Will Czechs say no to free fruit and
veg in schools?
A
The European Union wants to subsidize the hand-out of free fruit and vegetables in Czech
schools to tackle child obesity. The
system has already been tried in other EU member states, but may be rejected by
Czech MPs, many of whom claim that it is up to parents, not politicians, to
dictate how children eat.
B
“I’m standing outside one of the hundreds of little fruit
and vegetable shops in downtown Prague
where today, in the glorious sunshine, the produce on display looks very
appetizing indeed. This Wednesday, trade may be brisk, but reports suggest that
more widely Czechs are not getting their five-a-day, and are getting
fat. In a bid to change this, the EU has suggested handing out free fruit and
vegetables to children in schools. Christian Democrat MEP Zuzana Roithová is
all for the idea: “The World Health Organization says that we should work
towards educating people, encouraging them to up their consumption of fruit and
vegetables. Children are especially important in this fight. This is the only
way to lower the growing rate of obesity, because now on average every
tenth child is obese. And we should do this by spending money on fruit and
vegetables for children, not by spending money on adverts.”
C
But not everyone agrees. Agriculture Minister Petr
Gandalovič is one of the plan’s biggest critics. He says that it is the
responsibility of children’s parents, and not their schoolteachers, to ensure
they have a healthy diet. His views are shared by fellow Civic Democrat, MEP
Miroslav Ouzký: “I think Minister Gandalovič is right when he says that any
sort of state intervention, or any attempt by the state to take
responsibility away from parents, is wrong. That should only be used as a
last resort. And let’s remember that Ceausescu tried to hand out fruit and
vegetables to school children in Romania. So I think the EU’s idea
belongs to the category of directives which we have already lived through under
communism.”
D
Germany is also said to be skeptical about the idea, but it
is the Czech Republic alone who is on the cusp
of refusing the EU’s offer of subsidized fruit and veg. Miroslav Ouzký argues
that there are other, practical reasons for doing so: “I remember as well how
at break times we used to have milk wars. I worry that these milk wars
will be replaced by apple wars. So the whole idea seems a bit strange from its conception,
if you ask me.”
E
The EU subsidies would account for only a portion of the
money spent on distributing fruit and vegetables in schools – the Czech
government would have to pay for the rest. But there are those, such as Zuzana
Roithová, who fear that refusing the EU’s help with this scheme would be biting
the hand that’s trying to feed.
Adjusted to
(1)
subsidize
– dotovat
tackle
– poprat se
cusp
– na pokraji, rozhraní
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to
a paragraph.
1 There are reasons to refuse EU project
2 Children should eat more fruit
and vegetables
3 The European Union wants to fight with
child obesity
4 Parents should offer healthy diet food to their
children
5 Czech government will have to finance the program
too
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What is hand-out of free
fruit and vegetables? What’s the
reason for that?
2 Who is Zuzana Roithová? What does she say about the idea?
3 Who is Petr Gandalovič? Why does he disagree with the plan?
4 How does Miroslav Ouzký compare the EU plan with
milk diets in his childhood?
5 What is Roithová afraid of?
3) Explain the following words and phrases.
1 Czechs are not getting their five-a-day
2 growing rate of obesity
3 take responsibility away from parents
4 break times
5 conception
4) Answer the following questions.
What is healthy diet? How
does it affect mental and emotional health? How can we change our eating habits?
What are tips to promote healthy childhood eating? What should toddlers and
children eat regularly?
Video:
Tips, sources of information:
Source:
(1)
JOHNSTON,
Rosie. Will Czechs say no to free fruit and veg in schools? Český
rozhlas [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at:
http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/will-czechs-say-no-to-free-fruit-and-veg-in-schools
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