Are Food Subsidies Making Kids Fat

The article Are Food Subsidies Making Our Kids Fat? Tensions Between the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and the Farm Bill and its author Melissa Mortazavi (2011) set out to "examines the strengths and weaknesses of the most recent reform of federal attempts to address childhood obesity and children's nutrition: The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).(pg. 1703). In her article she sets the time line of the governments involvement of nutrition as early as the times post WW II. She argues that during those times the crisis was in-fact the inadequate amount of food for Americans and children especially. The National School Lunch Act was initiated to provide food for children while also allowing agriculture to thrive with the demand for
more food. (pg. 1704). Fast forward to the current Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This act, according to Mortazavi "continues to take the lead and exercise discretion on setting guidelines for school nutrition" (pg.1716). She argues that the situation has changed from a country of caloric defecit to now of surplus. Ran by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) the United States has implemented and controlled variables in things such as caloric reform, nutrition guidelines, and what and what not to eat in terms of types of food. In conclusion the author acknowledges the responsibility and contributions the government has taken and done for the betterment of the nations health in terms of nutrition. Though inexpensive food that are high in calories are a root to the problem of obesity in America, the question of hunger is something that is not as prominent as it was almost a century ago.