by Kody Hackbusch

Created on: March 27, 2010

Friday March 26th marked the premier of the latest in the never-ending stream of reality shows, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  This program is best described as Kitchen Nightmares crossed with The Biggest Loser.  Renowned British chef Jamie Oliver has crossed the pond on a crusade to change not only the way Americans eat but how they think about food.  If you think this is a tall order for the most obese nation in the world, you are right.

Chef Oliver headed straight into the belly of the whale filming the show in the fattest city in America: Huntington, West Virginia. (CDC report 2008)  From the moment of his arrival Jamie faced resistance.  Change can be a scary thing for people and to add to the challenge this particular region of the country already struggles with a negative image as uneducated and stuck in the past.  The townsfolk are skeptical, he can’t seem to make friends with the area’s most popular radio host and some of his words are misrepresented in the local newspaper causing a stir.  But that doesn’t stop Jamie; he takes on the school system, permitted one week to change the nutrition at Central City Elementary, admittedly an unrealistic timeline.

Children are our future but you wouldn’t know it based on what they are being fed.  Pizza for breakfast, thousands upon thousands of chicken nuggets and gallons of flavored milk containing more sugar than soda.  Just about everything is pre-processed and of course the kids love it.  Not surprising considering this is also what they eat at home.  Jamie’s challenge: converting the children to fresh, natural and nutritious food.  The kids may be the least of his problems as he also goes head to head with stubborn lunch ladies, a wary school principal, USDA guidelines that don’t make any sense, and a nearly impossible budget.

In addition to the schools, he also plans to visit with families in their own homes.  In the premier his focus is the Edwards family.  In a city where nearly half of all adults are obese it is no surprise that this family also struggles with their weight.  Sure, Mom and Dad are considerably overweight but the real concern for Oliver is the children including a shockingly large four year old and twelve year old Justin who is not only taunted at school but already shows signs of diabetes.  It doesn’t take long to realize the problem in the Edwards house, loads

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