Jamie Olivers rant about packed lunches.

[misdee]

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamie Oliver, the television chef famous for his crusade to improve school dinners, lashed out at parents on Thursday over the food they give to their children.

Speaking at the launch of his new TV programme, Oliver said 70 percent of packed lunches in were "disgraceful" and he would like to see them banned.

He said the decisions parents made regarding the diets of their children
were sometimes just plain wrong.
"I've spent two years being politically correct about parents but it's time to say, if you're giving your young kids fizzy drinks, you're an a*hole and a tosser," Oliver said.

"If you give them bags of crisps, you're an idiot. If you aren't cooking them a hot meal, sort it out."

Oliver said headteachers were too frightened of some parents to tell them what they should give their child to bring to school.

He was particularly critical of parents who give their children Red Bull an energy drink when they are tired, saying it was not much better than giving them a line of cocaine.

Oliver's new programme, "Jamie's Return to School Dinners", is a follow-up to his successful Channel 4 series on improving school meals.

Perhaps the planet where healthy choices means just that. That you have a choice. Educating people to know what is healthy is a better way than giving them no choice at all and ramming whatever is the general fad for healthy food that particular month down their throats. One minute eggs are good for you, then they are not (bad for cholesterol). Margarine is better than butter, then it's not. Low-fat is good, oh no it isn't you need some fat to absorb fat-soluble vits. Whose idea of what is good for you are we going along with and will it change next year when something better comes along. Some people do have conditions which require them to avoid certain foods. But those people aside surely if people abided by the idea of 'everything in moderation' there wouldn't be too many bad foods. These women are taking food to the school, not hard drugs.

Oh and I do think that a lot of the responsibility for the state of our food lies with the food producers. As far as I can see a lot of the additives in food are totally unnecessary and should be left out. Some of the additives encourage appetite! Those are the people who should be being targetted. The ones who produce and process our food and sell us crap. I have read that a lot of what we consider the good stuff (fruit, veg) is lacking in vitamins and minerals which should be in them because of overfarming? of land. Not sure of the term. I think there is a lot more involved than just parents feeding kids rubbish. Okay JO knows a lot more about what goes into our food than we do. But some of us rely on more knowledgeable people to inform us of what they know so that we can make our own choices. What doesn't help is someone with that information berating people who don't have it. That's not helpful at all.

There is nothing wrong with fish and chips once in a while. Nothing wrong with chips as an occasional choice on the school menu. But these women seem to be under the impression that it's their duty to provide this for the children every day.

And we're not talking about a particular food "fad", we're talking about healthy eating generally.

The comment about "only" having chips once a week really made me laugh. How many times a week do they think they should have it? Seven??

hehe

Perhaps the 'only have chips once a week' comment wasn't a complaint but to indicate that the kids do only have chips once in a while and there is nothing wrong with that so why take them off the menu.
And with one shopping trolley they are not going to supply many children at a secondary school with 'chippy' are they. I doubt they would be able to get one portion of chips to every child mon-fri. So I don't think they are in earnest. I think they are protesting at the children being held prisoner during lunch time and being dictated to what they can and cannot eat.

I'm sure it's very good but my Dutch is rusty.

"Julie... added: "Kids need a bit of fat in their diet - there is nothing wrong with burgers and chips. At school they only get chips once a week if they are lucky."

I don't think she's saying "chips are OK, why take them off?" She's saying they should have chips more often. She doesn't understand the concept of a varied menu.

blimey they're only potatoes.

I'm sorry you feel like labelling urself as a child abuser, but i also have a child with severe behavioural problems, AND i split with my childrens dad too, but managed to stop her having a dummy and all her comforts except her special teddy. It is just a cop out to excuse allowing a 5yr old to have a dummy because they have any kind of problem, but i was actually aiming it at parents who just give their kids anything for a quiet life. It makes a rod for your back at the end of the day. The same goes for the lazy excuse about putting a 4yr old in a buggy because she has no road sense. TEACH HER SOME THEN. My 5yr old runs off and cant filter the sounds of voices over the traffic, and has to be reminded constantly about how we keep safe. we make it fun by telling her it teaches her brother to be safe too. And i've struggled for 5 and ahalf years with her never sleeping and severe behavioural problems with no support, and 3 other children, and finally have a close diagnosis for her.

When you are faced with 4 kids, 1 on a very strict diet, you learn very quickly what you can feed them and cant. My shopping bill is higher than most i know, but i only buy fresh fruit, veg and meat now and make my own burgers, nuggets, fish cakes etc. It annoys me when people make out their child will only eat take aways, fast food etc. Although they are nice occasional treats.

I cook 1 meal a night with a slight variation for my 10yr old whos vegetarian if we are having meat, and my kids eat it or go without. They will always eat fruit if they are peckish, and i find more imaginitive ways of cooking veg to get them to try it.

Jamie olivers got a good point about how kids are being fed, maybe the crisps comment was going a bit too far, but he has a point. its too easy NOT to cook kids proper meals with all the easy 'bung it on a tray in the oven' meals.

As for MSG it makes kids hyper (too much is like a mad caffeine high or sugar high for some kids) they get out of control and cant calm themselves down, it causes headaches and upsets tummies too, along with the untold lists of additives in foods. Just because the packet says no added colourings or preservatives, doesnt mean its ok.

Next time your childs throwing a monumental tantrum, or being disruptive in school, maybe you should look at what they are eating.

How do you know she doesn't understand the concept of a varied diet from that remark? There isn't anything wrong with burger and chips once in a while. Maybe she's highlighting that chips were only available once in the week anyway and not every week so why the all out ban now? I haven't interpreted as her saying that she thinks they should be eating chips every day.

I'm sorry, are we reading different articles??

Chips have NOT been taken off the menu - they are available once a week and for some reason these women think that's not enough. Yes, once in a while is fine. But they don't want them just once in a while - they're offering them every day.

Twinklea I can't agree that you are making a rod for your own back by allowing your child something that harms no-one and they find comforting. Some of my children have had dummies, some haven't. Some have still had their dummy at 5. They have all voluntarily given them up when they no longer felt they needed them. Sometimes we have to use the pushchair because the child just can't keep up if we are in a hurry. Different parents have different circumstances and dummies, pushchairs etc are just tools to enable us to be more comfortable with our lives. I haven't found that my children have been harmed by them. And as most things they are a phase that has passed as the children got older.

Unquietdad - I think we are reading the same article...differently I've read it that chips are off the menu "... that pupils can't leave at lunchtime to visit the local chippy - and should eat pasta, salads and sandwiches" and ""We fought hard to get Turkey Twizzlers, chips and other fatty food off the menu". Those are the bits I picked up on.

I think those women need a kick up their backsides TBH. I am seriously shocked! [shock}...see....

Children aren't supposed to be given choice. That's because they are children and they don't know what's best for them..or maybe they do but what's they like is a much stronger incentive. The school is doing it's best to improve the children's wellbeing - no they don't like it now but they would get used to it and meanwhile they ain't going to starve - and some of the parents are undermining it!!! Strikes me that some of those kids haven't got a hope with mothers like that. Moderation is fish and chips once a week at the most - not every day.

I have a bit more sympathy for JO if this is the kind of thing he's up against.....

I agree, those women should have brain transplants.

I think those other things are off the menu but it's definitely implied that they still have chips once a week. Which is OK. There are plenty of ways to cook a potato, and a school dinner menu should explore as many as possible...

She's not only saying they should eat chips every day, she is activly going out of her way to ensure they can!
Also, chips are NOT JUST POTATO once they are fried they are a large part fat! And crisps are no bettter.
Yes, kids needs some fat, but there would be plenty within a normal healthy diet and you can bet they are getting PLENTY outside of their school lunches.
With attitudes like these it's no wonder our kids are turning into a bunch of fatties and are facing a lifetime of illness and early death.

Juules, the women are saying that chips are only one the menu once a week and are complaining that they should be available more often - that's why they are doing daily deliveries. It was the local health advisor (Adams) who was saying that she had fought to have turkey twizlers etc taken off the menu and was appauled by the mothers' behaviour.
Surely there could be some sort of court order to keep these women away from the school?!

However I don't think that fat is an issue of itself for children. I wouldn't give my kids low-fat foods per se. It's the mixture of low-grade fats, processed carbs and salt that is the issue.

i would still like to see the fat kids that are meant to be everywhere. i can't say i've seen more now than when i was at school.

And that's educating people about healthy eating. Lock children in at lunch time. Have a restricted one size fits all menu made up of things that the latest health fashion dictate. And threaten their parents with court orders if they object. There's a recipe for resentment and rebellion. Jamie Oliver had most people onside until he started pompously name-calling parents. Wouldn't more advice and helpful direction and keep sending the message home in school perhaps have persuaded the kids to make their own healthy choices and maybe take home the message to their parents. As with the no smoking campaigns where some children went home and asked their parents not to smoke as they didn't want them to die. JO did an admirable job in introducing healthy choices into schools. Previously there wasn't much choice in some schools. He could have moved on to lunch box contents and get people to think about them but he has upset a lot of people with his derisive remarks. Which is a great pity as a good opportunity may now be lost.

I think these women have had brain transplants, that's the trouble.