Feeding America #2 - nutrition in schools

by teacherken

I admit it.  For a lot of issues the first thing that comes to my mind is how it affects the kids I teach.  If I meet a famous journalist or a Member of Congress, someplace in in that conversation I will ask if they will come out and talk to my students.  More often than not they are willing.

Nutrition in schools is an important issue.  Why?  Because a hungry, malnourished child will learn less than if s/he has had breakfast, gets lunch during the day.  Because in school we have an opportunity to help establish and/or reinforce patterns of healthy eating.  Because we have a responsibility to the young people in our care to care for them, and not just their minds.

continued at Daily Kos....

Protein

by bigjacbigjacbigjac

This is actually another of my overpopulation alarm diaries.

But I feel a need to focus on a particular point, the question of what is the ideal human diet.

I got a diary on the rec list, but many thoughtful readers firmly disagreed with my statement on the topic of nutrition.

This is important, because if we are to make proposals of how many humans would be sustainable on the planet, we need to define, to some extent, what lifestyle we are proposing for the humans of the future.

Fewer humans, yes, but living in what housing, drinking water from what sources, and filtered and processed how, and what nutrition, what balance between protein, fats, and carbs, and what sources for vitamins and minerals, and what sources of protein, fats, and carbs?

On none of these questions should our answer be a shrug of the shoulders and a vague mumbling of whatever has been working, because that would be advocating business as usual, and that strategy has us heading straight for disaster, and quickly so.

We need to think about these things.

I certainly do not have all the answers, but I know we cannot get stuck in analysis paralysis.

I have some ideas, below the fold.

continued at Daily Kos....