Three panelists debate eliminating kids' menus, arguing that processed foods hijack children's taste buds and create addiction. One shares a story of a sixth-grader with more stable energy after diet changes. The question: is picky eating learned, not innate?
Should we abolish the kids menu?
Without a doubt, yes. Industrialization came in and more processed packaged foods and hyperpalatable foods came in. The kids especially started becoming addicted to those. Their taste buds became hijacked, and then it became a battle.
You're either paying with the food you buy today or you're paying with hospital bills later, but you're gonna pay either way.
The kids that I feed, they just seem very stable. They're not having like meltdowns. They're not depressed. A 6th grader said to me, like, unprompted, I used to feel like this all day long, up and down, up and down, and now I just feel like this steady stream of energy.
Is School of Lunch proof that picky eaters are made, not born?
It depends on the state of their microbiome too, right? Like, if they're all out of whack there, those bad bugs are kind of running the show. You get one chance to grow your kids' brains and bodies. You don't really get a do-over.
