Today the Missouri House of Representatives, by an overwhelming majority vote of 135-19, passed a bill that would ban junk food and soft drinks from public schools. (Link to story here.)Unbelievably, the majority Republican House, which ought to know better - and which gets my support most of the time, has decided that it knows better than kids, parents, schools, school districts, and elected school boards what children should be allowed to eat or not eat. And, giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they do. Kids probably shouldn't be eating Twinkies for lunch and guzzling Dr. Pepper in the halls.
But the appalling part of this story is that the folks in Jefferson City believe that it is the state's business to decide what's in the vending machines from Raytown South to Parkway South.
Shouldn't that decision be made by local communities, i.e. school boards? Of course!
Let's hope that the Missouri Senate has a better understanding of the role of state government and this bill dies a slow death.
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