Congress was wrong to block new rules proposed by the Agriculture Department that would have overhauled the nation's school lunch program.
In a fight that had more do with adults and big business than the best interest of children, lawmakers sided with the frozen-food industry and potato growers.
An agriculture spending bill approved last week with bipartisan support rejected tougher guidelines for school lunch and breakfast programs. The proposed changes would have been the first in 15 years to the $11 billion lunch program and fell in line with President Obama's effort to end childhood hunger by 2015.
The Obama administration wanted to mandate more fruits, green vegetables, and whole grains. The guidelines would have limited sodium and starchy foods such as french fries. Frozen pizza, a regular school-lunch item, would no longer be routinely counted as a vegetable.
