Vermont, other states sue Trump administration over changes to Michelle Obama school lunch standards

By Neetu Chandak

Several states along with the District of Columbia filed a complaint against the Trump administration Wednesday over the changes to school lunch standards they argue could deny “30 million students access to healthy nutritious meals.”

New York, Illinois, California, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont were the states that filed the suit against the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutritional Service and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

The White House

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has lunch with students at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., Jan. 25, 2012. She visited the school to sample a “healthy” meal that met the United States Department of Agriculture’s new nutrition standards for school lunches.

The complaint argued the Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) “significantly weakened” federal standards and did not give the “public notice of and an opportunity to comment on the 2018 changes.”

“By gutting the whole-grain standards and halting the progress in reducing sodium, the Trump administration risks stymieing [sic] this great progress and denying 30 million students access to healthy nutritious meals,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a news conference, The Wall Street Journalreported Wednesday.

The 2012 Obama-era rule, advocated by former first lady Michelle Obama, limited sodium intake and increased whole grains served in schools.

“If kids aren’t eating the food, and it’s ending up in the trash, they aren’t getting any nutrition – thus undermining the intent of the program,” Perdue said, according to a 2017 press release.

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted program that provides students with healthy meals at little to no cost in schools, according to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

“The Trump Administration has undermined key health benefits for our children — standards for salt and whole grains in school meals — with deliberate disregard for science, expert opinion, and the law,” James said in a statement.

A 2014 study questioned the government’s assumption regarding low sodium content, however.

“There is no longer any valid basis for the current salt guidelines,” McMaster University professor and one of the study’s authors Andrew Mente told The Washington Post. “So why are we still scaring people about salt?”

Liberal advocacy groups Center for Science in the Public Interest and Healthy School Food Maryland also filed a similar complaint against the loosened standards, TheWSJ reported.

The USDA told The Daily Caller News Foundation it does not comment on pending litigation.

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Image courtesy of The White House

10 thoughts on “Vermont, other states sue Trump administration over changes to Michelle Obama school lunch standards

  1. It seems to me that the expansion of jobs of recent years is a much better way to ensure children have access to healthy foods, than to pretend the government can do everything. So there should be a net gain, which those who truly support a better standard of life should be rejoicing instead of complaining and suing.

  2. They can still feed them whole grains and low sodium food, they didn’t pass a law against this, so if your school wants low sodium and whole grains go for it!

    One thing our local school does is cook what they think will be healthy and good for the kids, this is still America, I think we are free to choose what we and our children can eat for food. And if the school lunches are no good, brown bag it, bring a lunch box.

    Does the state and fed have to control every single part of our day?

  3. The biggest problem today is not what’s served at school lunches that’s causing obese kids, it’s both parents working to make ends meet and serving Mcdonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, & etc. rather than
    home cooking which takes more time to prepare. No one seems to have the time anymore. Rock and a hard place!!! You know that MO is not following her plan judging from the size of her caboose.

  4. What I find interesting is the demographic of class size,and I’m not talking about the number of children.I went to school in the 70’s and I remember during gym class that there were always 1 or 2 obese kids that could not keep up with the running.The one thing that stood out was that it was only 1 or 2 students.
    These days,I’ve observed the occasional class coming out side for the nice weather.What I’m shocked at is that literally 1/3 of the class is extremely obese.I don’t know if this can be attributed to i-phones or video games,but I think we’re in trouble.As a kid you couldn’t keep me in the house,no matter the weather.Now I barely see kids out on the street playing and being kids.
    Is technology or the parents that now have to work 2 jobs to survive to blame?

  5. I recommend any taxpayer, to spend a day or two at any Public School at Lunchtime, you’ll
    be amazed by what’s being wasted, food choice doesn’t matter, take what you want if you
    don’t like it take something else, It’s all free stuff !!……………… Liberal logic.

    Here in Burlington, it a free for all ( Breakfast, Lunch, After school, Snacks ) just watch what’s
    being tossed out ……shameful, there just kids !!

    We pay these clowns to educate and mold these young minds, No discipline, No respect and
    No consequence for bad behavior, It’s like watching a feeding frenzy at the zoo.

    Take a trip to your local public school, if they’ll let you in !!

  6. Won’t the Obama’s their policies, EX orders,Trump destroying activities and crap ever disappear? It’s was known the kids became mal-nourished by throwing out MO’s crap.

    “New York, Illinois, California, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont were the states that filed the suit” being socialist Trump hating states. MN has Muslim Congresswoman, I’d have pork on the menu’s.

    It’s coming out that BO and (and the Clintons) their swampers were / is behind all the anti-Trump activities. Wonder if MO feels like an American now (yet)?

    Go away!!!

  7. Who decided that the unelected Sasquatch lunch program was something we should be defending in the first place. From what I’ve read she single handedly destroyed more lunch programs then any other reason. Her cardboard lunch was uneatable and more ended up in the trash then was eaten. Kids won’t eat crap and will be hungry the rest of the day impeding learning. I didn’t see her fat ass or
    her rent a kids eating the crap she was recommending. Cardboard for thee Wagyu for me…
    Did anyone in montpeculiar ask the kids?? You can count on anything being pushed by the obomanations is a affront to the kiddies and country.

  8. I thoroughly enjoy seeing the kids standing in the “free” lunch (and breakfast and snack ) line tapping away in their iPhone 10 during the wait…..

  9. The worst standards EVERY!

    In our school you can’t bring a chocolate chip cookie in but a rice crispy treat. The standards are A$$ backwards to anyone with a smidgen of common sense.

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