News - U.S. Allows More Vegetable Protein in School Menus

[Guest guest]

This is some interesting information that I recieved of of another list

that I am on...

 

News - U.S. Allows More Vegetable Protein in School Menus

 

 

http://dailynews./h/nm/20000309/ts/food_kids_1.html

 

U.S. Allows More Vegetable Protein in School Menus

By Barbara Hagenbaugh

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department

on Thursday said it will let school cafeterias

substitute more veggie burgers for hamburgers as a

source of protein in kids' diets, winning plaudits

from some nutritionists but criticism from beef

producers.

 

The department, citing new studies on protein content

in non-meat foods, removed the previous requirement

that only 30 percent of protein in school meals come

from vegetable sources such as veggie burgers made

partly from soybeans.

 

The department also changed the requirement that

protein sources other than meat would have to be

fortified with zinc and iron. The USDA said the two

requirements were based on old data from the mid-1980s

that have now been proven false.

 

``These changes provide menu planners with more

flexibility to incorporate these products into their

menus along with the traditional protein sources of

meat, poultry and seafood, " the Agriculture

Department said in a Federal Register notice.

 

The requirements were also lifted from the school

breakfast program, the summer food service and other

domestic food aid programs for both children and

adults.

 

U.S. school cafeterias serve more than 35 million

subsidized breakfasts and lunches each day to poor

children.

 

The Vegetarian Resource Group welcomed the proposal,

citing a recent study that found that children from

eight and 12 years old are becoming vegetarians at

twice the rate of adults.

 

``It's a long time coming, " Suzanne Havala, a

registered dietitian and adviser for the Vegetarian

Resource Group, said, predicting that veggie burgers

will now become a popular item on school cafeteria

menus.

 

``Those products taste so good nowadays that lots of

people are eating them, " Havala said.

 

But meat industry groups, including the National

Cattlemen's Beef Association, criticized the changes,

noting that government studies show that kids are not

getting enough nutrients in their diets already and

dropping the regulations on vegetable protein will

only make the problem worse.

 

``We feel that USDA has been quite irresponsible, "

said Mary Young, executive director of nutrition at

the cattlemen group.

 

``Soy really isn't beef, " she said. ``It is not a

nutritional substitute for beef. It is already placing

at-risk children at risk for nutritional deficiency. "

 

The government originally proposed the change in July

and received 635 comments from the public. Only 16

respondents objected to the changes, the Agriculture

Department said.

 

 

 

__________________________

___

__________________________

___