Congress Rules that Pizza is a Vegetable

zombiegirl

PIZZA CAN BE classed as a vegetable – at least according to a decision made by the US Congress. Who knew?

American lawmakers have ruled that the amount of tomato paste in pizza sauce means that pizzas can be counted as a vegetable.

The bizarre move, which was decided in a vote on the annual spending bill for the Department of Agriculture, happened for purely political reasons.

The crucial bill had oversight over subsidised school meals, and the department was seeking to restrict pizza, chips and starchy vegetables from the menu for school children in a bid to combat child obesity.

More here: http://www.thejournal.ie/us-congress-rules-that-pizza-is-a-vegetable-282033-Nov2011/


It's awesome, instead of just making kids eat more vegetables... we rename things AS vegetables. Is this really the country I live in??? And in my opinion, the best part of the whole thing??? ...Tomatoes are a fruit... hahaha.

person

And they decided that french fries are still a good food to feed kids.

If you haven't seen Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution it will really open your eyes to what the schools are feeding our kids.

MindGate

When I went to public school, the food was awesome.


... but tomatoes are fruits.

Floating_Abu

Indeed, the seeds they don't lie :vimp:

PS I really enjoy a good pizza mm

person

If schools fed students cake and ice cream all the time people would get upset. Though I view many of the foods they serve as well as much of the fast food out there to be basically the same deal, all flavor and no substance.

MindGate

My school would give us:

1 main dish. This was different every time. Pizza, chicken, sandwiches, wraps, etc.
1 starch. Soup, fries, tator tots, etc.
1 vegetable. Salad, carrots, etc.
1 drink. Milk, juice, water (which was strangely more expensive).

It was delicious food, actually. And everything was baked, never fried.
You COULD buy sweets and extras if you wanted (the money would have to come out of your own pocket), but why should the government regulate that if its not part of the main dish? The gov. can't stop kids from bringing their own stuff in.

compassionate_warrior

A similar decision was made during the Reagan administration. I don't recall if it was specifically about pizza, or some other junk food, but it was about tomato paste qualifying as a vegetable. Strange trivia Congress gets involved in.

I'm not aware that the presence of seeds is what marks the difference between fruits and vegetables. Squashes have seeds. Are they not a vegetable?

person

A similar decision was made during the Reagan administration. I don't recall if it was specifically about pizza, or some other junk food, but it was about tomato paste qualifying as a vegetable. Strange trivia Congress gets involved in.

It was ketchup that the Reagan administration considered a vegetable. :-/

compassionate_warrior

LOL! You're right! So ketchup on MindGate's tater tots counts as a second vegetable. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

zombiegirl

A similar decision was made during the Reagan administration. I don't recall if it was specifically about pizza, or some other junk food, but it was about tomato paste qualifying as a vegetable. Strange trivia Congress gets involved in.

I'm not aware that the presence of seeds is what marks the difference between fruits and vegetables. Squashes have seeds. Are they not a vegetable?

From Wikipedia

Botanically, a tomato is a fruit: the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant. However, the tomato has a much lower sugar content than other fruits, and is therefore not as sweet. Typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, rather than at dessert, it is considered a vegetable for most culinary purposes. One exception is that tomatoes are treated as a fruit in home canning practices: they are acidic enough to be processed in a water bath rather than a pressure cooker as "vegetables" require. Tomatoes are not the only foodstuff with this ambiguity: eggplants, cucumbers, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) are all botanically fruits, yet cooked as vegetables.

This argument has had legal implications in the United States. In 1887, U.S. tariff laws that imposed a duty on vegetables, but not on fruits, caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled the controversy on May 10, 1893, by declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use, that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert (Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304)).[51] The holding of the case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, and the court did not purport to reclassify the tomato for botanical or other purposes.

Tomatoes have been designated the state vegetable of New Jersey. Arkansas took both sides by declaring the "South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato" to be both the state fruit and the state vegetable in the same law, citing both its culinary and botanical classifications. In 2009, the state of Ohio passed a law making the tomato the state's official fruit. Tomato juice has been the official beverage of Ohio since 1965. A.W. Livingston, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, played a large part in popularizing the tomato in the late 19th century; his efforts are commemorated in Reynoldsburg with an annual Tomato Festival.

this is hilarious.

zombiegirl

My school would give us:

1 main dish. This was different every time. Pizza, chicken, sandwiches, wraps, etc.
1 starch. Soup, fries, tator tots, etc.
1 vegetable. Salad, carrots, etc.
1 drink. Milk, juice, water (which was strangely more expensive).

It was delicious food, actually. And everything was baked, never fried.
You COULD buy sweets and extras if you wanted (the money would have to come out of your own pocket), but why should the government regulate that if its not part of the main dish? The gov. can't stop kids from bringing their own stuff in.

it sounds like your school was a little better than mine. i wasn't allowed to have lunch from the cafeteria, but my friends just always had pizza/fries/fried chicken... nothing healthy really, from what i can remember. students also paid by the item, not a flat rate for several options(unless you were on government assistance, they had a different deal). i would have been jealous, but my mother used to pack me awesome lunches that always had a veggie, a fruit, and a deli style sandwich (a lot of vegetarian sandwiches too, although i wasn't a vegetarian at the time). every once and a while she'd put in a piece of dark chocolate for dessert, lol.

Dakini

ROFL!! "..the tomato's status ... a matter of legal importance"--that's hilarious! Only in America could this happen! NJ has declared the tomato "the state vegetable"! Thanks for a good laugh today, ZG! So, cukes, eggplant and squash are all fruits--who knew? All nightshades must be fruits then (related to tomatos). Peppers are a nightshade. You learn something every day.

Jeffrey

I consider tomato a vegetable to be honest. It depends how many calories of tomato paste is involved.

compassionate_warrior

Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are fruits? Damn! There goes most of my salad! : S

Mountains

I find it beyond incomprehensible, not to mention reprehensible that Congress is wasting time on this tripe when there is actual important work that needs to be done. If we (ALL OF US) in the US write to our representatives and senators to DEMAND that they quit the grandstanding and get to WORK, maybe, just maybe someone will start to get the message. It's easy to do, nobody puts on on a list, and it'll make you feel better. I've done it.

MindGate

If we (ALL OF US) in the US write to our representatives and senators to DEMAND that they quit the grandstanding and get to WORK, maybe, just maybe someone will start to get the message. It's easy to do, nobody puts on on a list, and it'll make you feel better. I've done it.

Let me fix this for you.

If we (ALL OF US) in the US write letters checks out to our representatives and senators and DEMAND that they quit the grandstanding and get to WORK, maybe, just maybe someone will start to get the message.

DaltheJigsaw

Saw this article. I don't even know what to say anymore. It's getting ridiculous.

ThailandTom

bahahahahaha, o yea, LMAO! Only in the USA could such a thing be declared. In Italy the vast majority of the pizzas are actually healthy for you, and taste 10 times better, alfresco! But no-no, I will stop off at pizzahut and get me some vegetables :thumbsup:

SattvaPaul

The end is nigh.

Mahuidou

I am glad to see that a few million saved by the major food processing companies is more important than the billions possibly saved by healthcare providers which is usually the government and parents in the case of school kids ^^.

Tosh

So do pizza now count towards my 'five-a-day'?

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

zombiegirl

So do pizza now count towards my 'five-a-day'?

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

oh, no, i'm sorry Tosh. pizza is only a vegetable on american soil. sorry to mislead you...

Mountains

bahahahahaha, o yea, LMAO! Only in the USA could such a thing be declared. In Italy the vast majority of the pizzas are actually healthy for you, and taste 10 times better, alfresco! But no-no, I will stop off at pizzahut and get me some vegetables :thumbsup:

I've had far better (and healthier) pizza in the US than I've had anywhere in Italy. Just saying...

ThailandTom

When

ThailandTom

was there, pretty much all of the food was so nice and super healthy (apart from the backery ofcourse) lol. But my GF at the time was local so she knows what is what I guess. We once had pizza in the UK and she was pretty disgusted at the fact it was named a pizza.

Hubris

And they wonder why the Congressional Super Committee is failing? Please.

ThailandTom

And why America is the fattest nation on average. Pizzas are vegetables, lets all go and get one of our 5 a day with a 14 inch triple cheese heart attack.

Mountains

We once had pizza in the UK and she was pretty disgusted at the fact it was named a pizza.

That has been my experience with so-called "pizza" in England as well. Although I did get a pretty good pie in Edinburgh. But then, as we know, that's not England, is it?

Mountains

Actually Kuwait now holds the title of the fattest nation on earth...

ThailandTom

hahahaha, Kuwait, are you serious? Wow, you learn something new everyday. Yea pies are great, I miss a good pie. :rolleyes: English food at winter is feel good food, mash potato, pies, stews, ahhhh how I miss it all. I eat rice at least twice a day here!!!

Jeffrey

You can also put vegetables on the pizza. Brocoli, squash, corn, tomato, onion? If you put a moderate amount of cheese it can be quite healthy. You could use a whole grain for the crust.

ThailandTom

yea, but that isn't really going to happen in big chain stores anytime soon. Your pizza does sound quite healthy though, also it makes me want to try it. Start a business Jeffrey, the super healthy pizza co... Idea, BING!!

Mountains

I can make you a pizza that's literally an entire meal, with all the required nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and in a perfect balance of protein, fat, carbs and everything. Pizza, if done right, really is just about a perfect food. But like everything else, we screw it up and make it something really bad.

Sadly, American cuisine has been turned into a cheese and sugar delivery vehicle for the most part. We put cheese in or on **everything** (including many things where it doesn't belong), and most parents nowadays consider "mac-n-cheese" (vomit) a food group of its own. If the kid won't eat anything else, you feed 'em mac-n-cheese. When I grew up, macaroni & cheese was a big treat, and it was home made by mom. It didn't come out of a box, and it didn't swim in orange liquid "cheese". Hell, as if pizza didn't have enough cheese on it already, now we have "stuffed crust" pizza with extra cheese inside the crust for crying out loud.

And we wonder why heart disease and stroke are on the increase?

ThailandTom

It is obvious why it is on the increase (well those with half a brain), many high school and college sports teams have heart difipilstpors *excuse the spelling*. It is not really food, I would rather eat as I do here in Thailand, one meal is about 1 dollar at a stall, chicken, rise, veg, spice if you want it, and the meat is out all day in over 30 degrees C heat. I have not had any problems with the food. They have thai curries, nooedles, soups, and a mixture of things that taste good and is fairly healthy. However, if you want to keep a strict diet, there are fruit venders too.

Jeffrey

Mountains have you seen Denny's diner? They have had special menus. For instance there was the Bacon Menu and the Cheese menu. I think the bacon egg breakfast had like 8 strips of bacon. And then you have the mozarella cheese stick between packed between more cheese between bread and butter pan fried.

Would you like the deep fried cheese straws with a cheese dipping sauce?

compassionate_warrior

And they wonder why the Congressional Super Committee is failing? Please.

lol !

But it sounds like the Super Committee didn't even try! I guess it's easier to vote on pizza than to do in-depth studies, write up the results, and use your brain.

ThailandTom

When I was in the UK I was watching the news one day and a report cam up about a new hamburger in the US. It was dubbed the 'heart attack burger'' because of what it consisted of. It was some time ago, but if I remember there were two 1pound burgers, 3 different types of cheese, 2 types of sauce, multiple strips of bacon and I cannot remember everything fully now

compassionate_warrior

Some friends of mine from Russia were visiting once, and couldn't believe the size of some of the burgers they saw. They asked, "How can they open their mouths wide enough for all that?" So I told them Americans have jaws like snakes do; they unhinge to be able to ingest large objects.

Do people really eat that kind of stuff, like Jeffrey and T.Tom describe? Who would eat that?

I had some elderly friends who went through a phase of eating eggs and bacon (this surprised me, because they'd previously been on a "heart healthy" diet), and enthusing about how great statin drugs were. You could have your fatty food, then just take a statin. I couldn't believe it. It must have not worked out, because now they're back to the no-red-meat heart-healthy diet. :rolleyes:

ThailandTom

Is pork is commonly know as a white or red meat? Also, what would this hearty diet consist of? I am just curious because my body is pretty messed up inside due to my extreme substance abuse of 9 years, being 23 I would like to try and at least eat well. I am not fat, but I am out of shape.

Jeffrey

Some pork is lean and some fatty. It is a white meat.

Mountains

Pork is pork. Not that I ever ate much of it to start with, but when I read a description that said that pig flesh is the closest in taste and texture to human flesh, that was the last time I ate it!

Tom - there are more resources online for healthy eating than you can shake a stick at.

ThailandTom

Can I shake a stick :rolleyes:

I have said it before and I shall say it again, me a friend both were in a conversation about meat when I was in the UK. I love to try all kinds of food, here in Thailand they eat some weird weird stuff. But if there was some near impossible situation where I had the chance of trying human flesh of somebody who had died of natural causes, I would through sheer curiosity. Call me and my friend weird, but meh.

zombiegirl

When I was in the UK I was watching the news one day and a report cam up about a new hamburger in the US. It was dubbed the 'heart attack burger'' because of what it consisted of. It was some time ago, but if I remember there were two 1pound burgers, 3 different types of cheese, 2 types of sauce, multiple strips of bacon and I cannot remember everything fully now

haha, speaking of super gluttonous food... i tried a deep fried twinkie the other day. i've always heard about them and thought they were such a ridiculously unnecessary item that i felt i should try it at least once. it was okay... too sweet and rich for me though, heh. but i probably should have expected that... :rolleyes:

ThailandTom

In the UK we have marsbars, I do not know if you have them in the states. They are pretty chunckie chocolate bars filled with caramel and a sort of tough cream. Anyway, it is common for 'fish-n-chip-' shops to deep fry them in batter if you ask. My god, they are lovely IMO, but that is one way to go about killing yourself for sure if you eat those things often.
Once when I was 15 at school, we went out at lunch time and I guess we smoked some bongs, normally did at that period but I do not remember for this day, but I was super hungry. So I bought 2 kingsize battered marsbars. They filled me up more than a huge steak and chips which suggest how many callories they must have lol.

theotherlara

This article could perhaps be classified as the 'cliffsnotes' of the current state of the United States, sheesh.