to the drive through they still order fries or ice cream. It's hard to stick up for our ideals under that kind of pressure.

OK, I guess that's enough ranting for now... As you can see this topic really hits close to home for me.

Ultimately, it is usually going to be the parents who first introduce solid food to their children, so in any case, it is their choice to influence what tastes are "programmed" long before abstract things like "the media" come along. Personally, I loathe television and films, but I don't think it really has the "effect" that people are so afraid of. A lot of people who are so fervent about banning violent video games and television are the same ones who beat their kids; the latter is what ruins people's health and ability to make good choices in life, not the former. But unfortunately, people don't think about how to protect their kids from THEMSELVES enough.

Dream earth,

I'm curious if you have children. Accusing people who ban violent media and video games from their homes of beating their own children is a strong and unfounded statement. I personally take offense.

I beleive as well that ultimately the responsibility for our children rests with the parents or guardians, however my point is that no one lives in a vacuum. If you are convinced that TV, or radio, or bill boards, or direct mail advertisements, or magazines or newspapers or even the internet has not had an "effect" on you, I would say beware; ad campaigns are designed to be extremely insidiously successful.

I do agree it is important to be a healthy adult in mind, body and spirit in order to raise healthy children. However life is a path with surprises along the way. Hopefully we are all growing all of the time and we can share that in a loving way with our kids.

We are not required to give our kids vaccinations in Louisiana.

I know it's hard to not scream at the top of your lungs about the ill effects of the SAD, especially when there are kids who should be protected from all that is bad. Doing the best you can do to educate and set an examlple is a good start. Storm and Jinjee have a web site for helping to educate and counteract all the junkfood media. I think it is Takeafruitbreak.com. Nothing will change until we change it.

As an elementary school teacher and low fat raw vegan, I understand where you are coming from! It is extremely frustrating to watch my students throw away their apples and purchase ice cream instead. Our school's idea of a 'balanced meal' is chicken fries, whipped potatoes with gravy, and a sugar filled juice pack. The only thing I can do is make sure I have plenty of fruits around my room at all times. My students see me eat fruit during lunch. I tell them that I only eat fruits and veggies. If they are ever hungry, I always offer them some of my fruit. Sometimes we have fruit parties. It's really made a difference! They tell me that they ask their parents to purchase more fruit. They have started to eat their fruit at lunch and tell me about it later.

Just this past Friday, the local news channels did stories on a very famous NFL player that went to school with a child for a day. It was a contest set up by the Dairy Council. I can't even count how many times this famous person told the kids to eat cheese, drink milk, and eat yogurt. The kids were interviewed afterwards and they all continued to say that they would eat more cheese and yogurt. Watching this made me so sad.

As for my own kids (when I have them) - I have decided to home school to prevent this type of incorrect influence. I will not have them vaccinated, and I will never let them eat school food. I would never let my child sit in a 'health class' that taught them that they should be eating more meat, dairy, and grains than fruits and vegetables.

Just my thoughts...and frustrations! Thanks for letting me get them out. : )

Pakd4fun, you rock! =) Thanks for the website info. I echo your sentiments exactly.

Daisyduke, your actions are inspiring. Homeschooling is an increasingly popular choice for families here (Victoria, BC) and consequently becoming a more accepted idea in society at large. Every bookstore has at least a few books on the shelf about it. Have you ever read any John Holt?

Learning, living and loving are so intimately related to what we feed ourselves. I feed my kids pizza, french toast, power bars, muffins etcetera... That's what they want; they already feel self conscious at school because of so many of our lifestyle choices. I also pack fresh fruit and veggies for lunch. I make them dairy free smoothies and provide raw snacks. To me it is more important that they receive nourishment and acceptance than to battle them to eat my choice of dinner. Thus we are a family of grazers with a permanent pile of dirty dishes on the counter(alternative lifestyle choice #102:no electric dishwasher). I guess my plan is to model a raw food diet and to encourage them to develop a lifelong interest in managing their own health naturally and with self respect.

When my daughter was in public school, I'd watch the children drink chocolate milk and eat Fruity Pebbles for breakfast at the free food program. It made me very SAD.

Also, processed and sweetened foods were offered frequently during classtime (crackers, fruit gummie snacks, etc.).

I homeschool now. What I've noticed about many other homeschool families is that though they aren't raw, they do tend to be whole foods, fresh produce-types of people. This is an encouragement to me.

I've been thinking alot about what David said regarding providing education to the people at schools, as well as starting a raw encouragement group. If I was still in the public school system, I believe I would try this. I have attempted something like this within my community and got zero response.

Though homeschooling eliminates a lot of temptation for unhealthy, cooked foods, we're still bombarded by garbage foods at the bank, library, chiropractor, church, meetings, and our 'health' food store. Vigilance for healthy eating is a non-stop, but worthy cause.

-smile

Homeschooling has been the BEST decision we have ever made for our family for tons of reasons.

Hi all...

I am happy to say that we have also chosen homeschooling... they have never been in anyones care but my own or my husbands with rare exceptions...and then only wiht family

We own no tv, and screen heavily all things they are exposed to on the computer and during dvd startup commercials/previews..... am i the only one who has noticed that there are not target and tide commercials on dvds? but i can't control what they see on those giant signs on the interstate. that alone has been a source of contenment for me.

I also spent some time working in a public school and i also can't believe what is given to the kids for meals... and ESPECIALLY the free programs argh... how is all that processed food less expensive than produce? i just don't get it...

ne who..... i love that i have the chance to shelter/protect/educate my kids alot more than your average parent.....and also that my kids make SUCH different choices than other kids do. i have five year old twins and they sure make me proud....

tiffntwins

For anyone who plans to send their child to public school but doesn't want their child vaccinated, you might try contacting the Christian Science Foundation. When I started college (long ago), I didn't want to be vaccinated, so I contacted them. They sent me some simple paperwork to fill out, I submitted the paperwork to the university, and that was it. I was excused from having to be vaccinated on the basis of religious belief.

I'm not sure if this can still be done, but it might be worth a try.

I remember sending my son to school in the first grade with an avocado sandwich. He liked them a lot, but one day he came home very sad and said the other kids made fun of him for eating "green" sandwiches. After that it was peanut butter and jelly (sigh).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2007 01:11AM by suncloud.

earthangel,
to answer your question from waaaay back when..
i live in washington state.
choosing not to vaccinate is easy here.

peace

cool, my friend in wahsington says soon, they are cracking down on that and will scare people by media into thinking they are doing the right thing for kids. The only reason they vaccinate kids is they dont get a choice!

In paraguay they stop buses and check vaccination records, and will do you again if you do not have your vaccine pappers, she tells me and I believe her,

its mandatory now they have some scare down there

I had to say immunizations were against my religon to get my kids exempt from immunizations. I had to get a form at the health department, that was a religous exemption from immunizations, then I had to have it notorized.

I outsmarted "them" legally.

One time, when my kids were about 4 & 5 yrs old, my daughter handed my son a fishing hook & it got stuck in his finger, so my exhusband took him to the ER ( I can't understand now, why we didn't have the common sense to go to a tacke store and buy a hook cutter.) They removed the hook, then asked my husband if he was immunized. My husband said no, and then he said before he knew it, without any warning and without asking for permission, the jabbed my son with a tetanus shot. I just always prayed it would not affect him in a bad way, and hoped for the best.

One time my daughter at 14yrs old, brought a pickle to a public school and it got caught in her throat and she was unable to breath. The "cafeteria lady" was there and my daughter pointed to her throat and did the universal sign for choking. The cafateria lady said she could not hear her and she'd have to speak up. My daughter then did the heimlich maneuver ON HERSELF, and the pickle popped out. She learned cpr and first aide at a class I took her to, for me to get my cpr/first aide card. Taking her to that class, saved her life, 1 week later. Needless to say, I raised hell (surprisingly at the school for hiring such an imcompetent cafateria worker.

Not to bore anyone, but one time, my exhusband got a 2nd p/t evening job at one of the public elementry schools my kids went to, and he found REAL HARDCORE PORNO in the daytime janitors desk. Needless to say again, I called the principle and told him I would hand out flyers after school to all the parents saying that the daytime janitor that is around the children all day long, 5 days a week has XXXX rated porno in his desk. I bargained that if he was fired, I would not do it. I think he was fired, but not too sure, because we moved anyways.

I homeschooled my kids, off and on, then I became a single parent, went to college, and had to put my kids in a private schools and got real huge discounts bc I was a single parent. I understand they don't really do that anymore at private schools. The public schools my kids went to sucked big time. Public schools are worthless, I feel. They do more damage then good.

Packing school lunches are a hit and miss because you have to pack healthy stuff they like, otherwise they toss it in the trash, or let it rot in their backpacks. My son loved dryed papaya....not raw, but better than a lot of stuff.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2007 07:57AM by Rawrrr!.

Healthy eating program helps slim school kids
[news.yahoo.com]

public school are bad, i agree....

but i do not think much more highly of private schools.... (for the same reasons)

tiffntwins

Gosh, I have some many comments on this topic. Firstly, my oldest daughter has been partially vaccinated I had alot of issues with this and when I learned more and she had a very truamatic experience with a western pediatrician I knew things needed to change. I was pregnant with my second daughter and took my oldest for a checkup for getting her into school. They needed to do a lead screening by pricking her finger. She absolutely lost it!! Kicked, screamed, basically flipped. They needed 4 nurses to hold her down to prick her little finger. The doctor kept yelling at me to hold her down. After about 10 minutes of this I started yelling at her that did she think it was necessary to freak my child out like this for adrop of blood from her finger?? The doc got pissed at me!! I told her I would never be able to get my daughter back to her office after that. I had told the office that when my second daughter was born I did not want to vaccinate and they told me that I could no longer be a patient of theirs. Well that was fine with me and that started our relationship with natural practioners. Naturapaths, homeopaths, kinesilogists. My second 2 daughters have never been vacinated and they never have an issue going to see the naturapath we currently see!!

On the subject of bad foods, it is very hard to shelter your kids! It wasn't until my oldest daughter started nursery school that she was exposed to sugary foods and candies. The only reason I sent her to school was for the socialization. I find that in public school the teachers use candy as a treat. It is aweful. I only bake vegan. I would send vegan cakes or cupcakes and most of the kids did not have a taste for it because it is not as sweet and whole grain. My kids go to a private Montessori school right now and they bring their own lunch but I find that yummy fruits and veggies and vegan dishes that they will eat at home they will not bring to school because the kids make fun of them. There are also more people here that are veggie than in the public school in the NY area.

One more comment, I time I took my dauhgters to a shop that had an extensive salad bar in the town tht I worked. I would walk around the bar calling out the vegan items: do you want crunchy lettuce(romain), do you beans, doyou want tofu, etc. Women cam eup to my amazed my kids at this way, and I told of course they do that is how we eat at home. One women said to me Youe kids eat tofu and salad? I said yes and she made a face at me and said, can you belive this!, How can you subject your kids to that type of diet? I was so shocked I couldn't say anything! I should have said and how can you subject your kids to McDonalds, soda,and fast food!!

Anyway,
Have a great day,
Lisa

ohhhh lisa... YES GOOOOOO GUUUURLLLLLLLLL

I have had people think my kid A was nuts! he eats cucumbers like M&M's and strawberries and cherry tomatoes and EVERY fruit and veggie under the sun..... he likes tofu and WHOLE WHEAT everything... he tells me if he has eaten enough and NEVER over eats... he tells me if something had to omuch sugar in it and then he asks me not to give it to him again LOLOL he is only 5 but SO intuitive...

When we are out and he asks for the MOSt healthy stuff... it feels good to get compliments.....

both my kids are amazing.. but one is clearly more in touch with his body than the other.....

love and light
tiffntwins

I soooo sympathise!!!! It hurts me to se what kids eat in schools in England too. However, we too were part of the problem once... with my kids is a constant battle, I dont force them yet I find it incredibly difficult to "encourage" them to eat more raw, they are so anti!!! They are now eating more fruit than before, nearly always only fruit for breakfast and milk only comes out if they ask for it very much... Well, that's a start...

Wow, I love reading about everybody's experience with feeding their children. This year my daughter asked for fruit salad (bananas, watermelon and strawberries) to share with her class at school for her birthday treat. She turned 9. Yay!! Apparently the kids loved it.

There is a certain amount of nutritional awareness at the kids' Montessori school. One of the moms is a herbalist and manages a local health food supermarket. She is conducting nutritional classes for the staff every week. Yesterday my son's teacher came up to me and asked if I could give him a good dose of EFA's to help him focus during class. He is in grade 6. Can you get any better than that? Of course, part of the reason he is "daydreaming" is because he doesn't want to be there...

The other thing about school is that is takes up so much of the day. Mornings are a mad rush. When my son was 2 we took the time to make a lesisurely breakfast together every day. Now he seems to have lost the desire or ability
to prepare food at all.

I am always reminding the kids how food is fuel. How they need to balance their intake of carbohydrates, protein, fat and (unfortunately) sugar. There is a fine line between providing helpful information and being a nag. I vascillate.

It is sad how our society is so divorced from nature that feeding our kids is a scary challenge. How is it that we have let industry prey upon the most vulnerable?

However, there are many encouraging local initiatives. Even on our block my neighbours are inspiring. We all trade our fruits and veggies. Somme days i will come home to find a bag of tomatoes, onions, zuccinis etc... on my doorstep. Other days my neighbours will be in the back yard helping themselves to rhubarb or pears or grapes. It's fun. It feels like community.

dream earth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In all fairness, I wouldn't eat hybridized
> seedless non-organic grapes or cold carrot slices
> either. If they were given high quality, good
> tasting organic fruits like figs or persimmons, I
> bet they would be more interested.

Good point. I was in my teens before I discovered I quite like fruits and veggies when they're fresh and not canned or cooked beyond recognition. So maybe the problem really is the quality of the fruits and veggies they're getting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2007 04:00PM by quietgrrrl.