Parker’s arguments based on rumors

I was disappointed to read Kathleen Parker's June 3 opinion, 'Let's Move! campaign goes too far.”

Many of her arguments against the new school lunch standards are based on rumors, not facts.

The USDA estimates that more than 90 percent of schools are in compliance with the standards. Plus, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health recently found that food waste in schools has not increased. They also found that students consume significantly more fruits and vegetables.

Parker argues that Let's Move! should focus on parents, instead of schools. Parents are, of course, important, but this argument ignores the fact that approximately 1 in 6 children in Linn County are food- insecure, meaning they have uncertain or limited access to adequate food.

For many of these children, the meals they get at school are the only meals they can count on. You may wonder how so many children can be food-insecure when many of our children are obese or overweight, but these conditions are not mutually exclusive. A child can be obese and food-insecure, since the majority of the foods they have access to are low-cost processed foods (high in calories, low in nutrients).

Our child nutrition programs should be based on science, not lobbying by the processed-food industry.

I applaud Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Sen. Tom Harkin, and first lady Michelle Obama and their defense of the existing standards. Schools should not be allowed to opt out of ensuring our children get healthy, nutritious meals.

Katie Jones

Iowa City