Shades of the Reagan administration.
Although the White House has promoted fresh vegetables as a part of healthy diet,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/fitness/chapt4.html
last year the Department of Agriculture classified frozen French Fries as a fresh vegetable.
From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Frozen Potato Products Institute appealed to the USDA in 2000 to change its definition of fresh produce under PACA to include batter-coated, frozen french fries, arguing that rolling potato slices in a starch coating, frying them and freezing them is the equivalent of waxing a cucumber or sweetening a strawberry.
The USDA agreed and, on June 2, 2003, the agency amended its PACA rules to include what is described in court documents as the “Batter-Coating Rule.”
...
The french fry rule calls to mind the USDA’s attempt in 1981 to classify ketchup and pickle relish as vegetables, an idea that was dropped amid public protests.
Hey ketchup and french fries go together. The combination is just like a salad.
This item appeared in the Jun 15 Progress Report at The Center For American Progress Web Site.
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=8473
Skippy, why do I feel like I have met the head of the USDA someplace before? I can’t stand these Lipitor moments derailing my train of thought!
This just shows me that instead of suing McDonalds for making you fat you should be suing the U.S. Government for dumbass classifications that promote junk food as healthy food.
Friggin’ idiots.