This Just In: Food Police Screw It Up

As if that's a surprise

Over at Instapundit found this link to a story- at the New York Times of all places- stating "Well-Intentioned Food Police May Create Havoc With Childeren's Diets". Besides listing a lot of the crap thrown out at 'fact' and the results thereof, it takes note of the other crap coming in as part of this mess: "Like the policies put in place by school systems around the country, this one was driven by anxiety — about food quantity, quality and safety — and by the ever-increasing pressure for children to look a certain way and to weigh a certain amount."

She points out that there are kids allergic to dairy and other stuff, but it's only peanut butter that gets banned, and this:
"I fear there's something else at work — a fear borne out by a flier my fifth grader brought home saying that at the monthly pizza hot lunch, no child would be allowed to buy a second slice of pizza. The district says the new ruling is to avoid bad feelings caused by "inequities": if everyone can't have extra helpings, no one can."

So it's school as 'Equality Police', too, surprise surprise. And she notes the nanny-state BS of the BMI squirrels:
"A look at what's happening on the state level confirms this. In Arkansas, for instance, children's report cards now include their B.M.I., or body mass index, along with their grades. The governor, Mike Huckabee recently lost more than 100 pounds and is passionate about stopping the "obesity epidemic." Maryland is considering a similar standard.

Never mind that B.M.I. is only a measure of height against weight and does not take into account muscle mass, body type or other factors. (Tom Cruise has a B.M.I. of 31, which puts him in the "obese" category.)"

You ought to read it, it's worth the time.