US Congress rules that pizza is a vegetable

[IronMaxipad]

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.

MSNBC reports that politicians had been lobbied heavily by the frozen food industry who didn’t want to see a major revenue stream cut off given how often pizza is found on the menus of school canteens in the US.

School meals subsidised by the government are mandated to include a certain amount of vegetables and the Department of Agriculture’s plan would have pushed pizza-makers at least partly out of the school lunch business.

The salt industry, potato growers, and some conservative politicians who said that the federal government shouldn’t be involved in telling children what to eat, also lobbied against the change.

After some debate, Congress voted that anything containing two tablespoons of tomato sauce can be labelled a vegetable, putting pizza into the vegetable category.

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

[DisAsTerBot]

Wtf, tomato is a fruit

[ididnotnothat]

Psst...don't tell the kids that or they won't eat it.

[cheguevara]

the same congress that thinks Obama is a Muslim from Kenya?

[BlackSwordsMan]

San Antonio just became a city who loves to eat a lot of vegetables. Go us!

[stretch]

http://www.rivercitypizza.com/PepperoniPizza-full.jpg

[lefty]

5 pizzas a day


Fuck yeah !!!!!

[cheguevara]

I just had a salad with chesse and peperoni. delicious

[Dex]

So our Congress won't look each other in the eye long enough to try to fix our outrageous debt crisis....but they have time to pass bills ruling that french fries should be served in schools and that pizza sauce is considered a vegetable?

God bless America....because we're gonna need it.

[DMX7]

I drink ketchup. It's part of my cross-fit diet regimen.

[Spurminator]

The good news about this? Pizza-flavored V8.

[baseline bum]

I'm outraged that pork hasn't yet been added to the vegetables list.

[Dex]

I'm outraged that pork hasn't yet been added to the vegetables list.

Just put two tablespoons of tomato paste on it.

[benefactor]

The good news about this? Pizza-flavored V8.
Fusion is actually pretty good.

[Stringer_Bell]

Wtf, tomato is a fruit

Shhhhhh! :nope

[Wild Cobra]

Wait one f'n minute.

What about bread? Bousn't it count as a portion of bread as well?

I also want to know if my beer counts as bread. This is so important (not).

[Wild Cobra]

Fusion is actually pretty good.

Yes, I love V-8 Fusion.

I drink at least 5 bottles a week.

[Dex]

Yes, I love V-8 Fusion.

I drink at least 5 bottles a week.

Throw that shit in a blender with some ice and fruit. Tastiest way to get your vegetables ever.

Well...before pizza, that is.

[cantthinkofanything]

i bought one of those juicers a couple of years ago. The kind where you didn't have to peel anything. You could throw almost any vegetable in there and make the juice taste pretty good by offsettting it with some kind of citrus fruit.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Congress is attempting to torpedo Herman Cain. He's no longer a savvy businessman, outsider candidate. He's a damn tree hugging, veggie peddling hippie.

[lefty]

I prefer to eat a whole fruit or have a real juice from a Juicer (with all the pulp) instead of drinking commercial fruit juice


Juices still have a lot of simple sugar, even the no added sugar ones

The fiber in whole fruits slows down the absorption of sugar

[TDMVPDPOY]

htf is pizza a vege, when the dough is made out of flour?

[Drachen]

Pizza can't be a vegetable, it has seeds

[Wild Cobra]

Pizza can't be a vegetable, it has seeds
Don't you think there are better issues to take up with congress?

[belindaB]

The United States Department of Agriculture has been attempting to change the requirements for school lunches for the last couple of years. If Congressional votes take effect, then these modifications will not happen. School lunches are currently governed by the United States Department of Agriculture. However, rules permit French fries and pizza to be counted as veggies. Congress tries to block school lunch reform. Though the regulations would only technically affect free and reduced price lunches, which are government-subsidized, they effectively impact all school lunches.

[Wild Cobra]

The United States Department of Agriculture has been attempting to change the requirements for school lunches for the last couple of years. If Congressional votes take effect, then these modifications will not happen. School lunches are currently governed by the United States Department of Agriculture. However, rules permit French fries and pizza to be counted as veggies. Congress tries to block school lunch reform. Though the regulations would only technically affect free and reduced price lunches, which are government-subsidized, they effectively impact all school lunches.
Does that mean congress is allowing states rights instead of trying to take them away for once?

[Wild Cobra]

A few simple question.

Has anyone seen the legislation?

Are we to assume The Journal is telling us the whole truth?

What I hate about this is they offer no good faith to the readers. They do not tell us what bill congress voted on.

[leemajors]

Throw that shit in a blender with some ice and fruit. Tastiest way to get your vegetables ever.

Well...before pizza, that is.

Except that you're missing the pulp and most of the beneficial nutrients.

[Drachen]

Except that you're missing the pulp and most of the beneficial nutrients.


As far as juice goes, I love V8 fusion, but I prefer to buy the bag of frozen mixed fruit (mangoes, strawberries, papaya, and pineapple) from costco, and I use that, yogurt, some juice (usually a lighter juice like grape or apple) and blend the shit outta it for a smoothie. They are awesome. I was really not very excited about buying a bag of frozen fruit, but I knew it wouldn't be sustainable to try to get fresh fruit every day for a smoothie. I ended up buying this bag, and it is really high quality fruit. When you open the bag, despite the fact that it is frozen, you can still smell the fruit.

Also, if anyone is looking for juice boxes for their kids Costco sells some called fruitables.They have 1 serving of veggies and fruit (like fusion), but there is a slightly pulpy taste to it (though I have never poured it out to look at it. Either way, my daughter loves them, so that is good.

[Drachen]

Don't you think there are better issues to take up with congress?

Are you asking if I think that Congress should concern themselves with something like debt reduction instead of the health of children? If so, then I say that they should multitask as both issues are equally pressing and important. Additionally, no work is going to get done on debt reduction while the super committee is still in deliberation phase.

[Wild Cobra]

Are you asking if I think that Congress should concern themselves with something like debt reduction instead of the health of children? If so, then I say that they should multitask as both issues are equally pressing and important. Additionally, no work is going to get done on debt reduction while the super committee is still in deliberation phase.
So...

You don't care about the tenth amendment. Why is it that the federal government must be the Nanny? Ever hear of states rights? You know, that litt;e something liberals seem to love that we lost in the Civil War.

[Drachen]

I am not saying that the states (or even the local school districts) shouldn't make the decision. The federal government can let them know that they would really appreciate school districts instituting a substantially healthier school breakfast/lunch program. That such a move would make the federal government their friend and that federal government likes to help out their friends by kicking them some federal money for education. Unfortunately, the federal government is a little jealous and they don't like to share any dollars for education with non-friends. :lol

[Nathan89]

Can't wait for a pizza commercial claiming to have a vegetable buffet.

Better ingredients. Better vegetables.