Japanese Netizens Shocked By American School Lunches

By Kunku + on January 30, 2013 | 14 Comments

Japanese netizens were horrified by images of American school lunches that showed up on the Japanese Naver Matome site. The snapshots were of greasy food slopped over plastic lunch trays. The reaction was based on the fact that most school lunches in Japan (and Asia in general) promote healthy eating and are comprised of lots of vegetables and low-fat foods. Despite the acknowledgement that a nutritious diet is key to properly nourishing the growing bodies of children, budget cuts among other reasons have made it nearly impossible for the U.S. to provide healthy, non-over-processed foods to schools. Students in Japan are educated about what they are eating for the day and why each item on their plate is good for them.

Here are some of the snapshots that earned the criticisms of Japanese netizens.

First up, we have the classic Macaroni and cheese with a side of preserved fruit and milk:

Up next we have “Great, dinosaur chicken nuggets!” with Rice Krispies and tater tots. And what looks like eggs and a side of ketchup.

The image above of the pizza and fries was taken from a blog post with the title “Congress has decided to count pizza as a vegetable” to which the writer comments “Yes.”

This one was labeled “Pretzels and broccoli”… somewhat nutritious?

And last but not least, the Foot-long Hot Dog. One foot is about 30 cm, which the writer compares to a ruler.

Netizens were disgusted by these pictures, and questioned why all the food was one color. Do you agree with the netizens?

Stay tuned for more school lunch updates as we share what is being served in Japanese and Korean cafeterias!

Kunku +

Kunku

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14 Comments

Lupe

30/01/2013 · Reply

American school lunches are terrible but I think they've gone beyond what's displayed here. My school actually had really good food that was healthy and evenly proportioned. They didn't serve anything that was a "heart attack on a plate". These pictures seem kind of old.
facebook_LalaykaFox

30/01/2013 · Reply

It depends on the school. My kids are lucky and go to a good school and are able to have better food then picked above. But sadly there are some really bad schools that get food like this or worse.
TLSF

30/01/2013 · Reply

School menu's like these are the reason that I, and so many other parents, decide to pack a lunch for our children to eat for lunch every day. I am looking forward to the images of food from Japanese and Korean school lunchrooms. I hope that I get some great ideas for how to liven up my girls' lunches! :-)
Jesse

30/01/2013 · Reply

Yeah, I will agree that American lunches are usually disgusting and it's not necessarily the schools fault. My school isn't that bad, but if you want 'healthy' food you have to pay extra or you get way less. And no doubt when in comparison to countries like Japan and Korea (and probably many others) that serve fresh/healthy food, our school lunches are a heart attack waiting to happen. But I'm curious now--What do Japanese / Korean school lunches look like?
anicheung

31/01/2013 · Reply

I think it depends on the school that you go to, but I am in agreement that this was the type of food served in my school cafeteria. Everything was from pre-packaged, frozen bulk products such as chicken nuggets, french bread pizza, hamburgers and fries, mashed potatoes. You can clearly taste the difference between healthy home cooking as compared to the frozen stuff. Then again, I come from an Asian family and usually tried to bring my own lunch. On days that I forget or get too lazy to pack a lunch, my friends and I would buy an alternative source of junk food from the school mart, like cheese fries, nachos or pretzels. I don't know about other schools, but mine definitely didn't promote healthy eating.
Monsun

31/01/2013 · Reply

At least for me , my School isn't as bad as the ones in the picture. The only bad thing about my. School is that our is Prepackaged. Which I understand that bad but it's somewhat healthy. I think American school district should learn from Japanese school lunches that they balance it out and it's more healthy for the children
maessy

02/02/2013 · Reply

Lunches in school are according to the culture of each states. Its extremely difficult to get most children to eat vegetables...you should see the waste food tubs filled with vegetables that children throw away because they will absolutely not touch vegetables or salads. You see this at he high school level, too. A la carte menus serving fries, hamburgers, pizza sell well... vegges dip salad and healthy meals are untouched. Even parents at home trying to get their children to eat healthy have trouble getting them to eat vegetables cooked or in salads. In states with a large Mexican-American population, beans and rice is what children will eat the most at lunch. More and more Hispanic children are eatting salads featuring carrots and salad dressing and other vegetables, but I don't really know why certain areas of the United States have acceptance or resistance to certain foods.
hellokitty93

03/02/2013 · Reply

To be honest is more nasty then the above.From all the school that I went to it does not looks like the above.
LadyRavenB

04/02/2013 · Reply

This is why American children are so unhealthy. Add school lunches like this and the fact that most schools are trying to take out PE and recess and you end up with over weight and lazy children. It is really sad that because of these facts America is becoming the butt of some very bad jokes. The question is ....What can we do to fix this?
- Makjang Noona
  
  04/02/2013 · Reply
  
  They aren't trying to get rid of PE. That would have been my childhood dream. Only Florida is, and they are full of crazy. That doesn't even count.
Makjang Noona

04/02/2013 · Reply

As someone with kids in public school, they often come home begging to be sent to school with a "cold lunch" often. While they offer healthier foods now, the quality is TERRIBLE and I found that it has actually turned my kids OFF of healthy food. What's worse, they don't start getting options until Jr High, and even then, by the time they get to the cafeteria all the "good food" is gone! I will admit though, I live in a small-ish town, and all the schools are in one district so they all have the same menu. I don't know how it works in bigger cities anymore.
Brendalee

05/02/2013 · Reply

I think the problem here is that too many parents are depending too much on the school system to raise their kids. If you raise them properly at home to eat good food, then they can push this crap away and eat the healthy food you pack for them. And for some that cant afford to pack lunches everyday, unfortunaley have to eat this, but as long as when they get home the parents dont have them sit down and let the video games or tv babysit and actually get them to run outside and play then todays kids health wont be a problem. Anything wrong with the kids, you always look at the parents or guardians 1st.
Spazzie

05/02/2013 · Reply

Ok thats just gross! I mean do these poor kids really need pizza AND french fries!?!? I hope in all that is Holy that this gets changed soon at least throw some extra veggies in there.
Simone

06/02/2013 · Reply

Terrifying food fell like throwing up I am so happy that I don't have to eat that is not even food I don't know what to call it !!!;( :(poor them having to eat that everyday ...