“Victory For The White Potato”
I grew up in Aroostook County, which has been called the “Potato Capital of America.” One of my first jobs was picking potatoes for a local farmer, Gilman Albair. Mainers are proud of our potato industry, which according to the Maine Potato Board, employs more than 6,000 people and pays more than $32 million in state and local taxes.
Recently, however, the potato came under attack. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a rule that would limit servings of a certain category of vegetables that includes white potatoes, green peas, lima beans, and corn, to a total of one-cup per week in the National School Lunch Program. The proposed rule would also ban this category of vegetables from the School Breakfast Program altogether. If this rule were allowed to go into effect, it would mean a school that served a medium baked potato on Monday could not serve corn or potatoes, in any form, for the rest of the week, an absurd result as school food services directors told me.
This kind of regulatory overreach just doesn’t make sense. Along with Senator Mark Udall (D-CO), I offered an amendment to the Department of Agriculture funding bill that would prevent USDA from moving forward with this arbitrary, maximum limitation, while keeping the current requirement that school meals be consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I am delighted that our amendment passed unanimously in the Senate. If the House of Representatives follows our lead, this means USDA will not be able to proceed with a rule that would impose unnecessary and expensive new requirements affecting the servings of healthy vegetables, such as white potatoes, green peas, corn, and lima beans.
Let me be clear. I fully recognize the need to improve the nutritional standards in the school meals programs. I also support USDA’s goal to increase the availability of all fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in these programs and to ensure the foods served in our schools are prepared in a way that meets the nutritional needs of children.
It is no surprise that the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for Americans to eat more vegetables. The guidelines list four “nutrients of concern” – potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D – and state that intake of these nutrients is currently “low enough to be of public health concern” in both children and adults. Since USDA is concerned about a lack of these nutrients in the American diet, it makes sense for the Department to promote good sources of these critical nutrients.
Yet, what didn’t make sense was that the Department’s proposed rule would actually limit vegetables that are good sources of these nutrients. USDA should not limit their availability, but instead it should encourage their healthy preparation.
For example, here are some nutritional facts about potatoes that are often overlooked:
Potatoes have more potassium than bananas, a food commonly associated with this nutrient.
Potatoes are cholesterol-free, low in fat and sodium, and can be served in countless healthy ways.
In fact, a medium baked potato contains:
• 15 percent of the daily recommended value of dietary fiber,
• 27 percent of the daily recommended value for vitamin B6, and,
• 28 percent of the daily recommended value of vitamin C.
USDA’s ill-advised proposed regulation seems to have been driven by concern that children eat too many French fries and potato chips. I agree, but there are many other ways to prepare this excellent vegetable – baked, boiled, roasted, in soups, chowders, and stews, to name but a few. For example, Maine school food service administrators tell me that many kids rave for baked potato bars where they can top potatoes with broccoli, shaved carrots, beans, chives, vegetarian chili, and salsa.
This proposed rule would have also imposed significant and needless costs on our nation’s school districts at a time when they can least afford it. The USDA estimates that this rule could have cost as much as $6.8 billion over five years. The lion’s share of these costs would be incurred by the state and local agencies.
The costs associated with the proposed rule would also affect working families who rely on the school meal programs. The National Association of Elementary School Principals wrote to me, saying that “USDA’s proposed nutritional guidelines will force schools to raise paid meal prices.” I was also pleased to have the support of many other groups including the National School Boards Association, the Maine Department of Education, and the Maine Potato Board.
Given the sound nutritional facts and the economic implications for Maine’s potato industry, I fought to ensure that schools could maintain the flexibility they need to serve healthy meals at an affordable cost. In the end, common sense prevailed.
Recently, however, the potato came under attack. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a rule that would limit servings of a certain category of vegetables that includes white potatoes, green peas, lima beans, and corn, to a total of one-cup per week in the National School Lunch Program. The proposed rule would also ban this category of vegetables from the School Breakfast Program altogether. If this rule were allowed to go into effect, it would mean a school that served a medium baked potato on Monday could not serve corn or potatoes, in any form, for the rest of the week, an absurd result as school food services directors told me.
This kind of regulatory overreach just doesn’t make sense. Along with Senator Mark Udall (D-CO), I offered an amendment to the Department of Agriculture funding bill that would prevent USDA from moving forward with this arbitrary, maximum limitation, while keeping the current requirement that school meals be consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I am delighted that our amendment passed unanimously in the Senate. If the House of Representatives follows our lead, this means USDA will not be able to proceed with a rule that would impose unnecessary and expensive new requirements affecting the servings of healthy vegetables, such as white potatoes, green peas, corn, and lima beans.
Let me be clear. I fully recognize the need to improve the nutritional standards in the school meals programs. I also support USDA’s goal to increase the availability of all fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in these programs and to ensure the foods served in our schools are prepared in a way that meets the nutritional needs of children.
It is no surprise that the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for Americans to eat more vegetables. The guidelines list four “nutrients of concern” – potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D – and state that intake of these nutrients is currently “low enough to be of public health concern” in both children and adults. Since USDA is concerned about a lack of these nutrients in the American diet, it makes sense for the Department to promote good sources of these critical nutrients.
Yet, what didn’t make sense was that the Department’s proposed rule would actually limit vegetables that are good sources of these nutrients. USDA should not limit their availability, but instead it should encourage their healthy preparation.
For example, here are some nutritional facts about potatoes that are often overlooked:
Potatoes have more potassium than bananas, a food commonly associated with this nutrient.
Potatoes are cholesterol-free, low in fat and sodium, and can be served in countless healthy ways.
In fact, a medium baked potato contains:
• 15 percent of the daily recommended value of dietary fiber,
• 27 percent of the daily recommended value for vitamin B6, and,
• 28 percent of the daily recommended value of vitamin C.
USDA’s ill-advised proposed regulation seems to have been driven by concern that children eat too many French fries and potato chips. I agree, but there are many other ways to prepare this excellent vegetable – baked, boiled, roasted, in soups, chowders, and stews, to name but a few. For example, Maine school food service administrators tell me that many kids rave for baked potato bars where they can top potatoes with broccoli, shaved carrots, beans, chives, vegetarian chili, and salsa.
This proposed rule would have also imposed significant and needless costs on our nation’s school districts at a time when they can least afford it. The USDA estimates that this rule could have cost as much as $6.8 billion over five years. The lion’s share of these costs would be incurred by the state and local agencies.
The costs associated with the proposed rule would also affect working families who rely on the school meal programs. The National Association of Elementary School Principals wrote to me, saying that “USDA’s proposed nutritional guidelines will force schools to raise paid meal prices.” I was also pleased to have the support of many other groups including the National School Boards Association, the Maine Department of Education, and the Maine Potato Board.
Given the sound nutritional facts and the economic implications for Maine’s potato industry, I fought to ensure that schools could maintain the flexibility they need to serve healthy meals at an affordable cost. In the end, common sense prevailed.
