Lobbyists Protest New Standards That Would Limit Pizza, French Fries In Schools

Food industry lobbyists are up in arms over the Agriculture Department's recently released standards for school nutrition, reports NPR. The standards would limit “starchy vegetables” to two servings a week -- including corn, peas, lima beans... and french fries. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says the fries aren't healthy, and lure kids away from other foods more commonly thought of as vegetables, like carrots and green beans.

But John Keeling, the CEO of the National Potato Council, says that french fries are small potatoes in the obesity epidemic.

“The obesity thing, you won't solve obesity on the backs of a single vegetable. You won't solve it on the diet in the schools.”

Also under fire is frozen pizza -- the new standards would no longer let the tomato sauce count as a serving of vegetables.

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