The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been making some changes for certain types of foods for people’s public health. They are making these changes to help protect and improve health care for the American public health. Certain foods that were labeled healthy and good for the health are being reconsidered as unhealthy because of the products and ingredients that are used to make it.
Yolanda Snyder is a Cafeteria Supervisor at Ridgeview High School. Snyder talks about a lot of the changes that are going to be happening in the next four years with the kinds of foods we eat. “ I’m excited, working towards using 100% USA made foods and equipment,” says Snyder. One thing Snyder isn’t excited about is the 50% less sugar in student’s breakfast items. Snyder says, “It will affect some of the items we are currently serving now that students love.” She talks about how food will be healthier, both produced and how it is prepared. It will be less sugar, USA grown, better produce. Snyder talks about how certain food items we eat will be affected by this law, “ Because of the 50% less sugars that will be coming into law soon, it will affect cereals, honey buns, clusters, etc.”. She is excited to bring new items that students are already loving like Acai Bowls that are healthier. Snyder says she is going to love the healthier choices that are going to be made with the new laws that are going to be happening in these upcoming years.
Shannon Caldwell is an Agriculture teacher at Ridgeview High School. Caldwell talks about how people need to know where their food comes from and make good decisions about what they eat but labels on food items are often misleading and can have misinformation about the product. “For example, a label on beef can say “GMO Free” and cost more, but the truth is beef doesn’t contain any GMOs. So, someone paid extra because they thought they were making a good choice for their family when another package that doesn’t say that “GMO Free” is cheaper and the same type of quality,” says Caldwell. She talks about how these changes in the FDA will be a good thing for people to help them go in the right direction with their health, but claims that people aren’t educated enough about the food sources or what’s in it. “I think there needs to be a larger push into educating individuals about their food, how it is grown and produced and common and beneficial production practices.” Caldwell says that people are still going to make their own choices regardless of the changes that are happening. “People will continue to consume what they want and in the quantities they want. The information has been available for years, and people still make choices based on preferences,” says Caldwell.
Hailey Chavez is a student at Ridgeview High School. Chavez heard about the new FDA changes from watching a video on her phone. “I feel these changes will be beneficial for human health and monitoring what we consume,” says Chavez. She says it will be good for these changes because it will be easier to be able to see what foods are healthy and unhealthy. Chavez says, “ I believe this because we want to see what we are consuming, we are able to comprehend the label that is explaining exactly what we are consuming.” Chavez talks about how many people eat chips or candys as comfort foods which are very unhealthy. She doesn’t think that food industries will react in a bad way to the new food changes. “Yes the new labels will be targeting products, but I don’t believe that the labels will have a huge impact on their product sales,” says Chavez. Chavez’s favorite snack is chips, leading her to believe that by starting to label the foods that are unhealthy, this will benefit her health and it will be one less junk food weighing her down.
