Should students have the choice to smoke in the classroom, or the freedom to give their teacher the finger when displeased with a class? Are they repressed if they aren’t allowed to skip gym? Follow the logic of some conservatives, and the answer seems to be yes.
It all started with a short video, put together by a couple of Brampton high-school students who were frustrated by the choice of foods available at Ontario school cafeterias. Their concern was the Ontario government’s School Food and Beverage Policy, which imposes new nutrition standards for foods and drinks sold in schools. The policy prohibits the sale of unhealthy foods, like gum, coffee and (fried) french fries.
The video, which opens by quoting libertarian economist Milton Friedman, bemoans the “choice” that’s been taken away from Ontario students, undercutting their “freedom,” and leaving them “repressed.” Once the students posted it on Youtube, the thing went viral.
“The government is choosing what you can eat. How do you feel about that?” asks one student in the five-minute clip. For conservatives, the answer seems to be: not happy. A blogger with the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies (AIMS) attacked the Ontario government policy as shortsighted. Rob Milligan, the Tory MPP who serves as Deputy Education Critic, visited Brampton to offer his support for the students. And, in late May, Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and his caucus feted the students in the Legislative Assembly, introducing them during Question Period.
On this, we can all agree: The best way to save lives and save dollars in our public “sick-care” system is to prevent disease wherever possible. Obesity is a common, costly condition that is often easily prevented. That said, study after study shows that top-down laws and programs that try to force people into better diets and exercise habits aren’t effective. The alternative? Policies that motivate individuals to make better choices voluntarily.
But there’s a difference between the choices made by adults and those made by minors. The AIMS blog post was entitled “Take Away Choice, Take Away Responsibility.” Remember, though, that students are still students for a reason — they aren’t adults.
And it’s not just Canadian conservatives who seem to have confused the issue. In the United States, conservatives have lined up to oppose Michelle Obama’s benign initiative to reduce childhood obesity. Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin famously presented brownies to a Pennsylvania classroom in response.
Conservatives on both sides of the 49th parallel thus find themselves in an unusual position: defending students’ “freedom” to buy junk food in public schools. The mistake in reasoning is one typically found on the left; here, conservatives define freedom to mean freedom without responsibility. But the public-school system’s responsibility for our kids overrides a child’s freedom of taste.
St. Thomas Aquinas students griped in the Brampton Guardian when they learned that the Queen’s Park cafeteria had unhealthy foods on its menu. “It’s OK for [legislators] to have the choice, but when you’re 16 [or] 17 it’s not,” Samuel Battista said. The correct conservative reply to Mr. Battista is, “Suck it up, son.” As long as he’s a teenage minor in the custody of a taxpayer-funded, provincially-regulated institution, he doesn’t have the same freedoms a 40 year old does.
I’d be sympathetic if these kids lobbied for tastier options on a healthy menu, or pushed for more competent cooking. Healthy doesn’t have to mean inedible. As celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has shown with his work in the United Kingdom, healthy cafeteria food can be inexpensive and popular. For the record, in standardized tests, students in Oliver’s target schools scored measurably better in science, English and math. Teachers also reported improved discipline and a decline in absenteeism.
But Brampton students aren’t mulling more flavourful fruit plates or better geometry scores. With conservative support, they’re specifically campaigning for the freedom to have unhealthy menu options while they’re on school property.
What’s next? The “freedom” to write English lit essays in Pig Latin? Conservatives would laugh if students campaigned for that. The Brampton campaign for freedom fries should get the same treatment.
National Post
David Gratzer is a physician and author.
