MAKING FOOD FASHIONS INTO LAW

It's just pandering to vocal special-interest groups, of course. But note that they are already talking about banning the food that parents provide. That the kids don't like fashionable food doesn't matter, of course

Tony Blair is to bow to the increasing clamour from parents for better school meals for their children and announce a series of plans to swap junk food for 'organic and local' fresh meals. In a response to the plea from TV chef Jamie Oliver for a 'school dinner revolution', the Prime Minister will say that school kitchens will be rebuilt and equipped so dishes can be cooked from scratch, while dinner ladies are given 'culinary skills' to help them create appetising menus. Writing in today's Observer , Blair acknowledges for the first time the strength of parental anger about the fatty, sugary processed diet on offer in many schools. He pledges an independent food trust to build on and expand the work begun by Oliver in his Channel 4 series, Jamie's School Dinners .

The moves will form part of a mini 'children's manifesto' to be published tomorrow outlining Labour's pitch to parents on issues from diet to paedophiles targeting children through the internet. It will argue that far from fearing a 'nanny state', fami lies want the government to intervene to protect children's health and safety. The crux, however, will be its response to the uproar over the quality of school dinners triggered by Oliver's programme, which followed the chef and father of two as he tried to change menus for pupils in Greenwich, south-east London.

The Prime Minister said a new independent School Food Trust, to be set up by the government shortly, would 'draw on the remarkable work of Jamie Oliver in schools, of the Soil Association in encouraging the use of organic and local produce in school meals'. Promising that kitchens and dining areas would be improved as part of the £9.4 billion primary school building programme announced in last week's Budget, he added: 'It may take a little time to change children's tastes but it will be worth the effort if we can get them enjoying healthy and good quality food at school.'

Oliver told The Observer he was 'really pleased' the government was taking his campaign seriously but would scrutinise the detail. 'I think the government should use the knowledge from the people who have already worked on a grass- roots level: the dinner ladies deserve all the support they can get to make change,' he said. 'If changes are made it will only be a matter of months before British health, education and farming could be affected for the better. It could be one of the biggest food revolutions that England has ever seen.'

Education ministers are also considering moves to teach parents in deprived areas about nutrition and cookery. Greenwich families were initially suspicious of Oliver's emphasis on fresh food and vegetables, bringing in burgers for their children. Some headteachers in the borough are now moving on to vet lunchboxes provided by parents, asking them to meet Oliver's standards if their children opt out of school meals.

Sally Castle, headteacher of Ealdham Primary School in Eltham, which appeared on the final episode of Jamie's School Dinners , said twice as many pupils had begun bringing packed lunches since the new regime began and she was 'shocked and appalled' at some of the contents. 'Last week, there was a child with three bars of chocolate and two packets of crisps in its lunchbox. We are now finding that the children who tend to cause problems in the afternoons seem to be the ones who are bringing in packed lunches.' She is writing to parents with instructions on foods not to include, although she said it would be a 'radical idea' for some to adapt to providing a sandwich, fruit and non-fizzy drink. 'We can work on children in schools to understand the importance of healthy eating but if we're not getting to the parents as well, it will continue to be a struggle.'

Blair will shortly meet Oliver to receive the petition triggered by his Feed Me Better campaign, now signed by more than 100,000 people, calling for low-fat, healthy, fresh school food. Downing Street is expected to offer him an advisory role overseeing progress with school meals, although it is not clear whether he would accept. Blair has also been impressed by meetings with Peter Melchett of the Soil Association, which runs a programme in Gloucestershire showing how children can be fed on locally grown and organic menus.

The children's manifesto, to be unveiled tomorrow by election co-ordinator Alan Milburn, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly and Children's Minister Margaret Hodge, will also promise to curb junk food advertising on TV.

Source



A REALLLY KEEN OBESITY WARRIOR

In the worst case of scientific fakery to come to light in two decades, a top obesity researcher who long worked at the University of Vermont admitted yesterday that he fabricated data in 17 applications for federal grants to make his work seem more promising, helping him win nearly $3 million in government funding. Eric T. Poehlman, a leading specialist on metabolic changes during aging, acknowledged that he altered and made up research results from 1992 to 2002, including findings published in medical journals that overstated the effect of menopause on women's health. Under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Poehlman, 49, will be barred for life from receiving federal funding, pay back $180,000, and plead guilty to a criminal charge of fraud that could bring jail time. He agreed to ask scientific journals to retract and correct 10 articles they published by him.

''Dr. Poehlman fraudulently diverted millions of dollars," said David V. Kirby, the US attorney for Vermont. ''This in turn siphoned millions of dollars from the pool of resources available for valid scientific research proposals. As this prosecution proves, such conduct will not be tolerated." The fraud charge carries up to five years in prison, but lawyers involved in the case said Poehlman would ask for leniency and would probably get a lesser sentence or possibly no prison time at all.

Poehlman's misconduct was detected and exposed by a former University of Vermont lab technician, Walter F. DeNino, who once viewed Poehlman as his mentor. Poehlman was a star among obesity researchers. For years at the Universities of Vermont and Maryland and, since 2001, at the Université de Montréal, he won millions in grant dollars, copious prizes, and accolades from the students he mentored. Over two decades in which he published more than 200 journal articles, he built a reputation as a leading authority on the metabolic changes that come with aging, particularly during menopause. He also studied the genetics of obesity and the impact of exercise, often following human subjects over time to document how their physiology changed. Now that stellar career has unraveled. Poehlman resigned from the Université de Montréal in January. He did not respond to requests left at his Montreal home and with his attorney to be interviewed.

Some colleagues speculated that Poehlman buckled to an exaggerated perception of the pressure to publish papers and win grants to keep his laboratory going. Or perhaps he was so sure he knew the right answers that he cut corners to get to them, they said. DeNino, the lab technician, said in an interview that he does not know what Poehlman was thinking, but the benefits were clear: The fabricated data made his grant proposals more appealing and his papers more publishable, helping Poehlman become one of the better-funded researchers at the University of Vermont

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