Cheetos supply students with the 5 primary oils & fats necessary for a balanced junk food diet, says Mr. T

Junk food choice...
Originally uploaded by dmmaus.

The Center for Disease Control predicts that one third of all children born in 2000 will contract diabetes, says PAJF.

What can we do? One thing: join Students & Parents Against Junk Food (http://www.parentsagainstjunkfood.org/). Get a (if you wish to receive it) free newsletter with recipe makeovers, quick weeknight recipes, and friendly recipes such as Wacky Cake. Plus, you'll get tips, shortcuts, tasting results and equipment testing recommendations from America's Test Kitchen.

Now let me tell you a story, says Mr. Press Release. One year ago, just outside of Boston, a chef and single mother, Susan Lacy, took over food service operations for a large public school. At lunch in her cafeteria, she proved to me that a school lunch can be great: fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh salads, baked chicken, real juices instead of soda, baked chips not fried, and no candy bars. And the kids liked it. The upshot? Susan has been reprimanded for contributing insufficient profit to the school budget and her program may be terminated.

Here are some other facts. The United States spends about $2 on a school lunch whereas France spends $8 and Italy spends $5.

Seventeen percent of our kids are overweight. Each year we spend $100 billion on diet related diseases and this year alone, 300,000 Americans will die from these diseases.

Want to do something about it? Log onto www.parentsagainstjunkfood.org and register as a member. Your name or other information will not be shared with any other organization.

Let me end with a simple question. Is this what we wish for the next generation? Lower life expectancy? Diabetes and other health problems? And, a health care system that will be bankrupted by the cost of these long-term trends?

Mais non.