Hot Air reported yesterday that the Department of Agriculture is submitting new guidelines for food served at any day care facility (including some private homes) which qualify for federal funding. This is what happens when you take money from the government–they get their grubby little hands in your business and start trying to run things.

I am not opposed to feeding children healthy food if they are in daycare. I am opposed to the ridiculous.

The article reports:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing strict new dietary guidelines for day cares that would prohibit them from frying food that is served to children.

Child care providers would also be formally required to provide children with water upon request, though they would face restrictions on how much apple juice and orange juice they serve.

One of the more notable provisions would restrict day cares from frying food on site and discourage them from serving pre-packaged fried food, such as chicken fingers, from the grocery store.

“While facilities would not be permitted under this proposed rule to prepare foods on site by frying them,” the USDA wrote in the Federal Register, “store-bought, catered, or pre-fried foods can still contribute large amounts of calories and saturated fat to a meal. Therefore, facilities are encouraged to limit all fried and pre-fried foods to no more than once per week.”

Some of my grandchildren would have starved to death without chilcken fingers, and just for the record, these grandchildren are not obese.

The article also includes this gem:

The USDA’s meal standards also include other proposed changes, such as allowing tofu as a meat alternative.

If children chose to eat tofu after they reach the age of consent, that is their privilege. However, forcing tofu on young children should be considered child abuse. I know there are many people who would disagree with the above statement, but it’s my blog, and that’s my opinion.