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Bloody EU wants to ban cheese and yogurt! (or does it?)

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    Bloody EU wants to ban cheese and yogurt! (or does it?)

    The Mail on Sunday on 9 February served its readers a headline skilfully cooked up to suggest the EU was going to ban cheese and yogurt from their kids’ school meals.
    “Enjoy a yogurt at school? Hard cheese, says EU. Eurocrats want to ban snacks in healthy eating campaign”.
    It went on: “Brussels bureaucrats want to stop British children being given cheese and yogurt at school.”
    The paper drafted in experts to point out the blindingly obvious – that there is no danger in moderate portions of cheese.
    It declined to point to another blindingly obvious fact: that “Brussels” cannot and does not want to ban British schools from serving dairy products.
    By the time a few elements of reality crept into the story, it seems some readers were choking on their cornflakes with disgust at mental images of “Brussels bureaucrats” blockading school gates against yogurt lorries and depriving the nation’s youth of good old English cheddar.
    One reader commented: “how did we get into a situation where unelected Eurocrats can dictate what our children eat for lunch?” Another fulminated about “faceless foreigners from the EU interfering in our lives”.
    Presumably they did not get as far as the bit half way down the piece where Mail on Sunday finally lets slip that in fact this story is not about the prohibition of cheese at the school dinner table.
    It is about proposals for changes to the EU School Milk and School Fruit Schemes, whereby “Brussels provides £ 8million a year for UK school breakfast clubs, morning snacks and lunch.”
    A useful contribution no doubt to schoolkids’ diets, especially in disadvantaged areas, but merely a supplement to the school food provided by the UK authorities and containing just as much milk, cheese, yogurt and cream as those authorities think appropriate, without any EU involvement.
    As if that were not enough, it is not even correct that the changes to the scheme will mean schools can no longer use it to provide yogurt or cheese.
    The schemes were drawn-up against a background of declining consumption among children for milk and fruit and in a bid to help tackle poor nutrition.
    The Commission published in complete transparency on 30 January proposals to revise the schemes and combine the milk and fruit elements to reduce red tape and make them more efficient. Those proposals will now go to Member States and the European Parliament for debate and amendment, so elected Ministers and MEPs will decide on the future of the schemes, just as they – and not “bureaucrats” – decide on all EU legislation
    Under the Commission’s proposals, yogurt and cheese can still under certain circumstances be included as occasional supplements, though the scheme will focus on milk and fruit, as their consumption is continuing to decrease the most.
    To underline just how much of a storm in a yogurt pot this story is, cheese and yogurt account for only a fifth of provision Europe-wide under the current milk scheme.
    What is more – and this is perhaps where the Mail on Sunday story really takes the cream cracker –as far as the Commission is aware, the UK does not distribute cheese at all under the current EU scheme.
    It may do so under national schemes, but those are not affected by the changes.
    Of course, this type of journalism is on one level good for a laugh. On another it is pulling the wool over readers’ eyes and distorting debate.
    European Commission in the UK – Euromyths and Letters to the Editor » Blog Archive » No, Mail on Sunday, the EU is (obviously) not banning yogurt and cheese from school dinners
    <Insert idea here> will never be adopted because the politicians are in the pockets of the banks!

    #2
    In that case why was the Brussels paper released at all?

    They must want to meddle in or pontificate about something.
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    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
      In that case why was the Brussels paper released at all?

      They must want to meddle in or pontificate about something.
      They want to improve an existing scheme for giving out money that puts food into the mouth of British children. The bastards, coming over here, feeding our kids....

      Next thing you know they'll be making sure out electrical appliances meet minimum safety standards and our cars have brakes that work.
      While you're waiting, read the free novel we sent you. It's a Spanish story about a guy named 'Manual.'

      Comment


        #4
        Feeding our kids? So where do they get the money to feed our kids? Oh yeh! From us and other EU taxpayers. And who pays for the officials who produce stuff like this? oh yeh again!

        European School Milk Scheme - Agriculture and rural development

        Regardless of the usual slurs on The Daily Mail the important point, yet again, appears to be accurate, The EU is involved in an enormous amount of expensive petty scrutiny and legislation that should be left to national governments or regional authorities.
        bloggoth

        If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'
        John Wayne (My guru, not to be confused with my beloved prophet Jeremy Clarkson)

        Comment


          #5
          I'm afraid, without proper controls and scrutiny, all organisations become corrupt and seek to grow their own power in pursuit of their own ideals and objectives and the EU is no exception. It's often with the best of intentions, but it's still corruption.
          bloggoth

          If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'
          John Wayne (My guru, not to be confused with my beloved prophet Jeremy Clarkson)

          Comment


            #6
            Well this would require a budget approval from the council of the ministers, and since it is a budget thing the British PM can throw in his veto if he feels strongly about it.

            So is the EU "imposing it"?. Well they're asking for approval.
            I'm alright Jack

            Comment


              #7
              Well this would require a budget approval from the council of the ministers, and since it is a budget thing the British PM can throw in his veto if he feels strongly about it. So is the EU "imposing it"?. Well they're asking for approval.
              Yes, but all that only emphasises the fact that a lot more money is being spent on meetings etc about things that should not concern the EU in the first place.
              bloggoth

              If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'
              John Wayne (My guru, not to be confused with my beloved prophet Jeremy Clarkson)

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by xoggoth View Post
                Yes, but all that only emphasises the fact that a lot more money is being spent on meetings etc about things that should not concern the EU in the first place.
                If I ask to borrow your lawnmower and you say no, have I imposed the loan of your lawnmower on you?

                Who decides what concerns the EU? Oh that's right, the national representatives we voted for.

                Why exactly shouldn't they concern themselves with children's nutrition? Or adults nutrition? After all without them we'd probably not have a requirement to label foods with a list of ingredients, and we'd not have the standard E number system so we know what crap is being snuck into them.

                Personally I'd like to see EU legislation mandating a minimum standard of critical thinking before people are allowed to post on t'internet.
                Last edited by doodab; 15 February 2014, 11:19.
                While you're waiting, read the free novel we sent you. It's a Spanish story about a guy named 'Manual.'

                Comment


                  #9
                  It was the council of ministers (which includes the British prime minister) which asked the commission to come up with a proposal on fruit in schools, in the first place.

                  In other words Governments want this to happen and they've discussed it and agreed that it can be done via the EU budget.

                  This is not a "one-eyed" bureacrat in Brussels deciding what we should all do.
                  I'm alright Jack

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                    In that case why was the Brussels paper released at all?
                    Just a guess, but maybe it was for the reasons explained in great detail in the OP?

                    Comment

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