The Democrats' War on Cupcakes must end!
‘Boss’ joins school fray
By Laurel J. Sweet | Wednesday, May 9, 2012 | bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
The Cake Boss is going all Marie Antoinette on the Bay State’s ban on bake sales.
“The Boss is definitely saying, ‘Let them eat cake,’ ” said Buddy Valastro, 35, star of the hit TLC reality series “Cake Boss,” echoing the words that helped trigger the French Revolution.
New Massachusetts regulations aimed at combating childhood obesity are bringing in a strict regimen for public school fare as of Aug. 1, including a ban on bake sales that student groups have traditionally used to raise much needed money for activities, equipment, trips and charity.
“Live a little. Eat a cupcake,” the Cake Boss told the Herald yesterday.
Valastro tried to imagine an educational landscape devoid of pastry and even whole milk.
“At the end of the day, America is about freedom,” Valastro said. “I don’t think anyone should tell us what or what not we should eat.”
The Herald’s coverage this week of the new nutrition mandate — which bans pizza, ice cream and other fatty foods as part of a total war on weight — has sparked a nationwide debate. But state officials have been sticking to their guns despite an outcry from parents, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering its own junk-food ban in schools nationwide.
“It’s stupid,” said Valastro, the father of four children ages 1, 5, 7 and 9. “We need to teach our kids that you should be able to eat cake, but in moderation. It’s about having the willpower to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to exercise. I’m not going to overeat.’ Maybe if there was more education about that. You can’t just say it’s because of the cookies from a bake sale. It’s more than that. It’s the video games, it’s the texting ... we’re not going to close down every McDonald’s in America.”
Recalling how in his own youth bake sale paid for a class trip to Washington, D.C., Valastro called fundraisers “an American staple that promote family togetherness.”
He knows firsthand the frustration of parents, because his famous Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., is not nut-free.
“I’m the Cake Boss and I’m not allowed to bring cupcakes to my kids’ schools because of allergies and regulations,” he said. “My wife has to make a box mix at home. Can you believe that?”
Article URL: bostonherald.com |
