Graehm Gray:Will Banning Bake Sales Decrease Childhood Obesity?
By Graehm Gray Editor- In- Chief I was surfing the news channels this past long New Year’s weekend and catching up on my huge stack of news papers and magazines and came across several stories about the Department of Education (DOE) in New York, banning bake sales in schools in an attempt to decrease obesity. At first, it seemed to make sense. I thought that there must be millions of kids eating cake and cookies at these sales. I read the entire memo issued June 29, 2009, in accordance with the polices and initiatives of the New York DOE’s Wellness Policy to “improve the quality and nutritional value of foods and beverages that are available for children.” New York, already one of the first states to display calorie and nutritional values of foods on sale to the public and in restaurants and eliminate trans fats, may be on the cutting edge with this latest move to blunt the obesity epidemic, an epidemic that has yet to have any viable solutions. Or are they? Okay, so you “it’s my right to eat whatever I want, whenever I want” followers are already lining up to say this is yet another unconstitutional action. Aren’t bakes sales a part of our culture? Bakes sales raise money for good causes at County Fairs, religious centers and the Great American Bake Sale sponsored by the Share Our Strength ...
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