The House Freedom Caucus (Twitter) (Facebook) is a group of conservative House Republicans that issued a 23-page list of regulations it wants overturned in a Trump administration, and nutrition is a key target. The list includes the Food and Drug Administration’s update to the Nutrition Facts Panel and the updated standards for school meals. Both of those were priorities championed by First Lady Michelle Obama. The document says, “The regulations have proven themselves to be unworkable for schools to implement.” The regulations it’s referring to include the standards that mandate schools to offer more fruits and vegetables and whole grains while cutting back on salt, sugar, and fat. It goes on to say, “Schools are throwing away food that students are not eating.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that schools have almost hit 100 percent compliance to the changes and health advocates say that students have adjusted as well. Items not on the list to overturn include the FDA’s near-ban of trans fat, policies intended to limit antibiotic use in agriculture, the Food Safety Modernization Act rules, and new stocking requirements for SNAP food retailers.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.