I recently discovered your television show about your “food revolution,” and I am highly impressed by your mission in the United States! I am a college student at Brigham Young University, along with two of my younger sisters. Though our family could not profess to be the picture of perfect diet, my mom brought us up on daily home cooked meals using fresh ingredients. We sit around the table together for dinner almost every night of the week, and every meal involves a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, grains, etc. My sisters and I have done our best to incorporate our food upbringing into our kitchens at school, but we are each surprised by how many of our roommates have not!
The college meal stereotype has held strong at BYU, even among a student body of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which values and teaches about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Said the current president of our church, Thomas S. Monson, “‘The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are’ (1 Corinthians 3:17). May we keep our bodies--our temples--fit and clean, free from harmful substances which destroy our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.” (Our church’s beliefs about healthy diet can be found in our scriptures, in Doctrine and Covenants Section 89.) Even so, many of my college friends’ diets have consisted predominantly of pb&j’s, Ramen Noodle Soup, Easy Mac, Hamburger Helper, McDonald’s, and Little Caesars pizza. I don’t think any one of those menu choices is bad on occasion, but when they comprise the entire diet there is a problem!
If our Sunday school lessons aren’t getting through to us, then I think the issue stems from a more fundamental level: habit. My friends eat what their parents and schools taught them to eat. When I was in elementary school my mom packed turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, carrot sticks, strawberries, and the like in my lunches. I always drank water or Juicy Juice. My “desserts” consisted of graham crackers and a home made frosting. Nearly all my friends, on the other hand, ate Lunchables, Capri Sun, Doritos, and Oreos, or else bought lunch at the cafeteria. And you know how that goes. I learned things about diet that my peers never learned, even without formal lessons in school, simply by the things I was fed.
That being said, I think the “food revolution” must take place in homes and in school kitchens. If kids learn what to eat by what they are fed, then I don’t think any number of classes, lessons, or demonstrations will change their thinking. The only thing that can bring about true change is an alteration in their teacher: the food on their plates and in their lunch boxes. I love that you are going into schools and helping them improve their menus. I love that you go into people’s homes and show them how to feed their children healthy, inexpensive, easy to prepare meals. When kids eat healthy foods as they grow up, they develop a lifestyle which they will continue into their independence. They will then pass it onto their children, and so on.
Unfortunately the stereotype of the fat American hasn’t popped out of thin air. But I believe there is hope for change, if people could only get the education necessary to provide their kids with an optimally healthy lifestyle. Thank you for your mission in our country! I believe your work has and will bless the lives of many children and families, for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Catherine Jones
