In England, they’ve banned junk food in school cafeterias and replaced it with nutritious food. Not everyone is happy about it.

One parent, Julie Critchlow, was so enraged by the low-fat pizza being served in the cafeteria that she started selling contraband food at lunchtime.

Kids would shove their pound notes through the fence rails. And, in exchange, she would stuff greasy hamburgers and fries into their hungry, waiting hands on the other side of the school gate.

Critchlow is an extreme example. But she’s a reminder of one reason why schools in B.C. still sell junk food to kids.

Some parents insist on their child’s right to eat whatever they want, even if it’s killing them.

And have no doubt, junk food is killing us.

It’s one big reason why this generation of children will be the first in history to live shorter lives than their parents.

It’s one reason why doctors now commonly treat children with Type 2 diabetes — something they rarely used to see.

Obese children will be more likely to have heart problems, strokes and cancer — ailments we’ll all be paying to fix through our public health system.

Letting kids stuff themselves with burgers and fries isn’t the only problem. Too little exercise is a problem, too.

But our addiction to fast, fatty foods is a central issue.

So why are schools still selling them?

Because many school boards essentially agree with Critchlow.

They believe that parents have not only the right but also sole responsibility to ensure healthy eating.

They assume that, if parents did their jobs, children would make healthy choices all on their own.

There are three problems with that argument:

First, children don’t all make healthy choices. Even parents who cajole their kids into eating healthy at home usually find their kids “cheat” when they’re out of the house.

Second, children learn more by watching what adults do than by listening to what they say. Teaching kids about nutrition in class is a waste of time if the school cafeteria is jammed with vending machines selling pop and chips.

And last, just because some parents don’t care about junk food, it doesn’t mean schools should contribute to the problem.

When celebrity chef Jamie Oliver went into English schools to revamp their menus, he wasn’t popular.

One child, when Oliver confronted him with what the boy claimed was his first-ever vegetable, barfed on the table.

Critchlow might say it was terribly wrong for the school to allow that boy to eat only what’s good for him.

I say, it’s about time somebody did — because in Britain, just as in Canada, that boy is not going to be the one who has to pay for that triple bypass he’ll need one day.

That bill, when it comes, will be paid by the same people who also paid for his public schooling.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 22nd, 2006 at 7:06 pm and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.