Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Celeb- chef Jamie Oliver is on a crusade to change the way people in America eat. After a successful stint in England with his “Feed Me Better” campaign and the television series “Jamie’s Ministry of Food”, Oliver headed to Huntington, West Virginia to create a front line in his battle against obesity and processed foods.
Oliver’s initial campaign in Huntington is no cakewalk either – recently the Center for Disease Control (CDC) called it the unhealthiest city in America. He starts his quest for health with children and the local public school system’s lunch programs.
Immediately, Oliver is confronted with the enormity of his tasks. As he begins to observe the way meals are prepared at the school there is a bombardment of frozen foods with an abundance of preservatives and additives that are served to the children everyday. Worse even is the breakfast selection- pizza and highly sugared, flavored milk.
Over the course of the next three episodes, new episodes air Friday’s at 6pm on ABC, Oliver gets the school children eating freshly made food and moves on to a high school where he goes on a campaign against French fries. It seems that the FDA has deemed these fried taters as a vegetable component of student’s meals.
Overall the show is heartwarming and tragic. Oliver’s one man crusade against the obesity epidemic in America seems daunting and at times impossible, but the modest Englishman simply will not quit. The people in Huntington add depth and emotion to the show. From the “lunch ladies” who cringe at the use of the word to describe their occupation, to Oliver’s “gang” of high school students determined to get a crash course in the culinary arts – the people of Huntington represent America and add a sense of urgency to Oliver’s quest.
This show is an eye opening look at how Americans eat and should be viewed by everyone who thinks a burger and fries from a local fast food stop is an ideal meal.