The 26 ingredient burger served at a school near you.

 Edit  1  3 …

‍the School Hamburger‍
After watching a short piece on npr.org (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/02/149717358/whats-inside-the-26-ingredient-school-lunch-burger) discussing the ingredients in the school burger of today, to say the very least I'm upset that at some point in my life I have ingested one of these "frankenburgers." Where you would think a burger should contain a few ingredients at the most, these patties served in schools contain a whopping 26. While most additives are vitamin supplements, it still confuses me as why it is necessary to add them at all. In the video, Kantha Shelke, a food scientist explained that these additives are only useful for a very select group of children who aren't getting essential nutrition elsewhere. In those particular situations, additional vitamins are a helpful thing and assist in providing a child with a complete diet. However, I do not feel it's fair to be feeding every child these additives, and other chemicals are put into these burgers as well that are certainly questionable. Sucrose, maltodextrin, caramel color, as well as a chemical similar to MSG are also included. Now that just makes no sense to me. Since when did sweetener have a place in hamburgers? Why is color being added to the mix? In this case, my opinion is that the simpler the better, and that a pattie should be beef and only beef. (With the addition of some spice of course.)

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm- Food additives and their dangers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disodium_inosinate- Chemical Similar to MSG found in most processed foods.

Teenager changes ingredient

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/business/another-look-at-a-drink-ingredient-brominated-vegetable-oil.html?ref=health&_r=0


I was so inspired by this teenager who not only reads the labels on her food and drinks but persuaded Pepsico to take the brominated vegetable oil out of Gatorade through an online petition.  Petitions work!  Please sign ours to take the corn syrup out of our school's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches:

http://signon.org/sign/take-corn-syrup-out-of?source=c.em.cp&r_by=5378356

Pesticides and kids

Docs Say Choose Organic Food to Reduce Kids Exposure to Pesticides

This article supports the idea that organically grown food is better for you. The reason being, that “babies of female farm workers in California showed small but significant developmental and motor delays when their mothers were exposed to pesticides at levels similar to those deemed acceptable in conventionally grown produce while pregnant.” Although there have not been any studies done, there is no real concrete proof but, since childhood exposure to toxins is known to be harmful, organically grown produce is becoming a clearer choice for children.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/22/163407880/docs-say-choose-organic-food-to-reduce-kids-exposure-to-pesticides#

Posted by Dornel E. Student at CAS

Edible schoolyard training

Dear Educators and School Gardeners, Edible Schoolyard NYC is delighted to announce the launch of Edible Academy, a series of professional development workshops coming soon to our Brooklyn Showcase School. You are invited to experience our interdisciplinary, standards-based, K through 5 curriculum in action.  In each workshop, we will model instruction in the garden and the kitchen, offer practical tips on starting and maintaining school gardens, suggest ways to encourage community involvement, and guide participants in adapting our lessons to the unique circumstances of their own schools.  All participants will receive 36 fully developed fall and winter lessons covering kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as sample curriculum and recipes from our kitchen classrooms.  Workshops will take place from 9am to 3pm at P.S. 216, 350 Avenue X, in Brooklyn.  Each workshop will include the following sessions: Instruction in the Garden Classroom Instruction in the Kitchen Classroom School Gardening 101 Community Outreach Integrating ESYNYC Lessons into Your Curriculum We are inviting educators and school gardeners to participate, free of charge, in our first workshops.  If there are others who you think might be interested, please pass this email along to them.  Click on the links below to register for one of the following dates: Tuesday, November 6 (registration deadline is 10/26): http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4562644994# Friday, November 16 (registration deadline is 11/2) http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4584237578 Friday, November 30 (registration deadline is 11/16) http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4584390034 Please contact Liza Engelberg at le@esynyc.org if you have any questions.  We hope to see you at an upcoming workshop! Thanks! -- Natasha Eziquiel-Shriro | Program Coordinator | www.esynyc.org | nes@esynyc.org | 347-565-0100 | 350 Avenue X Brooklyn NY 11223

Great News! WITS is back

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/nyregion/new-york-city-revives-school-lunch-program-that-uses-professional-chefs.html?_r=1

"The organizer of the program, Wellness in the Schools, also known as WITS, was praised for bringing healthy meals, made from scratch, into cafeterias....."  WE AGREE!

National Lunch Program's Meat from California Slaughterhouse Closed For Animal Abuse

Here is a link to a video that exposes extreme cruelty to animals.  This video prompted the USDA to shut down the California slaughterhouse.
http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DZRS-kzgoRq0%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded

In the related New York Times article, it is stated that that slaughterhouse supplies 21 million pounds of meat to the National Lunch Program. 
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/work-at-slaughterhouse-is-halted-after-graphic-undercover-videos/

Why do our kids get such low quality food that is produced without care and compassion?

City Ends Wellness in the Schools Program

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/18/nyregion/new-york-city-ends-school-lunch-program-that-used-professional-chefs.html