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Should all British schoolchildren get free milk? Should all British schoolchildren get free milk?
(about 2 hours later)
Anne Karpf: Free milk is not a solution to povertyAnne Karpf: Free milk is not a solution to poverty
From January, it was announced yesterday, British schools will have to offer milk to all schoolchildren. At a stroke David Cameron reversed what is often seen as Margaret Thatcher's most dastardly act – the ending of free school milk in 1971 for over-sevens. This earned her the moniker "Thatcher, Thatcher milk-snatcher": she might as well have snatched the dummies out of babies' mouths, so loud was the outcry. (Curious, this, since Harold Wilson had ended free school milk for secondary school pupils in 1968 with nary a protest.)From January, it was announced yesterday, British schools will have to offer milk to all schoolchildren. At a stroke David Cameron reversed what is often seen as Margaret Thatcher's most dastardly act – the ending of free school milk in 1971 for over-sevens. This earned her the moniker "Thatcher, Thatcher milk-snatcher": she might as well have snatched the dummies out of babies' mouths, so loud was the outcry. (Curious, this, since Harold Wilson had ended free school milk for secondary school pupils in 1968 with nary a protest.)
For me, it was the only time that I applauded Thatcher: it was the single sensible thing she ever did. And so no, I don't welcome the news that free school milk is returning. Myself, it was the only time that I applauded Thatcher: it was the single sensible thing she ever did. And so no, I don't welcome the news that free school milk is returning.
Milk has an almost entirely undeserved reputation as a healthy food. In fact it has been implicated in many of the very conditions and diseases it is supposed to protect against – from rheumatoid arthritis to ovarian cancer. Even osteoporosis: dairy products aren't part of the Chinese diet – they get their calcium mostly from vegetables – yet osteoporosis is uncommon in China. The government's decision also has a racial dimension: up to 75% of black people are lactose intolerant, along with large swaths of Arabs and Ashkenazi Jews. Milk has an almost entirely undeserved reputation as a healthy food. In fact it has been implicated in many of the very conditions and diseases it is supposed to protect against – from rheumatoid arthritis to ovarian cancer. And the relationship between osteoporosis is much more complex than usually claimed: indeed, dairy products aren't part of the Chinese diet – they get their calcium mostly from vegetables – yet osteoporosis is uncommon in China. The government's decision also has a racial dimension: up to 75% of black people are lactose intolerant, along with large swaths of Arabs and Ashkenazi Jews.
Yet milk has become a symbol of welfare: along with the founding of the NHS and free universal education, the 1946 Free School Milk Act seemed to signal the start of a gentler, post-war world, in which the state recognised its role in promoting good health. In that era, milk provided a quick fix for poverty.Yet milk has become a symbol of welfare: along with the founding of the NHS and free universal education, the 1946 Free School Milk Act seemed to signal the start of a gentler, post-war world, in which the state recognised its role in promoting good health. In that era, milk provided a quick fix for poverty.
Today rickets, that emblem of Victorian poverty, is returning, with four times as many cases appearing in the last 10 years. Hundreds of thousands of children are turning up to school hungry, without having eaten breakfast. But milk isn't the solution. Today rickets, that emblem of Victorian poverty, is returning, with four times as many cases appearing in the last 10 years. Four out of five teachers now see pupils arriving in school hungry. But milk isn't the solution.
Granted, any free foodstuff will go some way to filling those bellies, and at least low-fat, semi-skimmed milk is on offer, though peer closer and you see that only younger children will get it free – older children will be charged. There is no quick fix for poverty. But if Cameron really wants to improve child health, his government should reverse some of the policies that have impoverished large parts of the population while simultaneously enriching the food industry. And if he's looking for a single, symbolic food handout, what's wrong with a banana?Granted, any free foodstuff will go some way to filling those bellies, and at least low-fat, semi-skimmed milk is on offer, though peer closer and you see that only younger children will get it free – older children will be charged. There is no quick fix for poverty. But if Cameron really wants to improve child health, his government should reverse some of the policies that have impoverished large parts of the population while simultaneously enriching the food industry. And if he's looking for a single, symbolic food handout, what's wrong with a banana?
Agnès Poirier: Go back to what Britain does bestAgnès Poirier: Go back to what Britain does best
Three cheers for milk's great comeback in Britain's school canteens. Why am I happy for Britain's schoolchildren? Not for the sticking-out-my-tongue-at-Thatcher factor, but because milk is among the things this country does best. When I first arrived in the UK, 18 years ago, I was shocked to realise that the milk was so much more delicious than in France. Whether creamy or semi-skimmed, from Jersey or Lancashire, milk in Britain is always tasty. And taste is precisely what Britain should focus on in its fight against child obesity.Three cheers for milk's great comeback in Britain's school canteens. Why am I happy for Britain's schoolchildren? Not for the sticking-out-my-tongue-at-Thatcher factor, but because milk is among the things this country does best. When I first arrived in the UK, 18 years ago, I was shocked to realise that the milk was so much more delicious than in France. Whether creamy or semi-skimmed, from Jersey or Lancashire, milk in Britain is always tasty. And taste is precisely what Britain should focus on in its fight against child obesity.
If the UK has the highest rate in Europe, with more than a quarter of children either overweight or obese it's because the most fundamental links with food has been lost. So when I say taste, I mean taste as in going back to basics and British terroir. The 1980s craze for low-fat products at all costs, combined with the increasingly ubiquitous processed meals, has ruined our tastebuds, expanded our waistlines, and worst of all, it has confused us all on the issue of eating. The government's plan to cut out fruit juices, laden with sugar, and unhealthy snacks such as crisps and chocolate-coated biscuits is a good thing but what it really needs to do is to start introducing a new culture.If the UK has the highest rate in Europe, with more than a quarter of children either overweight or obese it's because the most fundamental links with food has been lost. So when I say taste, I mean taste as in going back to basics and British terroir. The 1980s craze for low-fat products at all costs, combined with the increasingly ubiquitous processed meals, has ruined our tastebuds, expanded our waistlines, and worst of all, it has confused us all on the issue of eating. The government's plan to cut out fruit juices, laden with sugar, and unhealthy snacks such as crisps and chocolate-coated biscuits is a good thing but what it really needs to do is to start introducing a new culture.
In French schools, vending machines are rare, snacking almost inexistent and the "menu du jour", concocted by the school chef, is usually placed in the most conspicuous place of the school for everyone to see. Children in France today do as they used to do when I was a kid: run to look at the menu during the morning break and discuss it (really). Hachis parmentier was my favourite, but not so much ox tongue. For a child, milk, especially British milk, gives that most primal and intimate of pleasures, some kind of rekindling with nature and the countryside, a link lost for most British children. Pleasure as well as taste is the next step towards healthy eating. Not pleasure as in stuffing oneself, pleasure as in enjoying, but also learning and recognising the true nature of food ingredients.In French schools, vending machines are rare, snacking almost inexistent and the "menu du jour", concocted by the school chef, is usually placed in the most conspicuous place of the school for everyone to see. Children in France today do as they used to do when I was a kid: run to look at the menu during the morning break and discuss it (really). Hachis parmentier was my favourite, but not so much ox tongue. For a child, milk, especially British milk, gives that most primal and intimate of pleasures, some kind of rekindling with nature and the countryside, a link lost for most British children. Pleasure as well as taste is the next step towards healthy eating. Not pleasure as in stuffing oneself, pleasure as in enjoying, but also learning and recognising the true nature of food ingredients.