Who chooses?: lunchbox dilemma

Teacher note

New Zealand’s Parliament and government put a lot of effort into policies and funding to encourage healthy eating, and discourage obesity and other lifestyle diseases.

The school lunch programme for elementary students, run by teachers, nutritionists and other officials in Wellington’s sister city, Sakai, and Sakai City’s approach to recycling and waste management, shows how others use central and local government to help meet such challenges.

There are some things people just do. There are some things where it is a matter of choice as to whether governments should get involved.

WHO compares obesity levels

The World Health Organisation WHO), a United Nations specialized agency, has got involved by telling the world what it found when it measured obesity.

Japanese are one of the slimmest peoples in the world, ranked 163 out of 190 countries by the WHO. Japan’s population has 22.6 per cent classified as obese. New Zealand is ranked 17th most obese – 58.4% of our people are obese.

What do some Japanese primary school children get given in school lunches? Who provides some of the lunchboxes?

A typical bento (lunch box) at schools in Sakai is rice or bread, miso or Chinese soup, salad, some meat dish and milk. Fruit, not provided everyday, might be a fruit salad including kiwifruit. Meat, usually daily, may include beef, chicken or pork – from domestic providers. Milk comes in paper cartons, cheese is provided sometimes in cooking, sometimes in sticks. The nutritionist plans to provide 650 calories in each day’s school lunch.

Central government lays down policies that influence the school lunch programme – health officials prescribe the calorie level, trade officials encourage local officials to buy locally produced foods.

The local government staffs who provide the school lunch programme aim to educate kids to educate parents. The Sakai nutritionist says there is a rising problem of children not eating breakfast - maybe due to mothers working outside home more. She says it is a controversial idea for school to provide breakfast (we don’t know of any who do!eds.). Newsletters go to parents about breakfast recipes, and parents are sometimes invited to join in school lunches.

Food pyramids, part of nutrition education in Sakai City and other places accentuate the nutritional value of each category.

For example:
meat gives iron = good for muscles
vegetables = clean blood
fruit = vitamins for immune system.

Some sushi retailers in New Zealand are promoting the health giving features of foods that are used to make sushi, from rice to fish.

Central, local government influence choice

So who choses what happens in many lunchtimes for many Japanese elementary school children? Just parents? No, central and local government have a say in what gets into the school lunch.

We asked people responsible for a Sakai City school lunch programme, and were told:

We are required to use domestic beef. Sakai does not have control over whether it is domestic or foreign beef.

Who makes the requirement to buy domestically?

The government makes requirement for all the country. The requirement is not law.

(At Takashimaya Sakai department store a shop manager says consumers prefer domestic produce.)

Which government agency makes the requirement?
Education, health and agriculture ministries. Sakai City official Takeaki Shibuya translates: the Ministry of Education provides the guidelines. Education, Agriculture and Health ministries set the regulations and encourage schools to use domestic fruit and vegetables.

(At Ritsumeikan University economics Prof Matsubara spoke of sensitivities adding government barriers to New Zealand milk, cheese, apple and beef imports.)

How do you get the food products you provide into school lunches?
We buy in one go from a warehouse.

Do you have a long term contract with the wholesaler?
It is a year by year contract. This job is delegated to the private sector.
It is a local wholesaler chosen by Sakai. It only deals with school lunch ingredients.

(Anchorman Yamamoto at KTV told us kiwifruit and other fresh fruits and vegetables heated for school lunches represents an overreaction by teachers.
But deaths from infected food understandably made teachers cautious.)

We asked Sakai’s Mahara ward nutritionist what sort of obesity problem Sakai people have.
Not as big a problem as in the west, but is seeing growth here.

With these comments about attitudes, pressures and choices being made by governments, nutritionists, parents and students, it came as little surprise to hear others’ views on healthy foods in Kansai.

Former Kiwi JET at Sakai City Hall, Jason Allen sees growing Japanese interest in healthy foods.

Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry international director says citizens now wish to take care of health.

Kansai Television’s manager says the television channel’s content is all about living.

So in an era when New Zealand’s government has decided obesity is a public health challenge, Sakai City’s school lunch programme raises for Kiwis the question, who chooses our lunches?

From Anthony Haas, Asia Pacific Economic News service

18 March 2007

Back to top