Processed meat may be banned from school lunches
Lawmakers are working to change the cafeteria
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HEALTH Schools
New York lawmakers are working toward legislation that will ban processed lunch meat from being served in school cafeterias. They are going so far as to compare serving deli slices to handing out cigarettes.
"Hot dogs and ham sandwiches are in the same class of substances as cigarettes. We know that we would never give our children cigarettes to smoke, so there's absolutely no reason why we should continue poisoning our children's health with processed meats," Brooklyn borough president Eric L. Adams told NowThis.
Processed meats include bologna, bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausages, salami, corned beef, beef jerky, canned meat, and meat-based sauces. If enacted, the law would prohibit processed meats from being sold in New York City public schools. Similar proposals have surfaced in school districts around the country.
"We cannot continue feeding our children substances that are scientifically proven to increase their chances of cancer later in life," Adams said. In 2015, the World Health Organization classified processed meat as a Group One carcinogen, meaning it is proven to increase the risk of diabetes, respiratory illness, and multiple strains of cancer.
Currently, around 950,000 meals containing processed meats are served to children in the district every day.