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.

oh and i'm not implying that those with kids that don't eat well etc are bad parents either. It's just worked out for me that way before I get jumped on.

I am really delighted that we have the likes of Jamie Oliver to hi-light kids eating problems and the role of parents in this. Teaching your kids healthy eating is such an important responsibility for us. After all we are what we eat.

I wonder that the reason some parents get wound up by JO's comments is because they know he is right and feel guilty as they feed their kids food that doesnt require time thought or effort (eg pckt of crisps, choc bar).

I think what JO is saying is absolutely right and am glad that he is such is creating such attention about this. Those parents who are feeding kids utter sgite through school gates are contempable.

I think it is so importatnt that a child has a healthy balanced diet and attitude to food, meal times nowdays are often in front of tv with convience food.

I could go on and on a tendancy of mine

We have incidents at the school I work at where a parent will come and remove the child from school to ensure he/she does not have to stay in at playtime as punishment for appalling behaviour. They ask the headmistress for help with their darling child who won't behave for them and when she does, they throw a total fit and refuse to go along with what she suggests!! The messages being sent to the child are that they can do exactly as they bloody well please, so when it comes to food.....
I know this is slightly off at a tangent but you know where I'm coming from.

here here fio.

Yes exactly. Rather than calling parents areseholes and tossers he would be better off encouraging schools to take the initiative (or should I say encouraging the govt to provide funds so shcools can take the iniatiave) with breakfast clubs/nurture groups/cooking in schools. Lead by example rather than by abuse. And understand that the reasons that children don't always get fed well is complex rather than condemning a whole group of people as being not bovvered.

Have I missed where JO said that working class people are unable to feed their children properly? Seriously, because I have never heard or read him say anything, but maybe I missed it.

Did anyone see the thing in the paper this w/e about the mums selling chips etc from the local takeaway through the school fence?If they want to give their own kids crap it's a shame but what right do these women have to sell rubbish to others?
If I found out that was happening at dds school I'd be tempted to start a lynch mob!!
Jo may rub some up the wrong way but at least he trying to do some good.

jimjams, i thought that was what he was doing last year. He was trying to get the govt to stump up more cash for the meals etc and when it looked to be going ahead Ruth kelly got the job and wouldn't provide as much cash as the previous minister said yes to (or something like that anyway!)

And another thing now that I'm warmed up(!)I don't get this fun-lunch friday thing. They do it at dds school too- surely giving chips/pizza etc and calling it 'fun' just reinforces the idea in kids mind that it is more desirable and that healthy food is, by comparison, boring?
Shouldn't a fun lunch be healthy too? how about a themed meal? It sounds like a cop out to give dinner ladies an easy time at the end of the week to me.
rant over! (for now)

Oooh, I know dreamcatcher. They call it 'Favourites Day' at ds's school and always serve sausages, fish in batter, chips etc, winds me right up. By calling it 'Favourites' surely it gives the idea that the stuff they have to eat the rest of the week is nasty and horrible?

Thought you might be interested in this

expattalk.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/8350031273/m/2830000944/r/1130001944#1130001944

The expat forum is interesting. I think what Jamie Oliver is doing is great, not before time, that someone prominent is taking an interest. The trouble is also with cool culture. My 17 year old, out of school now, but still eating junk food caused me so much aggrevation over food while at school. I tried to send him each day with good food in a packed lunch, but he always 'forgot' to eat it. Of course it ceased to be 'cool' to bring your own and picking up some junk on the way into school in the morning was percieved as cool. I dispared at finding curled mouldy lunches in his school bag right up until he left. This was in my opinion caused by other lazy mothers who could not be bothered to provide good food for their kids who found it easier to hand then a £5 before they left for school in the morning. So while I did, my son wouldn't eat it, and spent his pocket money on food. argh.... Wish Jamie had got involved earlier.... I have a two year old too, and to preserve him from the cool culture of school I am planning to home school him.

If the media has represented it as JO attacking working class parents, that's not his fault - blame the media. He's never once mentioned class (afaik).

And he has been trying to do positive things. In about two years, he has practically single-handedly changed the whole attitude of government and LEA's and many previously uninformed parents, to food at school. After 20 years of drift and indifference.

Jesus, how much more positive can you get? If he comes out with the occasional tossers and arseholes now and then, why not? He's not claiming to be a polite health advisor or a politician. He's just a celebrity chef who uses the same language as the rest of us. (Well some of us, anyway. )