Dive Brief:
- A group of retired generals and admirals who work to ensure that America has a suitable pool of potential recruits, has united with First Lady Michelle Obama in her battle over school-lunch standards.
- The group, called Mission: Readiness, includes 450 retired generals and admirals, says that some 75 percent of American 17-24 years olds are unfit for military duty because they are obese, poorly educated and/or have criminal records.
- Members of the group have agreed to tour the country and appear at food industry gatherings such as the United Fresh conference to drum up support for the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Dive Insight:
Some things should be above partisan politics. The health of children is one such thing. Or, if you don't much like kids, then perhaps you'd agree that the future safety of the nation is something we shouldn't mess with for short-term political and corporate gain.
The debate over school lunch has become one of the more unusual episodes in America's descent into constant political bickering. But if anyone can convince Congress that something bigger is at stake than the next election cycle, it would be 450 military commanders.