Good Fats, Bad Fats- Does .GOV Know Best?
By Mila Wood
Mila is a mother and Common Core warrior from Idaho.
Helping my kid with homework after school, and he says that he needs to go on this website and fill out his food intake for a few days so they can study in class about calories, exercise and things like body mass index. So, we log on at home, as he is not allowed to log into the schools “free-mandatory” device because our district would not give me a statement in writing that his personal info would only be used in our district. The right to privacy is a high priority at our house. Moving on..
Here is the site: MyPlate.gov…..yep, I said .GOV… there is even a little white house logo on their home page. How sweet.
Now, we looked at the assignment and discussed, again as we do frequently, why the government has no business in this area. Don’t get me wrong, I do think that a nutrition class is not a bad idea, but the reporting straight to the .GOV site is just too creepy. I think if the teacher is qualified there is no harm in doing a class assignment or two on food, exercise and nutrition. The problem aside from directly funneling information into .GOV, is the false impression that the government knows MORE and KNOWS better, and is the ultimate authority on things such as health and food. Just look up Monsanto. Or turn your TV on to see how many drugs and surgical devices have been recalled and deemed unsafe, after they were used on the masses. I am happy that the USDA is around to do their job at making sure my bacon doesn’t have Trichinosis–but creating a website that tracks and gathers data on my child’s and family’s eating habits is NOT their job, and I would argue illegal. Yes, it is illegal for the OUR federal government to have a national data base to keep track of its citizens…they are just really good at renaming things like data bases, to well, things like Myplate.gov. It sounds so friendly, and innocent AND it is for your protection.
After we got on the site, I wanted to see what exactly the .GOV said about nutrition to see if maybe I was being too harsh on my first reaction, that they may not be the ultimate source on nutrition. So I went first, to the “OILS” section. OIL, sounds so much more friendly than fat. Here is their list, copied and pasted; Notice their very first oil… more on that below.
Some commonly eaten oils include:
- canola oil
- corn oil
- cottonseed oil
- olive oil
- safflower oil
- soybean oil
- sunflower oil
At our house we eat quite well, mostly home cooked, organic vegetables, healthy snacks, and FATS…FATS, as general rule are fine as long as they are good fats. They help in brain development, function, elimination, metabolism and help skin. The fats we eat at our house, are nuts, organic butter, olive 
oil, fish oil and lots of coconut oil. Coconut oil is good internally and externally, it is almost a miracle substance, yet, NOT even listed on the oil section of the .GOV site…..hmmmm. I wonder of my son with fail the assessment? Will he be tagged for food-intervention? Remember, if there is a health standard he will be tested. Just for the record, my son is well within the range of healthy BMI, but there were some that were not. More on that later. Below is just one article to maybe make you think twice before ingesting Canola oil…there are many. It is also not the only oil on the list that is suspicious, and would NEVER pass the lips of anyone in my family if I have the choice. ( I am also willing to bet that it is NOT actually used in the white house-much like Common Core is great for my child but NOT theirs ) Do your own research, but look at the site just to see what .GOV is peddling.
oil, fish oil and lots of coconut oil. Coconut oil is good internally and externally, it is almost a miracle substance, yet, NOT even listed on the oil section of the .GOV site…..hmmmm. I wonder of my son with fail the assessment? Will he be tagged for food-intervention? Remember, if there is a health standard he will be tested. Just for the record, my son is well within the range of healthy BMI, but there were some that were not. More on that later. Below is just one article to maybe make you think twice before ingesting Canola oil…there are many. It is also not the only oil on the list that is suspicious, and would NEVER pass the lips of anyone in my family if I have the choice. ( I am also willing to bet that it is NOT actually used in the white house-much like Common Core is great for my child but NOT theirs ) Do your own research, but look at the site just to see what .GOV is peddling.Canola Oil is a Classic Example of Food Fraud – NaturalNews.com
Why You Should Avoid Soybean Oil | StopKillingMyKids.com
http://www.stopkillingmykids.
6 Reasons Why Vegetable Oils Are Toxic
http://authoritynutrition.com/
The class had to, of course, discuss their own BMI percentages openly in class. Out loud. (Just pause here, and think of yourself as 10th grade girl. Remember back to that time, were you fully confident? Care free to be judged by others? Happy to discuss your weight in class?) And of course, NOT all the girls/boys were within the .GOV BMI index. BUT, unfortunately for her, no matter how far outside the graph you are, is still OUTSIDE the graph. Therefore you are labeled overweight-in front of the whole class. In her mind, probably forever. UGH. My son said that he felt really bad, in particular for one girl, that even cried. I am not sure this is how a healthy, confidence building, discussion about food is supposed to go- Maybe she will just have to use Grit- to get through it. I wonder what her intervention will be if she doesn’t grit through it, and become BMI compliant longitudinally?
In my humble opinion, this is NOT the job of the government. I believe that people are smart, I do believe that they may not make the best choices as far as food and exercise goes, BUT that is not the governments concern to monitor or judge…….It is not the proper role of government to tell the public what to eat, and how much exercise to get. Maybe instead of worrying about what my kid eats, the feds should really be refocusing on DEFENSE, maybe the borders, maybe Ebola, maybe protecting our consulates ( remember Benghazi?) maybe getting ALL the important people to WH briefings, so that they do not have to learn about catastrophic events by way of the t.v news….ya, maybe that should be their focus. If the WH does find extra, spare time on their hands, maybe they could blog about something they DO KNOW about, perhaps a nice top 10 things to do on vacation in Hawaii? Or, how to stuff an unbelievable amount of time on the golf course, into a busy schedule. Lastly, how to golf with a horrible swing and still LOVE it! yes, those blogs would be useful.
Please be informed as to what your kids are doing in school, and find out where their information is going. Anything that is collected at school on a device issued by the school, is considered educational data-which is NO longer protected by FERPA. This is stranger danger on steroids! The ONLY children that are exempt, are the ones who’s parents are also exempt from programs like ACA because they are elected officials. Isn’t it time for some REAL equality, for OUR children?
Food police = Maoism
Awesome, Mila! Parents must learn to pay attention and get engaged in safeguarding their kids information. Thanks for sharing this important experience!