Tomato Paste is the New Ketchup: School Lunch "Veggies" By Congress

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November 15, 2011

school lunch, nutrition, reporting on health, pizzaNutrition: Years ago, the Reagan administration tried to classify ketchup as a vegetable in school lunches; now, Congress is pitching tomato paste – on pizza – as a healthy veggie. A new spending bill rolls back proposed nutritional standards for federally-subsidized school lunches, with pizza and French fries back on the menu, Mary Clare Jalonick reports for the Associated Press.

Medical Marijuana: Medical marijuana dispensaries are proliferating in smaller towns that don't have the financial resources to litigate them out of business, Jessica Garrison reports for the Los Angeles Times. There are 60 dispensaries alone in Southern California's Garden Grove, which has a population of about 171,000 people.

Lead: Researchers have found that nearly two-thirds of yards and homes in New Orleans, some rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina, are contaminated with dangerously high levels of lead, Mark Schleifstein reports for the Times-Picayune.

Health Reform: The New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg examines the recent history of health reform's individual mandate and what it could portend for the future of the legislation as it is taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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