Opinion: "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" Shows That Kids Don't Read

by Christopher Healy (Subscribe to Christopher Healy's posts)
Mar 31st 2010 11:00AM

Filed under: Opinions

What chance does Jamie Oliver have when kids can't tell an eggplant from a pear? Credit: ABC

You don't need to work very hard to decipher the message behind Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

The new ABC reality series, which documents the amiable British chef's campaign to reform school lunch programs, doesn't shy away from blatant, unequivocal statements about how American schoolchildren have horrible eating habits.

But there's also a subtler (perhaps unintended) moral that viewers can draw from the show: The reading habits of these kids are just as bad.

On the show's second episode, which aired this past Friday, Oliver presented a classroom full of kindergartners with a visual pop quiz on produce. He held up one vegetable after another and asked the children what it was. The kids couldn't identify any of them (as far as the program's editing showed us, at least).

Many of the veggies received nothing but blank stares, and the ones that did inspire the children to take guesses only garnered wrong answers (beets were thought to be celery, an eggplant mistaken for a pear). Very common food items, like tomatoes, potatoes and cauliflower stumped the kids.

The scene is rather unsettling, really, and makes the obvious point that these children have had little or no exposure to fresh produce. But that's not all it tells us.

Think back to your own childhood. Chances are, you were able to identify a carrot before you had actually eaten a full-sized, fresh carrot. And you were most likely able to do so because you had seen carrots in books. Fruits and vegetables make such frequent appearances in picture books that a preschooler being read to regularly should have difficulty avoiding them.

So many alphabet books illustrate their letters with food images: B is for broccoli, G is for green bean, M is for mushroom. And then there are the storybooks: Stone Soup, Strega Nona's Harvest, The Gigantic Turnip, anything by Beatrix Potter. These titles make up just an itty-bitty sampling of the myriad children's tales rife with images of produce -- all of which are now apparently ignored. Heaven knows these kids must never have touched a Richard Scarry book.

And once you concede that children are obviously not learning about fruits and vegetables from books, you wouldn't be going too far in postulating that these kids are also not watching educational TV.

Sesame Street certainly does its fair share in introducing viewers to images of fresh produce (has anyone seen John Leguizamo's "Captain Vegetable" sketch?). Every episode of Wonder Pets ends with a shared stick of celery. Fruits and veggies join the "Party in My Tummy" on Yo Gabba Gabba. So, why can't these children recognize a tomato when they see one?

Yes, the "test" scene from Food Revolution was definitely unsettling. But we need to realize that it carried within it dire warnings about far more than just nutrition.

Related: Minority Kids at Risk for Obesity Even Before Birth, Study Says

ReaderComments (Page 5 of 7)

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3-31-2010 @ 11:08PM

BeckyBo99 said...

I think the greatest problem with parents today is their collective lack of (or low) expectations. Many parents say, "Oh, I don't need to make any extra effort, my kids will pick it up in school." Or, "Discipline at school isn't my problem. So what if my kid misbehaves?" I know kids whose parents don't expect them to bring their plate to the counter after finishing their food or hold doors open for strangers entering behind them. I think that's wrong, and that we're raising a bunch of small-thinking, ill-mannered, self-centered children - who will someday run this country. My first grader asked me the other day how to do "complicated math." So I taught her addition of double and triple digit numbers. I'm not adding to her stress or forcing her to learn what she's not interested in. What's so wrong with that?

3-31-2010 @ 11:28PM

Vivian said...

Let's face it - nowhere in the world u can see so many FAT people. Why? This is so convinient to feed the children without cooking, put them in the front of TV for all day (than we can be on the phone or on the internet),we forgot that parenthood is the best job of our life. And our kids are punished for this. Let's admitt that we can be so incredibly lazy that we drive even to our own mailbox ! Thank You Jamie, You are my hero

3-31-2010 @ 11:21PM

Barb said...

I hate when people say "Veggies" instead of vegetables! It sounds so rearded. Is it so haed to say the actual word? Because soon, people won't know what the word means - it'll be Veggies! Sounds perfect for a 3 year-old, but so moronic when an adult says it. Who started it? Was it that Rachel Ray?

3-31-2010 @ 11:39PM

Heather said...

I happen to live in this city and it's a worldwide problem, not just a regional one. I can see a child not being able to recognize beets at age 5, but they should at least understand what potatoes, apples, bananas, beans (the more common of the veggies and fruits) look like. This is also a result of CHILDREN having CHILDREN. How can a 16 year old be a true parent to a child? How can a 19 year old be an active parent to a 5 year old kid going to school? A perfect example of why this is a regional problem for me (I'm not on the show, just representing the city) and the people on the show is the fact that West Virginia's educational system is one of the poorest in the country. West Virginia also has one of the lowest salary rates for teachers and can't get proper funding because the public schools aren't passing assessments because the teachers can't teach!! Now, I'm not saying every single teacher in WV is junk, just the great majority. We also have one of the most corrupt BOEs and speaking on a Huntington, WV, level, a pretty corrupt local government. If Jamie Oliver truly wanted to help, he would have went to the government level to implement change (because that is who obviously covers the majority of food costs in schools). Going to one of the smallest elementary schools in the entire area (not to mention one of the 3 poorest areas in the city) and trying to tell cooks who have probably been doing that job for 30 years that they need to change is NOT the correct approach. I don't care if you are a "hick" or a "yankee", try to make an old person change their ways - not going to happen. We have plenty of "health" cooks in the United States, but Ryan Secrest knew he could rake in the bucks by putting a "foreigner" in the mix with "hillbillies". I'm sure Oliver is thoroughly enjoying his paycheck and has probably already forgotten where his "good deed" even took place. In another 6 months, no one will remember Huntington, WV. We've had all kinds of "entertainment" types make shows and movies in this area and some were arrested, but no one will remember this in a few months.

3-31-2010 @ 11:35PM

VLC said...

REPLY TO DAVID S.: David, you have just proven that "Dumb is Forever..." A five year old child should know their ABCs, 123s, fruits and vegetables - especially in this "high tech" society we are living in. NO MORE EXCUSES - we are failing in nutrition and education.

3-31-2010 @ 11:52PM

sharletrd said...

I think it's ironically hysterical that this article is sponsored by Ragu! Half-cup of veggies per serving, sure........ but also a bunch a sodium, sugar, and commodities-produced veggies and by-products; owned by Unilever- producers of a host of processed foods as well as chemical cleaners, etc.........................

christy said...

And in case someone else hasn't mentioned it, "Veggie Tales" are all vegetable and fruit based character; Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomato, Junior the Asparagus, etc.

It is sad, indeed.

4-02-2010 @ 12:57AM

Valentina said...

Jamie should have started his quest one generation back! Those little tykes don't stand a chance, with ignorant parents.

4-01-2010 @ 11:34AM

cwc said...

I think you must be the arrogant ???. What does it matter that he comes form England. He helped England change their school lunches and maybe he can help are ignorant coluntry about our horrific school lunches. My chidren knew all of those vegetables between one and three. When a child only eats french fries, they don't know what a potato is.

4-01-2010 @ 3:22PM

Angelica said...

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www.MyRastelliDirect.com/LIzEnterprises

We do not even have to go out or waste gas We have everything anytime we want ready to serve in our freezer. This is a great way to shop and even gets delivered regularly!

3-31-2010 @ 11:47PM

lela said...

HEY!!!HAS ANYBODY ELSE NOTICED THAT THE BRITISH KEEP SHOWING UP ON ALL THESE SHOWS TO TELL US HOW TO DO THINGS PROPER?

THE NANNY:TELLS US HOW TO RACE OUR KIDS

AMERICAN IDOL:SIMON TELLS US HOW TO SING

DANCING WITH THE STARS:THE ONE GUY TELLS US HOW TO DANCE

FOOD REVOLUTION:JAMIE OLIVER TELLING US HOW TO EAT POPER

HELLS KITCHEN:CHEF GORDON TELLING US HOW TO COOK PROPER

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES:CHEF GORDON TELLING US HOW TO RUN OUR RESTAURANTS PROPER.

WHAT'S UP WITH THIS?

3-31-2010 @ 11:55PM

Vj said...

These kids don't watch Bugs Bunny eating his carrots. These kids watch Hannah Montana. These kids don't read Stone Soup, they read Captain Underpants. They've dumbed down education in a lot of ways so that they are able to grasp kids attention, to raise their self esteem. They don't learn the multiplication tables by memorization. They aren't graded on penmanship, grammar or sentence structure. They aren't even taught "i before e except after c" until fourth and fifth grade. Then you add on top of it, most parents are too busy or have their kids running from one after school activity to another, there is no time for parents to do their job of teaching kids the simple things.... like using a fork and knife. Who needs a fork and knife when they eat nuggets, burgers, fries and pizza. The children in that school are pretty much the norm throughout the US, whether you want to admit it or not. We as a society need to slow down and spend more time with the kids, not pushing different lessons that someone else teaches them or activities. REAL QUALITY time, teaching our children life skills!!!

3-31-2010 @ 11:48PM

bubble girl said...

YES--- kindergarteners SHOULD know vegetables. HOwever, because it is not in some DIsney show, movie or cartoon, they never learn it...

WHY? Most parents are too quick to plop them down with a DVD than to read to them.....

My son learned to read at 3 1/2. He could add, subtract and divide simple numbers in preschool and kindergarten. He also knew his fruits, veggies, and where milk, cheese, and hamburger, etc.. came from. I chose to READ to him and play act instead of having the TV be a babysitter. How many 5 years olds know that electricity comes into the house and is still ON in your outlets, even when the lamp or TV are not on?? HE DID. My Dad also spent much time with him showing him how things work, including motors, and how BAD electricity & fire could be.

We only watched TV on weekends, and it was together, not as a substitute for parenting.

Kids today are so plugged into techno-pseudo parenting, that they cannot cope when given an instance where they have to think on their own (and not have some cartoon or action hero tell them what to do).

3-31-2010 @ 11:50PM

correction @ comment:RAISE

3-31-2010 @ 11:51PM

Sawtheshows said...

I highly applaud Jamie Oliver for what he is doing. I watched both shows because Jamie Oliver is doing in America is something that American's should be doing, something that even our First Lady is trying to do, though she is trying not to cause irritation in anyone in doing so. It is true that while these children were kindergarteners, they did not even know that their favorites - french fries - were potatoes. As for them not reading, most schools require reading skills for the right of passage to first grade. Most of the first graders he served in his own kitchen did not know the difference between chicken fat and chicken meat. How many of the ones downing his show and bad mouthing a man who is trying to save lives actually have young children right now and can actually say that they don't know their vegetables, regardless of whether they eat them or not? Most children who have them set in front of them and wont eat them at least know what they are. How many of you yourselves have never eaten an eggplant or a beet? Does it not upset you that you yourself may be sending your own child into a life of disease? 1 out of 5 children under the age of 18 in our country already have heart disease and diabetes. That number is rising steadly. Why would you defend something that is the proven cause of 13 year old children spending the time they should be learning and playing fighting heart disease and high cholestoral and diabetes? His next show is about doing the same treatment with the highschoolers. I can't wait to see it!

4-01-2010 @ 12:15AM

Jim_in_Powhatan said...

David, I am sorry for your ignorance. I won't call it stupidity, because you MAY even have a functioning brain. Let's just chalk it up to poor up-bringing. I'm no prodigy (look it up in a dictionary), but I could read simple words when I entered kindergarden. I knew most every vegetable and fruit by name, partly because I actually ate them at home. I could write my name and I could tell time, and I could tie my shoelaces (not very well at the time, I must admit). I had two parents who both worked full-time jobs, and yet they always seemed to find time to read to me, teach me funny songs and poems (I still amaze my friends with them!) and made me see the wonder in words and books. My life has not been as easy as some, and I have seen tragedy, but the time my parents spent with me, helping me learn, has made all the difference. I am happpy not to be the cynic you have become. Don't blame teachers; it's a parent's job to open our eyes. Teachers only help us continue the journey.
A note to Brad: "the rock from under which you came" tells me you were blessed with a mother who read to you. How blessed we are!

4-01-2010 @ 4:16PM

Linda said...

Why can't kids have breakfast at home and bring a healthy lunch to school? Why is it the school's responsibility to feed kids? When I grew up I was never served a meal at school. We brought our own.

4-01-2010 @ 3:18PM

4-01-2010 @ 12:20AM

Olivia said...

It's nice that he wants to help(yeah right..get the Yanks skinny while my wallet grows fat). Do we really need another reality show? Any good parent would not have any of the issues stated above.
Jamie Oliver needs to worry about his own back yard. You want to see disgusting eating habits? Go to the UK. Their diet is horrendous. They have the nerve to call Americans obese. I cannot begin to count the overwhelming amount of obese people there stuffing their faces with fried..everything!
As far as the poor reading habits of our children. Again. Good spelling and reading skills are rare in England. The adults cannot spell to save their lives, let alone the children.

highpriestess char said...

I watch two episods of this show and I was upset at the sher aragants of the adults in the unhealthest town in america. If your twon or tri state area was known for that would you want anyone to know,let alone try to stop or stabatoge help from a food expert.my States school system saw the show and went wait a min. we don't want to be those people and starting next year , a new health menu we roll out.With more fruits and veggies.I am so happy. No more breakfast PIZZA ever! So, I say to Jamie thanks you Started a wake up call to all the people of Americaand The schools. WE NEED TO DO BETTER! AND BE HEALTHY! over weight is bad and so is stick thin.A health weight with exersie and eating right is the key. Weight that is right for your height and body type.Thats my opintion!

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