Ketchup as a vegetable

The debate in the United States to ketchup as a vegetable refers to the proposal for a directive on school meals Ministry of Agriculture ( Department of Agriculture, USDA) the administration of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, which among other things, ketchup and pickles no more than a they would have been seasoning, but as a vegetable side dish. The Directive would have allowed public schools to save the output of a side dish of fresh or cooked vegetables as part of a warm meal in their program to feed the children. The Directive should also take the previously provided daily serving of a glass of milk and reduced the meat portion can be reduced to a district of Hamburg.

The publication of the proposal of the Directive, which is prescribed in the U.S. for the solicitation of public comments sparked outrage from nutritionists and politicians in the Democratic Party. The government has been accused by the media and scientists greed and indifference. The Government replied that she was doing it a matter of "plate waste" ( " plate waste " ) to avoid and can serve only what the students actually consume. A central political appointee to the USDA still drew more unwanted attention to the matter when he pointed out that the final decision on the application of the Regulation would fall on the state level. The regulation was promoted by the staff to make sure that she was an example of the return of rights to the individual states within the meaning of that " new federalism " for itself Reagan had used during the presidential election campaign in 1980. The resignation of the employees in the following month led to accusations that he had been dismissed for political reasons.

Some Democratic politicians staged photo shoot images in which they were taking low-nutrient meals that met the new lower standards. Newsweek magazine illustrated its report on the proposed regulation with the image of a bottle of ketchup, which ( " now a vegetable " ) bears the inscription "now a vegetable ."

Finally, the regulation of the government has not put in place.