OK everyone, here's my point of view. Thanks to all of you who gave words of support. I want to help create deep, long lasting change in the way that children are eating. If junk is pulled out of the schools, kids will just find another way to get it. At the 7-11, and at home. The point I was trying to get across – which was edited out - was that the whole family has to be involved with the change. You just can't yank all the foods that kids are addicted to and expect them to say "Wow! It's great to eat healthy food!" Like any good addict, they'll find a way to get it. The plan I’m proposing is a slow change with lots of support. There’s no point to changing food in schools if daddy takes them out for ice cream as a reward for being good, or they see mommy binging on chocolate. Their parents need to be eating the same way. I realize that "addict" is a loaded word. A lot of people are going to react unpleasantly to it. Not all kids are addicted, but a lot of them are. If your child is brilliant and witty one minute, then having a meltdown the next, what did they eat for breakfast? When was their last sugar fix? Or as an adult, you’re on the top of the world after your Frappucino and banana bread, then full of self loathing an hour later. Addiction is brain chemistry, not weakness, or low moral character. Change the brain chemistry through food, and everything else changes. BTW, I'm "pro" to foods that have nutritional value. And 300rwhp, I get enough publicity. I eat the same way I’m proposing that kids and their parents eat. The way I ate made me a sick person, but I discovered that changing the way I ate could make me well. I love to cook, and that hasn’t changed, just the palette I’m working with. When I talk to people about how I eat, I see their eyes glaze over with fear. “Ohh, I could never stop eating chocolate - or white bread, or ice cream, or pasta, or crème brulee.” they say in a quivery voice. What you want to eat does change. I don’t miss or crave anything. Will it be expensive? Yep, it will be more expensive than what exists in schools or at home today. But it’s worth it in the long run with the amount of illness that children will encounter as adults if they are not supported in learning how to change. How much does a 40 oz. Slurpee cost? With all due respect to Julia, she probably wasn't an addict. Try telling a junkie that. Karen
