Pizza’s a Vegetable?

Am I hearing this correctly? Did Congress just recently affirm pizza is a vegetable? Before I start, let me open with the obvious.

Doesn’t Congress have more important things to do than tell school children and their parents what constitutes a vegetable? Or what they should or should not eat? Based on what I’m reading we should change the name congress to falderal. Yeah, that’s a good idea. We should all write our falderal representatives and urge them to pass a bill enacting the change. I mean after all, in today’s times the bill alone would fulfill the purpose of the United States Falderal?

Anyway, even if the above were worth talking about, the truth to the matter is always the same ¾
it’s about the money, the votes. Why does Congress really take such an interest in food served in public schools? I’m talking about either party. And don’t you think those who have nothing else better to do should at least know what their talking about? I wonder if anyone told these falderal lieutenants that tomatoes are not a vegetable, they’re a fruit. I also wonder if any of them have bothered to research what’s in processed foods, including tomato paste.

Here’s a brief description from the Food and Drugs Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 155.191: Tomato paste is to be comprised from the residue of tomatoes for canning, consisting of peelings and cores with or without such tomatoes or pieces thereof.

Liquid from partial extraction from the juice is obtained. The liquid is obtained with or without heating and is to exclude skins, seeds, or other hard substances in accordance with good manufacturing practice. Prior to straining a “food-grade” hydrochloric acid may be added. Then the acid is to be neutralized with another “food-grade” sodium hydroxide. The product is to contain not less than 8% tomato soluble solids and is preserved by heat sterilization to prevent spoilage. Optional ingredients may include: salt (sodium chloride formed during acid neutralization shall be considered added salt) and sodium bicarbonate.

Presidents have made historical comments about what should be served to our children in school for decades. Reagan with his “ketchup is a vegetable” school lunch proposal. Which by the way, didn’t pass Congress. In the ’90’s a huge battle was won and Congress redressed the issue and started putting mandates in place to get school nutrition in line with our federal government’s dietary advice. But now? I could be wrong, but I think we have bigger apples to fry. Don’t you?

The long and short of it all is really very simple. Pizza has very little, if any at all, nutritional value. Pizza makes you fat. I think most parents know that and restrict the volume of pizza their children eat anyway. Can’t congress just get on with doing their public duty and quit with this silliness. Please, someone tell them they have far more difficult tasks that lie ahead of them than determining what makes a vegetable or not. Personally, I’ve preached to them until I’ve lost my voice, now it’s time for someone else to take over.

As far as the vegetable thing they need to leave that up to someone smarter than them. Hell, they can’t even figure out that if you spend more than you make you’ll go broke.