I haven’t seen the show, and I’m hearing about for the first time from you, but I think it’s a good idea. Somehow, people need to realize that they are eating crap and feeding crap to their kids. I think school food is particularly awful, and something really does need to be done about it.

I respectfully disagree GimliGirl. Jamie Oliver isn’t trying to shame anyone into being skinny, he’s trying to get them to embrace being healthy. And you don’t need a Whole Foods supermarket to find better quality fresh food than the processed slop being served at fast food places. I don’t disagree that a lot of parents (I am one!) are doing it hard – working long hours to support their family. But I would argue that many don’t realize exactly how much damage they are doing to themselves and their children by taking the fastest option possible. And though it may not be ‘hot school lunches’ that kill, obesity certainly does: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4946586/

I’ve been watching the show and I am totally hooked. The thinking that says that healthy food is so much more expensive is a load of rubbish. If you are buying all overpriced organic stuff, it probably is, but a bag of baby carrots is about the same price as a bag of potato chips. A box of whole wheat pasta and a jar of sauce can feed a family for under 5 bucks. Throw in a bag of salad and still it is cheaper than take-out. A head of cabbage, some onion and potato and some low fat sausage tastes delicious, will feed my family of 6, and comes in at less than $10. There is no way that I could feed all of us at McDonald’s for less than $10.

I am really curious as to how they handle the food cost on the show, but I suspect that it is doable. The problem seems to be getting the cost to match up with the miles of red tape that they must jump through. Pizza “counts” as two “breads,” but brown rice doesn’t? And is there even a limit on the amount of fat that can be in these school lunches? I was shocked and completely disgusted.

And as for not having time to cook a healthy meal, that is just bunk. Sure you won’t be mixing up a gourmet meal, but a healthy meal doesn’t take that long to prepare. Rachel Ray made millions writing recipes that can be whipped up in under 30 minutes. And when you look at the number of hours that the average American spends watching television, I’m guessing that if people really wanted to they could find the time. Heck, cook with the television on.

I’m not trying to say that we are perfect. We do have the occasional night out at a restaurant or mac n’ cheese lunch, but it just can’t be every day. I mean would you let your 7 year old smoke? It won’t kill her today, but with time, just like with a diet of pizza and nuggets, it will take years off her life.

I love jamie oliver, and I’m forever indebted to a few of his recipies, but he comes across as more than a little arrogant. As someone who grew up in WV as a food outsider (my mom went to the natural foods coop for my sack lunches), I do know a thing or two about looking at the food culture from outside. I agree with the previous poster; food is a big part of the culture and Oliver seems to have made zero effort to understand how it fits in.

For starters, WV is either in the south or near enough to the south that people, even children, who are used to seeing pickled pigs’ feet are not going to be impressed with cartilage being in their chicken nuggets.
So? my husband eats the cartilage and marrow out of roast chicken, even without it having been packaged into the appealing nugget shape.

Or, for that matter kids who (like me) grew up with deer being shot and dressed and even hung from trees to get ready for butchering.
We’re much too pragmatic to be worried about that. Most of us grew up on venison.

Hunting is a big part of the culture–he might make some headway talking about venison being an organic, free range alternative, for instance, maybe not feasable for school lunches, but for individual families.

I think he’ll clue in eventually; I really wish the execution of the show was better, but I’ll keep watching.

Ri-chan, it’s still very possible to eat well and cheaply. I just made a pot of chicken and dumplings with steamed veggies on the side. There are lower-calorie meals, but it’s much better than the stuff at McD’s. With a crock pot, it wasn’t labor or time consuming. Meats can be braised or lightly sauteed, whole grains can be added without too much protest, and dried fruit can substitute for sweetened or salted snacks. Now, if where you are, there are no grocery stores (and I grew up in a place without them) and the only choices are convenience stores or fast food, it’s still possible to make better choices than McNuggets and a Big Gulp.

Eric, I think that the message Oliver was trying to convey through the “week’s worth of food in a tarp” demo was to show just how much junk the kids actually eat. I think that a lot of parents/schools think, “Surely the occasional pizza isn’t too bad…” or “It’s okay, because we only have french fries a few times per week…”, and the tarp demonstration shows them that all those “sometimes” foods like burgers and french fries have become “all the time” foods. I think that if you filled up a tarp with a week’s worth of freshly cut salad, whole-grain pasta, and lean meats you’d be a lot less disgusted. I work really hard to provide excellent nutrition for my daughter and I, and I’d be proud of myself if someone piled up the different kinds of food we ate in a week.

I LOVE this show! I am totally on board with his message. Also, anyone who says they can’t make healthy meals or even healthier meals fast and on the cheap are just looking for an excuse to keep going for fast food. What got me was the knife in the second episode. These kids couldn’t use one!! That was the craziest thing.

Watching those kids eat pizza, chicken nuggets, “potato pearls” and all of the other processed junk was really depressing. Even more so, the attitude of the school’s kitchen staff and administrators. I agree whole-heartedly with the writer above — The argument that processed food is cheaper is bunk. Vegetables are cheap, rice, whole grain pasta, beans, and many other healthy options that don’t take hours to prepare. I hope that people will pay attention to what Jamie Oliver has to say, instead of just getting defensive and ignoring the fact that they are poisoning their children.

I read somewhere that he did this same thing in a town in England, and at first they were very resistant, but eventually he was able to implement some serious change. I think it is somewhat unreasonable to think people are going to want to change the second he comes into town. Thank goodness he is persistent and has a thick skin.

I’m not in the least surprised how people can be resistant to change… Real Americans (TM) have been told to be suspicious of “change” and of “European influences.” They don’t want anyone who claims to know better telling them what to do.

Agreed on both points, Jenny.

LOVED. THIS. SHOW. I live in the South, (the deep, deep, South, thank you very much :-) ) and I totally understand the resistance. But kids in the South are totally raised on chicken nuggets–me being one of them. But there are so many options out there for parents now when it comes to healthy food, so schools should be an example. If they can do it, then we can do it for our kids. I think it was the second episode that he took that family to the doctor and the 6th grader had to be tested for diabetes, and the mother was finally like okay, what I’m feeding my son is killing him–how sobering!!

Never seen the show, but I am slightly ashamed that a television show had to be created on the subject before some parents/students realized that eating processed foods constantly are detrimental to your health. These things were only created to be casual conveniences. It also seems that in this day and age, when many parents are troubled with one track eaters, the phrase “eat it or starve” has died away. It’s not abuse to tell you child to eat healthier food-honestly. It’s what you’re there for: to provide a healthy and stable growing environment.