Obama Administration Issues 160 Page Edict On School Snacks

Having solved all the really big problems in the federal government, the Obama administration has now turned to micromanaging the snacks available for purchase in public schools across the nation.

The Obama administration proposed regulations Friday that would prohibit U.S. schools from selling unhealthy snacks.

The 160-page regulation from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) would enact nutrition standards for “competitive” foods not included in the official school meal.

In practice, the proposed rules would replace traditional potato chips with baked versions and candy with granola. Regular soda is out, though high-schoolers may have access to diet versions.

“Although nutrition standards for foods sold at school alone may not be a determining factor in children’s overall diets, they are critical to providing children with healthy food options throughout the entire school day,” the proposed rule states.

Let’s set aside for a moment the “obesity crisis,” which I don’t think is so much a “crisis” as a narrative cooked up to justify more control over our day-to-day lives, and talk about the practicality of this sort of policy.

How in the world is the federal government going to monitor what’s in the vending machines of every public school in America? Is that really the sort of top-down, one-size-fits-all policy we need? Is it something our federal government, $16 trillion in debt and unable to accomplish something as central to its function as a budget, ought to be concerning itself with?

In a nation where we have state governments and municipal governments and school boards, do we really need a lengthy federal directive on what sort of snacks kids can and can’t buy in school?

Maybe vending machines and snacks in our schools should be a local school district issue, and the federal government ought to attend to its own issues.