The Los Angeles Unified School District has attracted criticism after uploading a video in which it asserts that it is incorrect to term junk food unhealthy and that diet culture is founded on oppression.
The district’s Human Relations and Diversity department allegedly shared the video on Instagram. The film was created by dietitian Kera Nyemb-Diop and ‘Smarter in Seconds’ web series producer Blair Imani.
Nyemb-Diop, who asserts in the film that people should ‘consume without shame,’ condemns unfavorable attitudes regarding junk food.
She advised, “Rather of focusing on ‘good’ and ‘poor’ options, try approaching meals with neutrality in mind.”
The video was quickly identified by the LA Parent Union, who criticized the district for releasing the film online and Nyemb-ties Diop’s to Mondelez International, the largest snack company in the world.
The parent group tweeted, “@LAUSDSup your Human Relations Diversity and Equity staff requires monitoring.” They distributed a video showing a Mondelez representative marketing high fructose corn syrup to children.
The Los Angeles Unified School District published an Instagram video denouncing negative attitudes toward junk food and asserting that diet culture is founded on oppression. The video begins with a woman criticizing a buddy for devouring a plate of donuts.
In the ad, Mondelez International’s dietitian Kera Nyemb-Diop encourages consumers to ‘eat without guilt’
Maya Finoh (above), a black feminist and opponent of fat shaming, argues in the film that junk food is not unhealthy.
The controversial video, which is no longer available on the department’s Instagram account, begins with a woman gifting her buddy with a dish of doughnuts.
The friend, shocked by the six donuts in front of her, declares that the sugary pastries are ‘bad’ for them, but the woman dismisses her friend’s concerns.
Again, you are evaluating my eating choices based on a false health standard. Aren’t you?’
Nyemb-Diop interrupts the performance as she argues against ‘artificial food hierarchy’
“Diet culture, fatphobia, and oppressive structures have established false food hierarchies, and they are ubiquitous,” she argues.
The nutritionist is then joined by Maya Finoh, a black feminist and anti-fat-shaming advocate, who argues that junk food is not unhealthy.
Finoh states, “We are all mistakenly taught from a young age that our size and, by extension, the food we eat, are indicators of our self-worth.”
Only foods containing allergens, toxins, and pollutants, as well as foods that are rotten or otherwise inedible, are unhealthy.
The LA Parent Union stated that the film makes parents who have educated their children to shun junk food and seek healthier sources of nutrition look like liars.
On Monday, the organization tweeted, “They teach our children that we’ve lied to them and that no cuisine is better for them than another”
“@LAUSDHRDE is working actively to undermine parents and harm children.”
The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
The video was part of the viral online series ‘Smarter in Second’ by Blair Imani.
Many flocked to social media to highlight the video’s lessons on junk food and health.
Many social media users concur with the parents’ group that the film will cause more harm than good.
Terrible. The truth is that many of the foods my high school students consume are crap.
Breakfast consists of Takis, Frappuccinos, pastries, and juice. I, too, am occasionally guilty of making poor decisions, there, I said it.
“But obtain actual, fake health standards? We cannot prepare children for a lifetime of obesity, LAUSD!
Another Twitter user, Jon Vassa, wrote: “Feels like the antithesis of progress? I believed there was an agreement that consuming healthy foods keeps people generally healthy. Choosing junk food can result in preventable diseases.
Another Twitter user named Rager stated simply, “Wokeism seeping into nutrition teaching.”