Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Fights French Fries

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Fights French Fries

"Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" on ABC has declared war against French fries in our school lunch programs. He has literally banned them from the local high school in Huntington, W.V.

During a high school lunch period, Jamie is serving a dish that turns out not to have enough vegetables to qualify under USDA guidelines. Rhonda McCoy, director of food services for the city's schools, admonishes Jamie for not having "a cup and a quarter" of fruits and vegetables in his meal of chicken teriyaki stir fry with noodles and veggies that also includes a half cup of fruit for dessert. McCoy remedies the situation by putting French fries into the food line since they count as a vegetable.

"When I found out that a French fry was considered a vegetable, it insulted me, it upset me, and it was a small little inkling as to why maybe we have the problems that we've got," said Oliver.

So do French fries count as a vegetable? Yes, they do, according to the government.

French fries have been on the list of "fresh" vegetables since 1996 under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. They are considered fresh because they fall short of the guidelines that would qualify them as "processed."

I don't know about you, but I find this pretty appalling. The USDA guidelines for school lunch programs were established in 1946 when President Truman signed them into law. I'm sure at that time they had no intention of French fries being considered a healthy vegetable.

Something else you might be surprised to learn are the calorie counts of school lunches. The minimum calorie standard for a school lunch for high school age children is 825 calories, which is supposed to translate to about 30 percent of a child's daily needs. However, the American Heart Association suggests 1,800 calories a day for a 14- to 18-year-old girls and 2,200 calories for boys of the same age. This means the 825 calories is at least 38 to 46 percent of daily recommended totals. And if most of those calories are consumed with flavored milk and French fries (a favorite of the students on "Food Revolution"), then you really have to call into question the nutritional value of the lunches being served to our children.

If you would like to do something about making a change, you can start by signing Jamie's Petition. For a behind the scenes glimpse of Oliver's goals for the new show, check out our recent That's Fit interview.