Jae’lynn Chaney believes she is entitled to a larger airline seat and more legroom due to her large size, even if taxpayers have to pay for it. Apparently, she is serious.
Claim: Taxpayers Should Underwrite More Legroom On Airlines For Passengers Of Size
Chaney has created a change.org petition calling upon the US Federal Aviation Administration to “protect plus-sized customers.” She claims that tight aircraft seating causes her “pain and vulnerability.” The petition already has close to 6,000 signatures.
On a recent Southwest Airlines flight to Denver, Chaney claims she and her fiancé were subject to “discrimination” in that no one would sit next to them (Southwest has open seating). She also claimed to receive “disapproving looks” and “hateful comments” though she did not offer any further details.
She also says on another flight she was seated in a row with immovable armrests which caused her “pain and bruises.” Among the changes she is proposing, she wants airlines to be forced to provide as many as three extra seats for free to passengers of size:
All plus-size passengers should be provided with an extra free seat, or even two or three seats depending on their size, to accommodate their needs and ensure their comfort during the flight.
Who will pay for it? Chaney says the government “may have a role to play” which would mean taxpayers.
I applaud Ms. Chaney for knowing how to stir up the internet. She’s made headlines around the world for her latest stunt. But she’s so wrong here and someone needs to say the obvious:
She is part of the problem. She is part of a society that has gone from condemning fat-shaming (as we all should) to praising morbid obesity (bad).
Yes, of course, some people gain weight for reasons that can in no way be reduced to gluttony, slothfulness, or laziness. Those people deserve our compassion. But so many fat people are fat because they consume too many calories. There, I said it. And you know it.
Don’t believe me? Why then is the obesity problem so much worse in the United States than in other nations?
I’m perfectly willing to stipulate that the additives and other chemicals in our processed foods create addiction. But that does not spare us from taking control of our health and what we put in our bodies. Sometimes, if you have a choice between a cheeseburger or yogurt (with no added sugar) and apple, you skip the cheeseburger.
We discriminate each day. The word is not inherently negative. We discriminate in terms of cars, homes, clothing, food, and friends. Discrimination is discernment.
So when Chaney complains she was discriminated against because no one wanted to sit next to her on a Southwest Airlines flight, I would invite her to view it as an act of mercy rather than one of scorn.
Two years ago I discussed this issue in the context of a passenger of size who was so large that he protruded out into the aisle. I was much more compassionate then…but I’ll tell you what happened over the last two years.
My wife is a nurse and worked though COVID-19 and continues to work at an inner-city hospital in Los Angeles. She compassionately deals with morbidly obese patients, but the health outcomes are frightening. With malice toward none and charity toward all, I admonish us all to take care of the only body we have. The best way we can do so is by eating right, exercising, and sleeping. And let us not embrace the confusion of calling such efforts hateful—
CONCLUSION
Chaney says she wants larger seats and more seats on airplanes, but what she really wants is respect. She is entitled to dignity and compassion as a fellow human being. But her ideas concerning airlines represent fanciful delusions and encourage the wrong behavior. Let’s all resolve to take the stairs today.
> Read More: When Does A Passenger Of Size Become A Passenger Of Danger?
image: Jae’lynn Chaney / Instagram
The funniest pic is the fact that she was so fat she had to have her oxygen. Although that may have been a safety concern, cause otherwise the other passengers on the plane would run out of air.
Jae’lynn Chaney, take a seat… I mean, take several seats… literally!
That’s what she’s trying to do
This is pathetic. I just won’t have empathy or consideration for her or others who believe they are entitled to a free second seat. Quite frankly, she should find alternative ways to travel if it’s difficult or buy a second seat. She chose this body and according lifestyle restrictions, fine, but it’s not on us to fix it. Or pay for it.
As to obesity in America, it’s a huge problem. But, like much of the U.S., there is a clear division between the haves and have nots. A significant portion of obese people are lower income, (many in the south), and have issues economically in eating healthy food. Or, perhaps more so, just gave up. It’s a product of education as well.
Europeans, as an example, may not eat any differently as to calorie intake. But there is less sugar and processed, packaged foods being consumed. As well, they walk considerably more and are far less lazy in their day to day activities. It really is that simple.
To be fair, there’s a huge difference in ingredients in the same processed products between America and Europe. The link below compares ingredient lists side by side for identical products. Pretty crazy.
https://www.demilked.com/uk-vs-us-food-differences-food-babe
An American spending at least 3 weeks in Europe or the Middle East will inevitably lose weight because of the lack of processed foods and the better ingredients in what’s provided there.
This policy is already in place in Canada for domestic flights. Passengers who are “functionally disabled by obesity” and physically require additional seats must be provided those by the airline operator at the operator’s cost.
That is crazy.
Crazy or not, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that charging “disabled” passengers for additional seats imposed “undue hardship” on them, but the cost of providing these seats imposed far less hardship on the air carrier. An air carrier has a “duty” to provide equally accessible facilities, absent the ability to show undue hardship. It further ruled that while obesity prima facie is not a disability, obesity in the context of air travel should be considered as such if the passenger is unable to be seated in a provided seat without raising the armrests and therefore those persons are entitled to special accomodation.
The same CTA policy also requires the airlines to provide free transportation to a “Personal Attendant” accompanying those with other special needs (eg. interpreters for hearing impaired, etc..) on domestic flights.
So the “undue hardship” should be borne by all of us? Screw them. This is, no offense, one of a long line of reasons I have learned to hate canada. Appeasement of the worst of society.
I’m from Canada and I have yet to hear that. I really do question where this information is from, By the way I am technically considered obese. I hate it. Yes it’s my fault entirely. Many thought on this post including the author are damn rude. Many people who deal with obesity also dealt with trauma as kids… I survived everything besides kidnapping and war. I’m Métis one of the indigenous people of Canada. 200+ years of genocide… I hate myself so much from how I look that I am suicidal… This crappy post doesn’t address the issue. I’ll say this. I hate fast food. I hate candy and chocolate. I do two martial arts and walk for hours. Yet no matter what I do I struggle. Way to be rude to my country too.
I have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Now all we need Canada to do is recognize Alcoholism as a disability and those Canadian flights will have a whole new atmosphere…
@Mr. Marcus – I know you mean this as a joke, but alcholism is considered a disability in most parts of Canada under specific circumstances. If a person with this disability needed reasonable accomodation to permit them to travel (and no, free booze is not a reasonable accomodation) then the air carrier would be obliged to accomodate them.
@Sean, there is a legend out there that says that there are certain countries that consider alcoholism a disability and disease such that one can claim disability compensation for it, and get paid disability benefits. The trick though is that if you stop drinking you no longer get the paid benefits because you’re no longer disabled, and thus to retain the paid benefits you become a de-facto professional drinker. I’ve never thought this to be a true scenario that exists in reality, but it does show a problematic intersection in the ways that we traditionally look at disability and compensation for it.
The US is kinda sorta similar, but I don’t think the regulations have been tried with obesity. Airlines must provide seating that accommodates a disability/medical condition as long as it is in the same class of service and type of seating paid… my last airline we got the “disability” seats designated as like rows 7 and 8 as the first rows of standard legroom coach. But broken leg and all that is a reasonable accommodation.
I thankfully have only had to deal with the personal travel assistant once. US regulations can have the airline require one, and if the customer does not agree that they need one, then the airline has to make provisions to take someone for free or provide someone. This individual had someone in mind and clearly was trying to get a free ticket for them out of it. Out of spite, I said no and made one of my agents fly along (on the clock) to fulfill the requirement. The passenger wrote a DOT complaint and all but we were legally in the right.
@NedsKid – The catch of course comes when the disability rights legislation crashes head on with the safety regulations.
I was involved in litigation at a previous airline where a passenger who represented that their disability did not meet the safety requirements imposed by the local regulator (ie. ability to evacuate the aircraft in event of emergency without crewmember assistance) required that we deny boarding to avoid running foul of the civil aviation regulation which required us to ensure that every passenger was able to do that.
She filed a complaint with the disability regulator who issued a fine, and she sued for good measure after that. We defended on the basis that our regulator required us to take this action. The regulators got into a public pissing contest at each other. Last I checked, the matter was still in court.
is this why air canada sucks?
Canada sucks*
Time to be an asshole about my country? Grow up.
That’s because Canada is heading towards being a Communistic country — if it already has not.
100%. People have been saying they are full communist for years. Trudeau certainly is.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/05/24/canada-now-a-communist-country-end-of-story-cops-give-citations-for-shaking-hands-1078598/
My legs are very long – I will demand extra leg room for free also!
You beat me to it.
I’m “disabled” by my height…..exit row/business class please.
This brings to mind a Simpsons episode where Homer intentionally gains weight to be termed morbidly obese so he can work from home.
Looking at that picture nobody physically could sit next to her even if they wanted to. If the flight was full the last person on probably had to be denied boarding… but that’s everyone else’s problem I guess
The obesity problem can be attributed to the fact that the US uses corn syrup as a sweethener when the rest of the world does not. The Corn Farmers lobby is so large, that no one can put a stop to this.
But its not hard to lose wight!!!! Push yourself away from the table, excersise and make better choices. You don’t want to be looked at with scorn, then do something about it because I am not sitting next to you on a plane, and that is my right.
That’s totally BS. Anyone that can read a label can simply not buy anything that contains corn syrup. It is that easy and corn farmers will have to find another way to make money. I can guarantee you I haven’t had anything with corn syrup on it for over 25 years. Why? Because I read labels. Also, cane sugar or beet sugar has very similar effects. Problem is the US is that people are extremely lazy.
not quite JUST that they’re lazy but that they demand their metal box prisons (cars) and have very unwalkable daily environments (less calories used; I just visited a well-known place in the US where the normal neighborhood streets have 45mph limit and the arteries are 55mph…guess how many people walk anywhere..and they all put up these stupid yellow ’slow’ signs for children where in neighborhoods where everyone drives 35mph) and eat more (debatable whether it’s the quality of what they eat or just more, but it is a lot more). So, more calories in, less calories out. Fat children. Fat adults. Take a pill for it and make it better!!
You must be making everything you eat from scratch (including bread) if you haven’t had corn syrup in 25 years. Every processed food is made with corn syrup in this country
not all…….
The list of processed foods without HFCS is very short
WF and TJ don’t sell any w/that
That won’t last
tyvm Billy prophet
@Billy Bob: I have made my career in the food business so I think I can talk to you about that including that I worked for companies in the corn sector that produced or traded corn syrup. All you need is to read labels. Bread? There are at least a dozen companies I know that produce bread without corn syrup or cane sugar. Did you know that bread made in Europe, Latin America or Australia do not contain any type of sugar? Do you know why US made bread has sugar on it? To act as a preservative to it extends shelf life and to make people eat more. Most Americans are uninformed and lazy to read labels. I can guarantee you I don’t have a single product that I buy on grocery stores in my house that contains corn syrup. Just read the labels. It is not that difficult.
@Santastico 100%
I disagree here. It’s not just that people are lazy. It is a contributing factor, absolutely. But this is largely the fact that people overeat. You don’t necessarily need to “eat healthy”, you just need not to overeat. However, we (the US) don’t really understand what that means. It also doesn’t help that so many people “drink” their calories. I guarantee someone like her drinks 2-6 “cokes” a day. That’s 200-800 calories there. Before she eats a single item. However, no offense, but if you are on oxygen due to your weight, you really need to make a change. I’m “obese”, due to BMI, but I am not any where near this. I’m 6’0″ and 250. I have gone from 230 -> 200 -> 250 during the pandemic due to lockdown stupidity. I can easily get back down to 200 if I wanted. It isn’t hard. I don’t have any sympathy for her. Fat shaming needs to make a comeback. Maybe then they would take their health more seriously.
Why are you always wrong?
@Brandon sorry wasn’t meant for you
And yet it was so so true
Ack it was for the best commenter in the solar system
@billy, I haven’t seen Jan and Brandon be wrong yet
There is a huge link between childhood trauma and obesity. Eat to cope. Get angry and depressed. Force a diet. Something bad happens and repeat. I dealt with severe childhood trauma as a kid from 6 to 11 years old… Survived two forest fires… Saw murder on vacation… Lost over 25 people in life. All unnaturally. I deal with obesity. I frickin hate myself because of it. Maybe learn from others perspectives instead of judging.
Give me the cheeseburger over the yogurt (assuming it has added sugar) any day
I’m curious what changes have actually been implemented due to a change.org petition being signed. It seems like it is more just symbolic rather than actually accomplishing anything.
Answered your own question?
Her logic states she’s upset no one wants to sit next to her? Yet the remedy is for her to have extra seats that guarantee no one will sit next to her???
I’d be curious on the math of % of pax who are morbidly obese to the point of disability. On the one hand you don’t want to condone situations where it’s a result of choice / bad decisions. On the other, it would resolve some harm imposed on other pax who get forced next to an obsese passenger encroaching on their space.
I guess here in the U.S. we don’t classify obesity as a disability, while in Canada there appears to be some definition.
But this particular advocate doesn’t understand the logic of what she’s asking for. She’ll still get stares for her size regardless of seat regulations.
And ironically doesn’t Southwest give obese passengers an extra seat for free?
Another episode of an entitled American wanting the taxpayers to fund their inferior lifestyle.
Help me obi wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope
Dang right!
Im old, now gimme my medicare and social security!
apply on The Ukraine dot com
If she ordered and ate a meal at a restaurant then decided that the amount of food wasn’t adequate to make her feel full should she be entitled to a second complimentary meal? No. She can PAY for a second, third, fourth etc. meal.
She has no right to deny airlines the revenue that that extra free seat could have brought. She also has no right to infringe upon the space of others.. If she’s uncomfortable then she can purchase another seat. If she consumes the space in another seat (second meal) then she NEEDS to pay.
Being squeezed into an airline seat (like many of us are) is the absolute least of any health concerns for her.
She’s just another troublemaker/”activist”/unemployed loser.
There.
Everyone should read ths Kurt Vonnegut story “Harrison Bergeron” and ask if this is the way we are headed. Also, what happens if a Southwest flight is sold out? Who gets bumped, two average sided people or one obese person?
There already ARE larger seats it’s call First Class! Chaney is merely playing her role in the “other” pandemic plaguing society. It’s call being the “victim” epidemic!
Good question. I was on WN recently for a “completely full flight” a la many “every seat will be taken—find a middle seat now—announcements.” I was on a business select fare and boarded in A1-A15. Naturally there were about 37 wheelchairs and sixteen pre-boards ahead of me. Despite that, when I got on I was able to sit in row 7. However in row 6 right in front of me two of the pre-boards wore WN ID’s and were apparently non-reving in the asile and window seats. Both were not in uniform. However both were heavy set and over the arm rest delineation as noted by WN below. A very small individual still tried to sit in between them but the FA came by and immediately told that person that this middle seat was not available. We took off with it empty but with every other seat full. So who knows. I’d be interested to know if non-revs can book extra seats, too.
Customer of size and extra seat policy. What is your policy for Customers of size?
Customers who encroach upon any part of the neighboring seat(s) may proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel to ensure the additional seat(s) is available. *The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats*
https://www.southwest.com/help/booking/extra-seat-policy
^> Reply to Frank. Maybe if I didn’t have boarding area popups all over safari I would be able to get it right 🙂 but hey I’m contributing to ad revenue 😉
I saw another fatty try this routine yesterday on my AA flight. The worst part about this is that this was a sold-out E145, a plane where there isn’t enough space to allow for fat-spreading in the first place. I think she ended up catching the next flight.
the CRJ has entered the chat
I like the nuance and fairness in this article, Matthew. Nice articles from Kyle this weekend and off to the races this week. Great points about discernment in this piece. My fav quote on the same:
https://i.postimg.cc/xdtcXC4j/10433669-F32-F-43-CE-8-F91-53-B40-CB57180.jpg
In this report Ms. Chaney states she was discriminated against on Southwest on the basis that no one wanted to sit with her and her fiance. I fail to understand what point she is trying to make:
1. For most people, having an empty seat in one’s row on Southwest is a plus. Is she demanding that Southwest force someone to sit in the row notwithstanding its open seat boarding policy?
2. Ms. Chaney should look at the dictionary definition of discrimination. Remember when someone having discriminating taste was a plus? What she and many people need to educate themselves about is that the operative term is “illegally discriminate” and that federal and state laws only cover specific bases of discrimination (age, gender, national original, sexual orientation, etc.). I know of no law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of space.
I just introduced HR666 to allow for The People to allow discrimination on the basis of space.
New UA routes drop tomorrow, going to be something from LAX.
She is “entitled” to absolutely nothing. Wanna be more comfortable? Buy a bigger seat and stop eating so much.
“Without evidence of an underlying physiological disorder or condition, extreme obesity is not an impairment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”, according to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At least four other US circuit courts have substantially agreed with this decision. However the 9th U.S Circuit ruled the other way. While these decisions mainly concern employment, why should it be otherwise in other areas of life. It seams that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to have to get involved, both in the emplymnent area and other aspects of public and leisure life. I don’t think that most airlines are going to give out freebies unless it would be to comply with the law.
She has a choice– she can lose weight.
Try being 6’7, physically fit with broad shoulders. I can’t exactly cut off 8 inches of my height to fit better into seats. It’s why I rarely fly, bc I have to save up for 1st class for the extra space. Or look for flights that are not crowded and pay for Economy Comfort or an exit row aisle seat and hope the middle seat doesn’t get filled.
Bound for HOU to go see Dr. Now?
I wish nobody would sit next to me on WN, and I fit comfortably with the armrests down.
In my couple of decades in the airline industry, I have found that those who are obese due to a diagnosed medical condition (and yes, there are some – not many – that can cause morbid obesity) usually plan ahead and take action to ensure they travel comfortably to prevent injury or avoid undue attention. In one station I managed, I had a relatively frequent flyer (flew maybe once every other month) who would call me a week or so out just to run through his travel plans to make sure that we were ready for his motorized wheelchair, and had one of the extra-wide chairs available for use at boarding (he didn’t want his motorized chair taken down jetway stairs so willingly met my ramp team at an elevator so they could drive it to the plane). He also tried to book originating flights to make sure he had extra time boarding. Still a lot to deal with but again, I’ve found far and away those who have a true disability or medical condition plan ahead because they know what their needs are and want as smooth an experience as possible.
There are many factors that affect flight economics and a Big one is “weight and balance fuel consumption”. I recall a few years back a small airlines in the pacific starting charging by passenger weight due to high percentage of islanders were obese which left some seats open due to “takeoff / landing weight and balance aviation parameters”. Of course with big jets they have more flexibility, but they still charge more if your baggage is > 50 pounds.
It’s time we re-visited this . I am almost considered obese and would pay more for my ticket by weight. In fact unlike Homer Simpson who gained weight so he could be really obese so he could work from home. The incentive would be to lose weight to get a cheaper ticket. Exception being folks with unavoidable medical conditions like stroke, cerebral palsy etc. But Not obesity which basically is “you are what you eat”. And self control issue that can be be reversed with a lot of self discipline . This may be the new diet USA needs.
Some tall people cannot drive the smallest car. Give them a free car or a big car for the price of a small car?
Is obesity a disability?
According to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control, more than one-third of American adults are obese. A person is considered obese when their weight is higher than what is considered as a healthy weight for a given height. With obesity impacting such a large portion of the American public, are airlines to provide free or subsidized seats to 33% of the American public and forfeit seat revenue? Highly unlikely since most cases of obesity are, in fact, a direct result of lifestyle choices and not from legit medical conditions. It looks like we are headed for another tedious and fraught conversation along the lines of what constitutes a legit “emotional support animal” in order to reach some acceptable standard of bona fide medical necessity for an extra seat accommodation.
A change.org petition is needed for all wide bodies to be able to fly on wide bodies. Retire narrow bodies today!
Eh, “obese” per the CDC/BMI, is dumb. I’m considered “Obese”. I have no issues fitting into a seat. For that matter, many muscle builders are considered “obese” under their definition, despite having like 5-10% “body fat”. Now, I think I just get into the “obese” category, but the seats have plenty of width for my girth. If anything, I wish they were slightly wider just because of my shoulder width, which has no bearing on obesity, per the silly BMI scale. I could easily see a waist scale being used as to whether you need to purchase extra seats.
Let’s cut to the reality – another fat ass who refuses to put down the fork and spoon – and don’t give me the garbage about it being a glandular condition – one does not get that large without consuming huge quantities of food. The only thing this lard bucket deserves is to purchase two tickets to accommodate her self constructed obese girth.
Most I see is cyber bullying on this post. While I agree she needs to adjust her stance on this. Being extremely rude won’t help. Harassment is what I see on this post. I deal with obesity and I hate myself due to it. Judgement isn’t helpful in fighting the obesity epidemic. What is helpful is encouraging people to get healthier. Help with mental health. To tackle the main cause. Maybe talk to people? Learn about their life. As one who survived almost being murdered twice. Abused in every way imaginable… Surviving forest fires. One as a kid. One in 2021. Evacuated from both in BC, Canada. Intergenerational trauma from genocide of my ancestors… Residential schools… Treated like a literal animal by my foster brother… He inflicted the trauma… I can be honest and say this is one huge issue. Some turn to drugs and alcohol to cope. Others to food. All are bad. But the hateful comments do not stop the issue. It in fact does the opposite effect. Oh and by the way I do Kung Fu, ninjutsu and I walk for over 2 to 3 hours daily. Unless it’s winter. I’m from Alberta, Canada. I was even abused before I was even born… Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The birth mom drank alcohol before I was born then ditched me at a hospital.
There’s already wider seats available for big people. They’re called First/Business class seats which, as a big person myself, find ways to afford them or I dont travel at all. I do this so I wont have to put up with the lame thinking and posts like this OP’s.
Please tell me every airline she uses makes her buy
two seats! She literally does not fit in one seat.
And the jokes write themselves…..
How has the author not determined if this woman is vaccinated and thereby fit to fly??????
What is the definition of a woman?
I’m not a biologist
A former employee of mine is quite large, so she purchases two adjoining seats when she flies. She pays for both. Perfect solution.
If you ever had the misfortune of sitting next to a passenger like the one in the article….then you know what a miserable experience it can be….I spent 3 hours on a Southwest flight in December with a women like the one in the article sitting next to me….she kept looking at her phone and hitting me in the face with her batwing arms…..not to mention how much she spilled into my seat..why was I not entitled to have my entire seat…..
To their credit….Southwest made it right for me in the end…..but I had to complain to them after my flight…
These obese people know they need more than one seat…they just don’t want to pay for it
And who on earth would deliberately chose to sit next to someone who takes up a seat and a half……
She sounds like an idioit
ithwedt
The answer is easy. Either lose weight, or pay for an extra seat. (No, I as a taxpayer should not have to pay for your inability to control your weight. If you need an extra seat, then YOU pay for it). It’s just that easy.
What next? She’ll demand a bale of hay to graze on mid-flight.
This author could f ALL THE WAY OFF.
Most people in this country don’t have a choice between a cheeseburger and a yogurt/apple – simply because a cheeseburger costs 99¢ and an apple costs $2,3/lb. This author should also educate himself on places called food deserts. This country is great for people that have money and God-awful for people that don’t.
Back to airlines, this author SHOULD Google “misery index” that they abide by. You don’t need to be fat to notice that the seats have gotten narrower and the legroom has gotten shorter over these past years. Or hasn’t he read articles about how passengers have been fighting over leaning seats back?
But yeah, let’s blame the passenger (aka THE VICTIM) for the actions of the airlines (aka THE ASSAILANT/ABUSER).
Btw, I completely disagree with taxpayers paying for this fix. I’m tired of big corporations using capitalism for their gains while we suffer, but lean on govt and socialism to cover their losses thru subsidies, etc.
I’ve written about food deserts extensively. Ultimately, it is an excuse for those who choose not to eat healthy.
I especially love how you read my first paragraph and completely ignored the rest. GOOD JOB GUY!
I just randomly happened upon this article and commented, but as I even came back and read comments I see this fat-hate here is strong.
Do you or anyone here realize that obesity and diabetes is a real American problem? I’m guessing you’re a conservative, but didn’t you guys lose your shit when Michelle Obama wanted to do something about it? You guys screamed (screeched more like it) at the top of your lungs to let fat people, especially fat kids, be as fat as they wanted to be. Now you’re fat shaming? Disgusting
@Stef: The reality is that 1) Michelle Obama did influence school lunches regardless and 2) fat people are not healthy no matter how much the narratives says they are, a la “Lizzo”.
If you want to talk school lunches, let’s start here–school lunches under the Biden Administration, right here, right now, today:
Public Schools to Start Serving Kraft Lunchables, Thanks to ‘Sweetheart Deal’ With USDA
Starting this fall, more highly processed foods will be on the menu for children in public schools thanks to a “major new initiative” to get Kraft Heinz’s “Lunchables” products into U.S. public school cafeterias.
Critics — including John Fagan, Ph.D., a leading authority on biosafety, food authenticity and sustainability in the food and agricultural system — said he doubted the nutritional value of the products.
The USDA business deal with Kraft Heinz is “disappointing,” Fagan told The Defender.
“Our government is not recognizing … the school lunch opportunity to strengthen our food system, but instead providing a sweetheart deal to one of the big players in Big Food,” Fagan said.
The Kraft Heinz Company is the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world. Its product line includes Velveeta cheese, Kool-Aid and Jell-O.
Fagan is CEO and chief scientific officer of Health Research Institute, which conducts testing on the nutrient and pesticide levels in foods and recently published a report on school lunches.
He said it’s well established that highly processed foods like Kraft Heinz’s products increase inflammation and free radicals.
A new study on food additives published recently in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics showed about 60% of foods Americans buy now contain coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives and sweeteners.
According to the study’s authors, we need more research on these additives, as we don’t fully understand the health consequences of consuming them.
The full ingredient lists for the Lunchables products approved for schools are not widely available.
However, the turkey and cheddar version sold at Target contains numerous additives including: potassium lactate, modified cornstarch, dextrose, salt, carrageenan, sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, potassium salts, sodium ascorbate, natural and artificial flavor, sodium nitrite, smoke flavor, sorbic acid, sunflower lecithin, palm oil and sugar.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/business/lunchables-in-schools/index.html
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/public-schools-kraft-lunchables-usda
@Stef: I hear you to an extent on “God-awful for people that don’t”, but at the same time perspective is also needed, as the victim mindset is not the solution:
https://i.postimg.cc/D0Q71BcT/royalty.png
Here we go again-another victim class and it’s everyone else’s problem. So sick of this crap.
Nancy Pelosi: “Some of us who are attracted to the political arena, to government and public service believe we are all God’s children. There is a spark of divinity among every person on earth, and we all have to recognize that as we respect the dignity and worth of every person.”
While I’m all for sparks of divinity, and while we should certainly strive to respect the dignity and worth of every person, I also don’t think that most therapists or life coaches would say that the victim mindset is the solution, either. I lost 75 pounds after a years years of bad eating and working at Cheesecake Factory in my early twenties, overeating thousands of calories daily and often. That was my bad, but yes it’s possible to lose weight. Portion control is the hardest part and I still struggle with that myself, as do many.
When looking at the photo on this article, it really makes WN seats look extremely small and narrow. There is certainly truth that airlines are squeezing us in like sardines, but at some point personal responsibility also has to play a part. Either way, corporate/government responsibility is unlikely to make up the difference.
I did see that at least Washington State has made the obese a protected class:
The Washington Supreme Court held for the first time that obesity is a protected class under state anti-discrimination law (The applicant v. Burlington Northern Railroad Holdings, Inc.). This decision runs counter to recent federal court decisions in other parts of the country that have said obesity not caused by an underlying physiological disorder or condition does not qualify as an impairment under federal law.
We’ll have to see if the FAA addresses her petition. The FAA did address gender neutral language in the cockpit, so they may be willing to take this up, too. TBD.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/obesity-is-a-new-protected-class-in-washington-state.aspx
Saw this in VFTW comments, interesting:
Your BMI is your ticket price — the next dimension in airline pricing
https://brothke.medium.com/your-bmi-is-your-ticket-price-the-next-dimension-in-airline-pricing-c0592c755a8f
Would she be able to sit in an exit row?
would she be able to get out of the exit window or onto the wing
…and that is the reason why not even an exit row could/would accomodate her
I’m tall. VERY tall. 6’8″ to be exact. I always have had to pay extra for either an exit row, main cabin extra seat, bulkhead seat, or first class seat. I’ve been annoyed when I see a child or incredibly short person in the bulkhead seat next to me, but I’ve never thought to myself “I should DEMAND that I and all tall people get those seats, and for free!” before. We as a society keep coddling these people and they will keep demanding more. Just wait until Gen Z is graduating from college and in politics. Y’all will all be crying we as a society should have done more to stop this madness.
Great points and yeah the Gen Z tiktok left is truly beyond beyond. I don’t have some of the videos handy but it’s truly frightening how minorities are expecting majority treatment and/or just totally wrong takes/sincerely held beliefs.
BBC reports that according to some brain scientists have said that you don’t become fully “adult” until 30 years of age. It’s a very nuanced topic. Anyway, Gen Z in politics already. I’ve been impressed with the some of the young “right”. He would be termed MAGA, I suppose. I love Coleton Furlow, he’s so positive and A+. Preston Parra is also cool. Coleton is very mature and Preston is very silly. Can’t be easy either way. It’s inspirational to see two men who are, admittedly, easy on the eyes, going against the grain of the mainstream narrative.
We are truly at the precipice. Anyway if you happen to be Christian you’ll love Coleton (and perhaps Preston, too). Incredible for being so young–amazing head on his shoulders. I wish I had a fraction of his drive at his age. At that age I had certainly had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. Glad Gen Z has some stars for those of us who are in the middle/moderate and agree with things on both sides of the aisle. We gotta focus on the good right now, too.
https://instagram.com/coletonfurlow
Jaeylynn omits the fact that Flying is NOT a right.. She typifies a very self absorbed piggish lifestyle. Screw this obese beast and her entitlement mentality.
This girl chose to be obese, lack of self control and should be shamed just as smokers were shamed 20 years ago with increased health care costs that everyone else has to pay for.
I’ve said it before in another of Matthew’s posts (https://liveandletsfly DOT com/american-airlines-obese/):
Check out WFPB (whole-food plant-based) nutrition for easy fat-burning and weight regulation. Combine with any regular exercise you like, especially resistance training.
To start I believe if she needs another seat then pay for another seat, I don’t want to be the one paying for your seat, I’m a big man and when I fly I either fly first class or just buy the whole row for me and my wife usually in the section with extra leg room. I don’t want anybody to give me anything if I can’t pay my way on the plane I’ll just drive