Trump shamefully rolls back Michelle Obama’s much-praised school lunch program

BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU

It’s no secret that Donald Trump is a fundamentally racist man. The facts speak for themselves and there is no need to list them here, other than to remind the reader of Trump’s lead in the foolish so-called birther movement that has been debunked. It’s no secret that nothing but Trump’s racism and jealousy of President Obama led to the pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, several environmental protection policies of the Obama era, and more.

Then comes today the last step to roll back the Michelle Obama’s school lunch program. This, on the former first lady’s birthday. The program, hailed by renowned nutritionists, increased the requirement for fruits and vegetables in school meals, cut trans-fat and reduced sodium levels in food, and also required cafeterias to serve only skim or low-fat milk.

One needs not be a nutrition expert to know that healthy meals contribute substantially to the physical and mental health of anybody, more so of our children.

In a recent oped published by The Hill (an online news source) Dr. Rachel Borton, the director of the Family Nurse Practitioner online program at Bradley University, wrote:

“If those students don’t have access to the nutritious options provided by the school, they may turn to low cost, processed foods that are high in calories but sparse in nutrients. Immediate effects of this type of diet include weight gain and poor physical health.” She then listed “increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and a slew of other unfortunate health outcomes” as the long-term impact of the roll-back of the program.

In a statement released today as the last nail in the coffin of one of Obama’s legacies, Trump’s Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue, writes:

“Schools and school districts continue to tell us that there is still too much food waste and that more common-sense flexibility is needed to provide students nutritious and appetizing meals. We listened and now we’re getting to work.”

What are good parents’ duties, and good politicians’ responsibilities if not to show our children the right way, and keep them on that way?

After playing with our safety by pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal without even the beginning of a Middle East Policy; and out of the Paris Accord to protect the environment, Trump is now playing politics with the health of our children, especially those low-income ones for whom school lunch is easily the only real meal of the day.

It’s another sad day of the Trump era.

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Soumanou Salifou is the founder/publisher of “The African,” the premier African magazine published in the United States, dating back to 1994.