Join Jamie’s Food Revolution
Take 30 seconds to sign Jamie Oliver’s petition to build support for better food at school and better health prospects for America’s children.
Jamie plans to take his petition to the White House after the TV series airs, to show The President and First Lady how many people across the country really care about this and ask for their support.
We need better food in our schools to ensure that all children in this country have the same opportunity live a long and healthy life. It is ridiculous that in country as rich as the United States with as much farm land as we have that their are kids who lack access to healthy fresh food. The poorer a child is the more likely they are to have a bad diet and suffer from chronic diseases. Having better food in our schools is a social justice issue and I’m so glad you have taken it on.
Kudos, Jaime. Keep up this important work!
Great idea. Working on how I can do something at my school. Good Luck Jamie!
After living in Germany and raising an infant/toddler there I lived among people who were devoted to teaching their children healthy eating habits. Nothing but organic with no sugar and no salt. I returned to the US with a 2 year old and was APPALLED at what her daycare considered to be healthy food. They advertise that they follow some federal guideline and by following that guideline they get federal funding – similar to school menus I believe. All the guideline stipulates as far as I could tell was that kids get exact portion sizes of carbs, fruit, veggis, dairy, protein. According to this plan, a corn dog is perfectly healthy. Canned fruits in syrup and canned veggis were the rule. Part of their ‘curriculum’ included playing with food such as finger painting with cool whip colored with food coloring, smashing up oreos to simulate mud and the like. I tried to get around it by claiming my daughter was allergic to HFCS and all forms of sugar – but her daycare workers were too uneducated to understand that canned fruit and ketchup have sugar and HFCS in them. I think schools are on the same food program. It may have a lot to do with parental backbone to get your kids to eat healthy, but when neither the culture nor the schools support us, we are lost. Our children come home and accuse us of abusing them by forcing them to eat food that is not fashionable. Then they go behind our backs anyway. If we were able to do it with the tobacco industry and smoking, there must be a way to exorcise bad food from schools.
Keep up the great work, Jaime, it’s great to see you advocate so eloquently and passionately about this important issue.
I am so happy that another celebrity has taken on the issue/problem of poor diet in America and in our schools. I have taught my child about food since her birth. It is difficult for her at school sometimes, because the other kids eat a lot of junk food. It surrounds our society as “treats” and as a socializing tool. The aesthetics of schools, such as new desks or freshly painted walls are not worth cutting down on school lunch budgets. Even new books will do no good, because a child who eats foods with artificial flavors, artificial colors, and chock full of sugar, has a slow brain. Your talk has inspired me to join or start a nutritional committee in the public schools in my town. Thank you.
Way to go Jamie!!!! The world have been waiting for your efforts!!
I support what you and what Michelle Obama are trying to do. We’ve got to educate children in their classes and their school lunchrooms, but we’ve got to adddress their parents, too. This country has a generation of parents seriously lacking in nutritional education that need remedial instruction to save their kids’ lives. We hear about the foodies, the slow food and local food trends, but that’s a small fraction of the population.
Thank you Jamie… I was wondering what you’ve been up to.
I’ll become a Certified Nutrition Educator this July and look forward to using my knowledge and passion to help teach children and adults about seasonal, organic, unadulterated local food in the home, schools and workplace. Congratulations and keep up the great work you are doing!
What a great way to help and empower people to make a change! As a preschool teacher I truly believe everything starts with children, we need to teach them and give them the tools to succeed in life and make a change. So happy that we are and want to be part of this. Keep up the good work!!!!!
We all need to commit to joining this revolution in some way. We know the various reasons/ways we got to this point so let’s stop saying other people/organizations did it to us. We are each responsible for ourselves. If we did not take an active role in fixing it, we contributed. We may be influenced but ultimately it is our CHOICE. My dad died of diabetes and heart disease by choice – food choices. I chose differently. Let’s join Jamie and remind people of their power to choose to vote with their dollars for healthy food choices and their power to create change by helping solve the problem vs. just talking and complaining about it. Help schools- don’t criticize them or be passive- be part of the solution. Get Active! Be role models.Start now.
We certainly need better food. I should like to say, I don’t think low-fat is healthy, and “low sugar” can be deadly. Wrongly processed sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial fats, chemical additives: these are killing us. People starve themselves of nutrition eating low-fat food, etc., have no energy and do nothing.
The problem is real but this only addresses part of the solution. Looking over Jamie’s site and recipes, it still doesn’t address the need for proper nutritional information regarding carbs, protein, fats, nutrients, etc. The amount of misinformation and disinformation on this subject is staggering.
I believe that we are responsible to connect the next generation to the earth…where the food comes from…not only for the health of the people, but also the health of the planet. Keep it up Jamie!!
This is a wonderful cause that I am so happy to see being talked about and supported. As a graduate student I am studying sustainable design. Changing the way that we grow and eat food is integral to moving towards a more sustainable society. I am currently working on a project to create vertical farms in the home and school as a way to increase access to fresh, local foods for children and adults. Although my project is one of many moving in this direction, it is great to know that those with a large audience are helping to spread the message. I would love to see projects like mine working in conjunction with Jamie’s cause and other similar groups to bring both growing food and associated educational opportunities to children across the US and the globe as well.
As a recent watcher of the film “Food Inc”. it is more apparent to me what a massive task it will be to transform food production.
Thank you for keeping this issue in the forefront. As you stated in your TED acceptance speech, there are many groups and individuals changing school food and they must have support to continue. We (schools) need support from the USDA and congress to make a permanent change possible. My district programs (Chilton & Hilbert, WI) are currently purchasing nearly 20% of our food locally. Just think…that number could be 50-60% if we had financial support, and a better infrastructure in place. Yell it from the rooftops! Maybe others will hear you.
Many years ago my mother told me a story about my brother coming into our kitchen at home and seeing that my mother was peeling a potato asked her what she was doing. When she explained, he immediatly said to her – “That’s not a potato mommy” and reached into an under counter cabinet, took out the box of instant mash, and said “THAT’s a potato, mommy!” My now sadly departed mother recalled being completely mortified that her three year old would not know a potato from a box of instant, and after that you can bet we were taught the difference – and how to appreciate food.
My brother is 52 – so the problems with food education have been going on much longer than 30 years. Remember TANG? It was good for you because it went with the astronauts to the moon. How about “wonder bread” helps build strong bodies 12 ways!
I now work in a school in London, UK, but was brought up in Boston, MA. At our school we have tried to institute healthier eating, but the profit motive of our contracted canteen provider is pretty difficult to overcome. Jamie started his revolution here in the UK, and it has been pretty difficult to educate and convince people to give up easy options – BUT it is REALLY worth doing.
Everyone who sees this – I hope you are inspired to do just ONE thing to promote healthy eating – whether it is in your own home or your local community. Believe me – it is really really worth while.
Kudos to Jamie for making a difference in the lives of people in our country as well as his own and beyond. In my sons preschool in Orlando, FL, they are providing lunches that fall into the recommended guidelines of the USDA. Yet, I feel that they could provide more options for healthy eating. I very rarely purchase food in a box and when I make my monthly menu it consists of recipes I have to purchase individual ingredients for. Having a family history of heart disease and diabetes, I am worried about my health as well as my son’s health. He is three and I am teaching him the difference between what is: a meal, a snack and a treat. I think it is important for children to eat a balanced diet. It makes me feel good when I can provide something good for my family. Now if I could just get him to eat FISH!
Thank you Jamie for being an ambassador in this tragic thing that has crept up on all of us. I was
raised in a home where everything was made from scratch. And scratch is where we need to go
to as our reference point. We have lost our roots and are not attached to anything anymore. And now
that the storm has arrived, we are being blown away.
Part of the disease is BIG Corp. (worldwide) The almighty $ has caused this. They saw a way to make
a lot of $ by injecting this poison into society. Can we get BIG Corp to be as excited to market real, whole
food? I think we can. It does involve government, but It takes education mostly. Our best petition is to
start boycotting the poison. i am going to do my part and tell as many people as I can by sharing this
message through social networking. My 3 children and wife have now watched this as well…things
are going to change.
Thanks Jamie
When watching the TED talk I was struck by the idea that schools could set up gardens. This would not only teach children about different vegetables and fruits, but how to grow and care for them and later turn them into sustainable food that they can eat. I really do believe that this could be a fairly low-cost but highly-effective way of transmitting food education.
Healthy eating sounds great — we all know that it is needed. And, Jamie Oliver has done a wonderful job of bringing this issue to public attention. All that is great. But, I would like to point out that some psychologists have been working on the issue of healthy eating for many years now. Some researchers in my department (psychology, at Bangor University in Wales) have actually designed a program that “teaches” (”brainwashes”?) kids to love fruits and vegetables. They have done dozens of studies — and, independent groups have verified all their results. The program has been rolled out to all of Ireland recently — and was awarded a World Health Organization award a year ago. I do not know why more schools around the world are not using it. It is based on solid behavior change research. It is not my area (I do neuroscience stuff), but – from what I can tell, it seems to be great stuff. If anyone REALLY wants to “fix” unhealthy eating, then check out this program (it is called “Food Dudes”). They have a website here:
http://www.fooddudes.co.uk/
Thank goodness for Jamie Oliver. I am the International Campaign Spokesperson for the Weekly Fitness Challenge. WFC is a global social media campaign aimed to get the unfit moving with 12 week programmes. We are fitness and health care professionals who care about the obesity issues worldwide. We are THE volunteer obesity army.
I keep going back to the petition and wanting to sign it again and again to move this along faster (although I don’t) as I have been waiting years for something like this to happen! I am so very excited to see Jamie (this family has been following your career for years) stepping up to the plate and giving a voice to the hideous place this country finds itself. He is right, so right! While I am not a part of the business of food at all, I have had concerns for years and have spent a great deal of time trying to find appropriate ingredients as well as teaching my own children the value of being able to feed themselves. One thing I might add is for heaven’s sake get the medical community involved with this. I recently had soda pop presented to me as a real treat at a hospital!!! Medical people, as well as educators, need to also be involved in this movement and maybe it will allow them the opportunity to see how they have also employed the factory model which doesn’t work for human beings!
Thank you so much for all you are doing. I am shouting your message as loud as I can!
Congratulations Jamie! I just signed your petition and am urging my friends to do the same. I’m also trying to start up a community cooking group! Let’s hope with this initiative that the schools stop serving garbage and start serving healthy, fresh, “home-cooked” meals to our kids! Cheers!
The US ranks number 42 among world nations with regard to child mortality, despite the fact that we spend twice as much on health care as nations with lower child mortality rates.
According to the experts, the newest trends seems to indicate more preventable deaths from disease like diabetes and pneumonia. Good nutrition is basic to good health which allows the body to fight off infection and prevent diet related diseases, such as diabetes.
The research supports your brilliant effort, Jamie. May you be successful beyond your wildest dreams in this endeavor.