Milk: The Other Junk Food?

The State School Board of Illinois wants to ban whole milk in some 4000 public schools:

Whole milk and many sports drinks could not be sold in Illinois public schools during the school day under new rules proposed Friday by the state Board of Education.

Though whole milk was a staple in schools for years, nutritionists now view it as too high in fat except for very young children, state officials said.

Even board Chairman Jesse Ruiz said that to serve his 2- and 5-year-old children, "I buy two different kinds of milk.''

But unlike current Illinois rules, which specifically crack down on "candy" and "potato chips," the new rules would not ban any specific junk food.

Instead, the rules create a definition of what junk food is, based on nutritional content. Outlawed would be "minimally nutritious'' food whose calories from total fat exceed 35 percent, food whose calories from saturated fat exceed 10 percent, food whose sugar content exceeds 35 percent, and food whose single-serving calories exceed 200.

Some argue that the new rules have loopholes which would allow some types of candy and baked potato chips to be distributed to kids. If implemented, the changes would go into effect during the 2006-2007 school year.

Heh. I'm surprised the school board isn't also considering the banning of orange juice for having an overabundance of pulp and vitamin "C." -------------------------------------See our latest posts over there.