­So if you saw Monday’s Happy Hour, you know that school lunches is a topic that I get quite worked up about. And while I was extremely worked up and passionate last night, I don’t feel as though I did a good enough job of representing my point of view. I have a lot of thoughts on this topic and would have loved to say more. Today I remembered that I have a blog where I can talk about whatever I want for as long as I want!

So here we go. Last night, the topic at hand was the proposed removal of potatoes from all school breakfasts and a reduction of their use in school lunches. Recently potatoes have been getting a bad rap as the evil food that this killing America. I hate to break it to you, but potatoes aren’t killing Americans, they are killing themselves.

As human beings, we all have choices. Some are easy, some are hard, but they all shape who we are physically and mentally. This is the core of my issue with removing and limiting potatoes in schools. I do not think that problems are solved by limiting choices. I am not against reforming school lunches to contain more options, and I am certainly not against teaching kids to make responsible choices for themselves. What I am against is making these decisions for them.

I personally believe that not allowing kids to make the right choice for themselves is nothing but a disservice to their future. The reality is that there will come a day when they have to make their own choices for lunch. They will be surrounded by fatty foods and fast cheap unhealthy options, how can we expect them to make the right choices for themselves if every choice up that point has been made for them?

I also mentioned on Happy Hour that I do not believe that school lunches are causing the childhood obesity epidemic. I own and stand by that statement. I believe that the single most important thing that has changed in our youth is not the food that they are eating at school, but their activity levels. Parents these days let video games and television shows raise their children.

I think that instead of trying to ban kids from eating French fries, we should be encouraging them to do more sports, play outside and participate in gym class. The fact is that life in America has become too convenient and children and adults alike have allowed themselves to become sedentary. A healthy lifestyle is so much more than mandating that people eat certain things.

I don’t disagree with the fact that there is too much sodium and sugar and fat in all of our food, and that children shouldn’t be forced to eat unhealthy food. But I personally believe though that the key to a future of healthy Americans lies in education and exercise. Let’s give our kids some credit and supply them with the tools to make the right decision now, and in the future. Kids are smarter than you think.

PS. This blog was written while eating potatoes and they were delicious.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.