ABSTRACT

School should be an important nutritional gateway where children learn a basic standard of cooking, understand what comprises a balanced diet and why that is important, and comprehend what food is, how it reaches the plate and what environmental, economic and social factors are embedded in various food items. Schools are far more than a place where the ‘hard’ skills of mathematics, science and languages are taught; they should also instil the ‘soft’ skills of reading, studying, research, social interaction and responsibility. Food, cooking and nutrition, rather than being an extra burden on teaching schedules, can in fact contribute to and reinforce many areas of the traditional ‘hard’ curriculum subjects. Nutritional efforts could be made in other arenas of state food provision such as prisons and the military. The utilization of fiscal measures, such as taxation, might pre-form the financial landscape in which junk food retailers, manufacturers and their advertising agencies anticipate operating in.