Food Neutrality

When I read the One America News article, I wondered if it was from the Babylon Bee.

On Thursday, One America News posted an article about Los Angeles Unified School District releasing a video claiming that diets are an example of ‘food oppression.’ The video claims that we should tell our kids that we’ve lied to them and no one food is better for them than another food (oppressive food hierarchy).

The article reports:

The L.A. Parent Union drew attention to the presentation. The Union alleged that ‘food choice’ is the result of a false standard of health. Nutritionist, Kera Nyemb-Diop, and influencer Blair Imani, are featured in the video. The two ladies encouraged students to eat whatever they want as no nutritional choice is healthier than another.

Now that’s really interesting. I remember in junior high school seeing a video of an experiment on white mice. One group of mice was fed vegetables and protein and the other group of mice was fed potato chips and soda. The first group of mice thrived and the second group did not. I realize that we are not mice, but somehow I think there are some things we could learn from that experiment.

Obesity is a problem in America. What is in our food? How much real (natural) food do we eat? How much sugar or high fructose corn syrup do we consume? Do children who grow up drinking sweet tea have more cavities? Do children who eat a lot of sweets tend to weigh more?

I will admit that I have never heard the expression oppressive food hierarchy before. I also realize that some of the information we were given as children about what we should eat has turned out to be false. The food pyramid puts starches on the bottom as things we should eat a lot of and puts fats and oils on the top to be used sparingly. Studies have shown that certain oils (coconut oil, olive oil) have nutritional benefits. Studies have also shown that many Americans are gluten sensitive, so the pyramid does not work for them. Many nutritionists believe that the Mediterranean diet is the healthiest way to eat, but according to the Los Angeles Unified School District that would be part of the oppressive food hierarchy.

At any rate, I think the introduction of the concept of oppressive food hierarchy sounds like something out of the Babylon Bee. We do know that Americans eat too much sugar and too much fat that those things are not good for you. Some foods are simply more healthy than others. Calling that concept oppressive food hierarchy does not change that fact.

What Does This Have To Do With Educating Students?

Yesterday Just the News reported that the Los Angeles teachers union says schools can’t reopen unless charter schools get shut down and police defunded. Charter schools generally outperform public schools, so why are the teachers trying to shut them down?

The article reports:

A major teachers union is claiming that the re-opening of schools in its district cannot occur without several substantial policy provisions in place, including a “moratorium” on charter schools and the defunding of local police. 

United Teachers Los Angeles, a 35,000-strong union in the Los Angeles Unified School District, made those demands in a policy paper it released this week. The organization called on local authorities to “keep school campuses closed when the semester begins on Aug. 18.”

The union outlined numerous major provisions it says will be necessary to reopen schools again, including sequestering students in small groups throughout the school day, providing students with masks and other forms of protective equipment, and re-designing school layouts in order to facilitate “social distancing.” 

The article continues:

Police violence “is a leading cause of death and trauma for Black people, and is a serious public health and moral issue,” the union writes. The document calls on authorities to “shift the astronomical amount of money devoted to policing, to education and other essential needs such as housing and public health.”

“Privately operated, publicly funded charter schools,” meanwhile, “drain resources from district schools,” the union states. The practice of “colocating” charter schools in existing structures, it continues, “adds students to campuses when we need to reduce the number of students to allow for physical distancing.”

The union also demands the implementation of a federal Medicare-for-All program, several new state-level taxes on wealthy people, and a “federal bailout” of the school district.

“The benefits to restarting physical schools must outweigh the risks, especially for our most vulnerable students and school communities,” the document continues.

“As it stands, the only people guaranteed to benefit from the premature physical reopening of schools amidst a rapidly accelerating pandemic are billionaires and the politicians they’ve purchased,” it adds.

I want teachers and students to be safe when schools open. I think we all do. However, the teachers union has overlooked the negative impact on the students as a result of the schools being closed during the end of the last school year. They have also overlooked the fact that many foreign countries have had their schools open for a while without any negative results. They are also overreaching into political issues that have nothing to do with education. I wonder if the teachers who are members of the teachers’ union agree with the demands that their union is making.

When Politics Trumps Responsibility

The Jews are the canary in the coal mine. Whatever cruelty is done to the Jews will be eventually aimed at the rest of us. That is the reason we need to pay attention when anti-Semitism is expressed. Usually the Anti-Defamation League (ADF) handles that job very well. However, they are currently ignoring what is in front of them because it would interfere with their politics.

Yesterday Big Government pointed out that there have been a number of anti-Semitic statements and signs at the various Occupy Wall Street protests and the ADF has been strangely silent.

This is one picture from one of the protests. The picture is from Pajamas Media.

One quote from a protester (cited in the Big Government article) was posted on October 12 at Reason.tv.  Patricia McAllister, a self-described employee of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and a demonstrator at Occupy LA:

“I think that, uh, the Zionist Jews who are running these big banks, and our Federal Reserve, which is not run by the federal government–they need to be run out of this country.”

This is not acceptable and Americans need to speak out against this kind of anti-Semitism. If this sort of statement were directed at certain other favored groups (pick your group), there would be outrage, charges of hate speech, and charges of whateverphobia the liberal press thought might apply. We need to protest the double standard that is at work here.

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