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White House Annoyed by School Lunch Campaign
Filed under: Celeb Kids, In The News, Mealtime, Nutrition: Big Kids, Nutrition: Tweens
Did this public service announcement cross the line? Credit: Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine
White House officials are annoyed by an ad campaign that promotes healthier school lunches because it specifically mentions Sasha and Malia Obama.
Officials are taking issue with a particular poster created by the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) because of the following tag line: "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?"
In an interview with The Washington Post, President Neal Barnard said that he was asked to take the posters down but declined to do so. Barnard said that the request did not come from the First Family directly; he believes it came from the President's "handlers." These "handlers" did not directly threaten legal action, but Barnard felt that was implied if he did not remove the posters.
After consulting with First Amendment attorney Jonathan Emord, Barnard and his lawyer agree that PCRM has every right to reference what the First Daughters have for lunch. Emord said that if the President's staffers tried to have the posters removed, he believes "the president... would never stand for it... It would basically amount to censorship."
"The direct comparison is: You have affluent children with access to healthy foods, and disadvantaged children have the same rights to the same kinds of healthy meals as affluent kids," Barnard said. "And we are fighting for that fairness, so we felt that making that statement as directly as we could was important."
The cause is clearly a good one. Healthy eating is a habit that should be learned at a young age. And the campaign will certainly bring more attention to the issue of healthy school lunches, even if it's not the sort of attention that Barnard claims he wanted.
"If this story comes out as Obama versus us, I don't want that story," he said, although Barnard was the one who contacted The Washington Post, according to the article.
What does the PCRM think kids should be having for lunch? Vegan and vegetarian food. The first step, of course, is for schools to offer vegetarian food as an option. The next step is getting children to eat it.
That might be an even bigger challenge.
Are you happy with the lunches your children are served at school?
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Sasha and Malia Obama
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Malia and Sasha in Moscow -- wearing J. Crew. Mrs. Obama's dress is by Narciso Rodriguez, who has long be a favorite of the First Lady; her jacket is Michael Kors.
AFP/Getty Images
President Obama and daughter Malia look on as Sasha lights a candle at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
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The First Family (shown here arriving in Chicago in February) are jetting off to France. This will be Sasha and Malia's first official trip abroad since moving into the White House.
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Malia Obama walks First Dog Bo on the White House Grounds in April of 2009.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Just days after the inauguration, the makers of Beanie Babies introduced "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia." Now they're valued at over $3,000 for the pair.
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A boy sneaks a photo of Sasha and Malia as they watch their mom speak to 6th and 7th grade school children from around Washington, DC, in February 2008.
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Sasha Obama runs down the colonnade as she returns to the White House after a February 2009 weekend visit to Chicago.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 13)
8-11-2009 @ 3:04PM
Melissa said...I hate the lunches that are served at my daughter's preschool, and we aren't even allowed the option of sending them with their own lunch! It's always chicken nuggets, fish sticks, taquitos....but they think it's ok because it is served with a vegetable and a fruit and milk! No it's not ok, it's all fried starchy crap that I don't serve at my house, so why should she have it at school!
Reply
8-11-2009 @ 8:12PM
brad said...Stay home and take care of your own kid .then she can have what ever you fix .
8-11-2009 @ 8:49PM
Nicole said...Well thank GOD we have Brad the woman-hater to try to throw us back in the kitchen. ~LOL~ Perhaps Brad would like to get another JOB to make up for the female loss of income? If ignorance is bliss, Brad lives in Heaven :)
8-11-2009 @ 9:35PM
Denise said...You have options. home school or take the child to another school. You have the control over your child not people. Have a great night. Just wanted to help with options. Children just finished school I did it for them.
8-11-2009 @ 9:20PM
NYCBruce said...Apparently many of the posts to this thread do not understand the difference between a PRIVATE school (where the tuition paid by the parents underwrites the food served, and a PUBLIC school, where YOU and I are paying for it. Public schools are also handcuffed in that they must serve something their obese little charges will actually EAT. (And God knows, what they generally get at home is as bad or worse than what they get at school.) Parents who've conditioned their children to dine at McDonalds and Chuck E. Cheese are in NO position to dictate nutritional policy!
8-11-2009 @ 9:25PM
Simzee said...Money talks......Bullshyt walks. You have to admit......it's the truth.
8-11-2009 @ 9:36PM
Aurora Kelly said...Whatever they eat for lunch at schools, it is much better than some of the snacks they eat at home. I believe that their parents should make sure their kids eat healthy foods for breakfast and dinner.
8-11-2009 @ 9:46PM
JJ said...SEND HER TO A DIFFERENT PRE-SCHOOL!
8-11-2009 @ 9:51PM
illsell4u said...They are not PUBLIC schools, they are GOVERNMENT schools. the government pays the teachers, they tell the people which school they have to attend, they tell the teachers what books they have to use, and yes, what the children have to eat for lunch. If the government wants health care reform perhaps they should start serving healthy meals to first graders instead of fried food. That would be a good start.
if this ad actually had pictures of the President's children it would be wrong. But expecting that every child should be able to eat healthy just like the President's children is not a problem. How funny it would be that a supposed constitutional lawyer would want to censor free speech. Does this sound more like Nazi Germany of the Soviet Union?
8-11-2009 @ 9:53PM
Janice said...Are we all forgetting that the elite children of the Obama family are to good to go to regular public school. They attend "Friends school". Just like they don't have the standard health care like you and I, nor will they ever have to worry about Social Security because they have a pension for LIFE.......
8-11-2009 @ 10:05PM
paymyownway said...GREAT AD!...............EMBARASSING FOR THE OBAMA'S!.......... Just change the ad to "The Presiden't daughters get to eat wholesome food at school...why don't we?"..........................................Well for you Liberals... This president and his wife wear shoes worth more than some of us make in a week. Yes they do! They wear t-shirts which cost several hundred dollars to feed the HOMELESS and of course they claim they are growing their own vegetables in a garden which costs us tens of thousands a year and they are really buying the most expensive vegetables for their chef to cook for them. The Obama's are PHONEY!
8-11-2009 @ 10:52PM
Rob said...Whatch out ya'll, or I'm turnin you in to the White House tattle tail patrol.
8-11-2009 @ 11:56PM
Kevin said...I agree with you 100%. To not allow a child to bring their own lunch to school is unjust. Now I understand all the food allergies kids have. but how do these schools know that what they are serving can't trigger these allergies as well. For those telling you to stay home and take care of your own child must not live in the real world. Many times it is unrealistic for a parent not to work. Bills need to be paid and they msut not understand that. I have children who eventually will go to school themselves and I'll be damned if the school tries to dictate what my child eats.
1-27-2010 @ 10:10PM
Alyssa .H. said...you cant send your daughter a lunch?! that sucks! i dont like most lunches they serve at school (yes, i am a kid) so i'm happy i can bring my own lunch but my dad has complained to one of the middle schools i used to go to because they were very greasy. it can be pretty disgusting sometimes. although sometimes the fries are good, i think that they put so much salt on them you can hardly taste the frie anymore.
8-12-2009 @ 12:00AM
RKL said...Easy fix. Make your child's lunch yourself.
8-12-2009 @ 8:24AM
info said...I still don't understand why some schools don't allow their pupils to bring their own healthy lunches. If schools can't provide healthy lunches then they should allow home made lunches. Schools do play an important role in learning our kids about healthy eating. Money is often used as an excuse but I am not convinced about that either as you can make healthy meals on a limited budget.
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8-11-2009 @ 4:29PM
SKL said...If "health care" is a "right" that the US government is supposed to guarantee, then why isn't nutrition an even more basic "right"?
I don't agree that either is the responsibility of the government - but the logic is clear - if the government is responsible for the details of our well-being, why draw the line at health care? How about food and shelter and everything else? Are you all ready to move into an apartment box with your comrades?
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8-11-2009 @ 8:10PM
dalecoone said...why should the presidents kids , wife or husband get better things like lunches medical care ect then the people ? make them pay the same as the rest of us then maybe you,ll see some changes made!
Reply
8-11-2009 @ 9:25PM
vgriffin121 said...Do not have children if you cannot feed them properly!!!! This should be taken into consideration before conception, not after!
8-11-2009 @ 9:46PM
che777 said...Wow - do you make what the president makes a year or maybe you are a corporate lawyer like the 1st Lady was. What are you smoking? If your child is in public school then they eat public food. I sent my children to school with their lunch. I then knew what they were eating. People are being real jerks these days. You complain about every LITTLE thing. Stop complaining and go to some PTA meeting.