WASHINGTON:
A campaign to ban hot dogs from school menus has sparked a 'patriotism' row in
the United States, where the meat is considered an American cultural
icon.
Many in the US would
consider a trip to a baseball game without taking a bite of the favorite meat as
unthinkable.
An outcry has
erupted after the campaign urges teachers and parents to encourage children to
make healthy food choices by removing hot dogs and other processed meats from
school menus.
The television
campaign financed by the Cancer Project, a pro-vegetarian group, has attracted
criticism in the US media and the country's food
industry.
Nutritionists have
now stepped in to defend the hot dog. "My concern about this campaign is it's
giving the indication that the occasional hot dog in the school lunch is going
to increase cancer risk," said Colleen Doyle, the American Cancer Society's
nutrition director.
"An
occasional hot dog isn't going to increase that risk," she was quoted as saying
by the Daily Telegraph
newspaper.
According to the
report, the call to phase out hot dog days comes amid concerns linking hot dogs
with colonic cancer. The Cancer Project has stuck by its contention that
Americans eat far too much unhealthy and processed
meat.
Dr Neal Barnard, head of
the Cancer Project and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine Nutritionists, said the campaign was justified because "cancer risk
starts early".