Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is a six-part TV series co-produced by Ryan Seacrest of American Idol fame and is on ABC Friday evening. British celebrity chef Oliver is also known for the “Naked Chef” series and a show where he reinvented British school cafeteria food.
Huntington, West Virginia has been listed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as the nation’s unhealthiest. Jamie is trying to change that distinction, but his work is cut out for him. In this past Friday’s episode, students at the local elementary school were unable to identify basic vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes.
The school meal funding is micromanaged by the USDA and the government program is a disaster. It approves such items as pizza for breakfast and counts french fries as a vegetable!
I blame the parents and the schools for not doing a better job of educating our young people about developing healthier eating habits.
I encourage you to tune in.
The Food Revolution website has a petition with a call to save cooking skills and improve school food. Jamie plans to present the petition to President Obama and the first lady to ask for support. The last I checked, over 126,000 had signed.
For more info about Jamie see: www.jamieoliver.com/tv
Jamie won the 2010 TEDPrize: www.tedprize.org/jamie-oliver
Jamie Oliver’s Wish
“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”
See his inspiring TED presentation below:
(If you can not see the video below, go to this link: ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jamie_oliver.html
Also, see a related post I made about food on another site about Barbara Reed Stitt, author of Food and Behavior.
Dr. Stitt approached her local school with an offer that was as unusual as it was generous. Take out the vending machines, take out the processed foods, and she will feed the students fresh, whole, nutritious food and watch their behavior improve.
See the article and video here:
http://endadhd.com/adhd-children/diet-for-hyperactive-children
This program is dramatic evidence that food can make a difference in your behavior . Make sure you are getting the nutrition you need to have optimal health.
