This is outrageous!

Photo from the NY Times

You may think we have a do-nothing Congress in Washington. Perhaps we should amend that to do-nothing-except-obstruct-progress. I'm talking about this, a headline in today's NY Times, reprinted in our local daily:

"Congress Blocks New Rules on School Lunches"

And here is the lead:

"In a victory for the makers of frozen pizzas, tomato paste and French fries, Congress on Monday blocked rules proposed by the Agriculture Department that would have overhauled the nation’s school lunch program.

The proposed changes — the first in 15 years to the $11 billion school lunch program — were meant to reduce childhood obesity by adding more fruits and green vegetables to lunch menus, Agriculture Department officials said." 

A victory for America's industrial food system (aka "makers of frozen pizzas, tomato paste and French fries") is a defeat for America's children, and therefore for America's future.

The Times article is brief, and doesn't explain the rationale for the congressional action, except to say that big food manufacturers called the move "reasonable." I would say, "awful."

The non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest issued a statement condemning Congress for "protecting industry" rather than "protecting children's health," as of this morning they hadn't posted a response on their website.