Arizona Bill Aims to Ban Ultra-Processed Foods in School Lunches
Andrew Gruel, a California chef and founder of American Gravy, tells Fox News Digital that many of the recipes in his new cookbook came together with the help of his family.
A bill in Arizona is seeking to make school lunches healthy again by banning ultra-processed food.
House Bill 2164, titled the Arizona Healthy Schools Act, was introduced by Representative Leo Biasiucci and inspired by RFK Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
The bill would ban any food that contains potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, yellow dyes 5 and 6, blue dyes 1 and 2, green dye 3, and red dyes 3 and 40.
The legislation states, "The legislature finds that ultra-processed, industrially manufactured, nutrient-depleted food with synthetic additives is undernourishing minors at public schools and contributing to childhood obesity."
It also adds, "Any taxpayer-funded meal or snack program offered to minors at public schools in this state should be nutritious and made primarily of whole, minimally processed plant or animal products."
On Tuesday, a "Cut the Chemicals" press conference was held at the Arizona Department of Education (AZDE) hosted by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.
At the event, Rep. Biasiucci, along with wellness advocates and supporters of the bill, gathered to share the importance of advancing the bill in Arizona.
Biasiucci told Fox News Digital that the idea for the bill was sparked while in Italy visiting his family last summer.
"[I] realized that even after eating pizza, pasta, bread, cheese and ice cream almost daily, I still felt great. I started to then look at the ingredients in the foods and noticed they didn't have all the dyes and chemicals we had in our foods," said Biasiucci.
He added, "Sometimes, these foods even came from companies that provide the same product in both the United States and in Europe. It was at that moment I knew I had to do something."
Biasiucci said the "Make America Healthy Again" movement has absolutely impacted his legislative agenda, and that the support for this bill has been incredible.
Calley Means, an advocate for healthcare reform, focusing on the intersection of food, policy, and chronic disease, said these food colorings are crude oil.
"They are unambiguously connected to mass behavioral and neurological issues for kids. These are not allowed in any other developed country in the world...we have a food industry that's addicting kids and rigging lives," said Means.
Means added, "from the food industry standpoint, the largest fast food restaurant in America is school lunches."
Diana Diaz-Harrison, Arizona Autism Charter Schools executive director and an autism mom, expressed concern over current school lunch offerings.
"I honestly don't feel good about feeding the kids that lunch and that breakfast every single day because it is honestly something that I myself would not eat, nor would I give my child," said Diaz-Harrison.
She continued, "We can get the farmer's market and get the chefs to help, and we want to encourage the schools and the parents [to] get involved. It can be a community thing where it leaves the schools, and then it becomes part of the parents, becomes part of the lifestyle."
HB 2164 will head to the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives for a full House vote.
