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Sources to use: @http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/school-food-public-policy-and-strategies-change "Food is a $1.3 trillion annual business, with the vast percentage of profits going to added-value products rather than basic commodities. It pays to turn wheat into sugared breakfast cereals, or potatoes into chips. Farmers get only a small share — 18% or so — of the consumer's food dollar, less for vegetables, fruits, and grains than for meat and dairy. So there is a big incentive to marketers to make food products with cheap raw ingredients like fat and sugar. And they do — to the tune of 12,000 or so new products every year. There are now 320,000 foods on the market (not all in the same place); the average large supermarket contains 40,000 to 60,000 food products, more than anyone could possibly need or want."

"Food companies say they are not responsible for the changes in society that make kids demand their products. They point to decreasing family size, older parents, working parents, and single parents all predisposing to greater indulgence of kids. Kids are more spoiled; coupled with other changes in society, they are also less independent."

"The USDA is a complex agency with multiple constituencies. Because of internal conflicts of interest, the agency cannot protect the integrity of the school meals program on its own. It is already clear, for example, that Congress believes that more competition is good for schools."

"There needs to be one place in society where children feel that their needs come first — not their future as consumers."

http://www.eastonsd.org/lunchmenus/Menus_files/nutrition_standards_for_competitive.pdf