Looks like certain quarters of the U.S. government think hungry kids make for better students, but in a country where unhealthy eating habits have led to a public health crisis, we can look to Japan for the perfect way of feeding two birds with one meal.
Since 1954, school lunches have been provided nationwide in Japan’s schools and reached the point of serving the healthy fare they enjoy today in the 1970s.
Elementary and junior high school students eat lunch in their classroom, where they learn about nutrition and Japan’s food history and culture. They also take turns serving the meal to each other, cleaning up, and recycling. As government school lunch experts Nobuko Tanaka and Miki Miyoshi write, this helps children acquire “a sense of gratitude” and “spirit to appreciate foods and social manners.”
Considering Japan’s long life expectancy and impressively low obesity rate, the powers that be could take a few lessons.
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