Healthy meals, healthy minds
The federal government announced on Monday that its upcoming budget will include funding for a new national school food program.
Many parents will support a program to provide meals to Canadian school kids. But if it is simply going to be feeding our children fatty, sugary foods, we’re setting them up for numerous health problems later in life.
A group called Moms Across America commissioned tests on 43 lunch samples from 18 cities throughout the United States. The study unearthed a number of troubling facts about the presence of chemicals in common lunch foods, including the discovery that over 93 per cent of the meals contained detectable levels of the weed killer glyphosate, while many of the meals also contained toxins, heavy metals and even veterinary drugs and hormones.
I believe we would see similar results in the foods we serve school kids here in Canada, because many of the foods we consume come from industrial farms that spray their crops with pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and other chemicals.
That’s why I started a non-profit organization several years ago with the mission of lobbying governments to provide nutritious organic food to all Canadian children at school and educating young Canadians about the lifelong benefits that come with eating healthy, all-natural foods.
Even though education is a provincial responsibility, the provinces and the federal government should hash out a funding formula to pay for a national food program that provided organic meals, in much the same way that the federal government is helping the provinces cover childcare costs through a national childcare system.
If childcare is important, surely childhood nutrition is just as important.
Study after study has shown that improved nutrition can influence student learning potential and educational outcomes. Learning and diet are inseparably linked.
The United Nations World Food Programme conducted a large-scale, multinational cost-benefit analysis in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group in 2011, and found that schools enrolled in meal programs had better attendance, lower dropout rates and better test results than schools that did not participate in food programs.
Most Canadians would agree that the health and welfare of our children is a top priority. The fact is, if children grow up healthy and happy, there is a greater chance they will reach their full potential. And one of the best ways of ensuring that is childhood nutrition.
Providing nutritious, organic food to all Canadian children in schools is a must. No Canadian child should go to school hungry, and no child should leave school hungry. That means Canadian kids should receive a fully organic breakfast and lunch in every school — meals that are completely free from harmful chemicals. That’s a recipe for long-term health, stability and success.
Providing breakfast and lunches consisting of natural, organic food will not only improve the mental and physical well-being of our children, it will also boost their intellectual capacity. It’s a win-win scenario.
Our children’s health plays a critical role in building a sustainable and prosperous future. But if the next generation is sick and unhealthy, our future is on shaky ground.
Ultimately, the question is not: who’s going to pay for organic meals in our schools? The real question is: if we don’t find funding to create an organic meal program, are we prepared to pay the heavy costs that will come in the form of increased health-care spending and social assistance?
Governments invest in a lot of different programs, causes and initiatives. Very few of them are as important as the health and happiness of our children.