Jamie Oliver: Arrogant tw*t!?

Question

I'm going to go against the popular school of thought here and say that this man is an a*sehole.

I though it was great that he encouraged schools to provide better school meals for the kids.

But HOW DARE he rant that all parents who allows their kids to eat crips and chocolate are "Tossers and Arseholes". What, even as a treat a few times a week? Stupid cnut!!! Me and my brother these things as kids and we were never "obese" or unhealthy. We were very active too.

This man needs to get some perspective! Firstly with all his money and the time he and his wife have (they don't both pull 9-5s to keep a roof over their head) they can afford the bext organic stuff from Marks and Spencer and Harrods, and with the time he and his wife have they have the time to whip up these lovely natural heathy meals for their kids.

Plus perhaps their kids will actually EAT vegetables as opposed to crisps!

This man's arrogance is astounding. And no I don't expect you all to agree!

so you're saying that a bag of crisps once a week is going to kill your child? For God's sake people! Where has common sense gone. Its not wrong to eat these things as long as they are don't make up the whole of the diet! Once a week won't hurt. Don't talk shite. Look forward to bringing up a nation of food obsessed little anorexics/bulimics because thats what s going to happen if you make certain foods utterly "taboo" for no reason other than this gobshite says so.

Why are people so guillable?

s*x_kitten - the country won't be "ruled by obese" people (and where did that stupid word come from anyway) if basic common sense is taken into account, you can eat the odd bag of crisps or choc bar without being obese - its all about balance. Anyone with an ounce of sense (unlike Mr Oliver) would know this.

I'm more worried about a nation of anorexics and bulimics because I speak from personal experience here - obsessing about food/making certain food taboo is a REALLY good way to spark these illnesses off.

BTW I started ballet training as a kid and have been mega-active all my lifer. Never been overweight, never had health problems. And yeah I love crisps and choc!!! Perhaps todays's parents need to get their kids out and doing things rather than playing Playstation all day. They can eat crisps with no problem then!

Princess -

My parents never went to health food stores, yes we ate crisps/choc etc and I have NEVER had a health problem or been overweight, so how do you figure that one out?

Answer 1

At least he has the intention to do good, and is trying to make kids healthier- surely that can't be a bad thing? The fact is, many parents today are clueless when it comes to nutrition, and we need an advocate for healthy eating. Yes, he needs to get over himself, but at least he is doing some good. Personally, i don't want the country in 30 years time to be run by an overweight, malnourished generation.

get over it

Answer 2

I think the key word you use here is 'perspective'. Oliver wasn't saying that kids should never have crisps or fizzy drinks - he simply wanted to draw attention to the fact that some parents feed their children unhealthy food as a matter of course.

Jamie Oliver is one celeb that has actually worked for his cash. To succeed as any kind of chef involves regular 16 hour shifts on a very low wage. Had he not gone well beyond working '9-5s' for years on end, he would never have made it. So I do not resent his wealth, and I believe that his hard-working background actually does give him a right to voice his opinion in an area that he knows a great deal about.

Had it been Chantelle or Jade or some other non-celebrity who has become financially successful thorugh doing absolutely nothing resembling hard work, then I would agree that you have a point!

In addition, if kids are not given crisps or fizzy drinks from the moment they are born, then they will actually eat vegetables. I was never given even a biscuit until I was four years old - and that was only because they had them at nursery! But I didn't know any different, as and a result, I now eat practically every vegetable there is. My one-year old niece is being given very similar treatment, and is incredibly happy, and wolfs down broccoli like there's no tomorrow! Well, apart from when she's sticking it up her nose that is. People always say yhey haven't got time to cook fresh, but the average vegetable only takes 15 minutes to boil! Isn't that worth it for healthy kids?!

Answer 3

I am so hugely glad that someone else is feeling the same way as me.

I applaud the work Mr Oliver has done to get more of our tax money to ensure school meals are more nutritious, but he seems to be missing a vital fact: kids currently choose what to eat.

My other half works in a school, and two years ago they stopped serving chips every day (they are allowed to serve them a maximum of once a week).
As soon as the new rules came into force the kids stopped staying for a school meal. They have McD's and two chip shops within walking distance, so that is where they now go.

Chocolate machines and fizzy drinks machines have been banned, so at breaktimes the kids cross a very busy road to get to a newsagent where they buy all the sweets and pop they want. Not only are they no healthier, but the school now misses out on a revenue stream.

I agree that nutrition plays a huge part in child development, but surely it is our job as parents to ensure our children are nutritionally aware and have a healthy, BALANCED diet?

My mum is a chef, and taught me such a lot about nutrition, cookery and skills which generations ago would have been passed on as a matter of course.
Sadly at my school our cookery lessons were very limited (we made sausage rolls using frozen pastry and ready-cooked sausages in one memorable lesson), as we were expected to take on good careers and therefore would have neither the time nor the inclination to cook (the headmistress' attitude, not mine).

In the most deprived schools kids don't know what vegetables are, as they live on take-aways. Curry, pizza and burgers are known quantities, so they will buy them. If they aren't on offer at school then the kids will simply choose to buy them elsewhere.

Sadly, for this fact I can guarantee that this "revolution" in school meals will make absolutely no difference, unless we go back to old fashioned school meals where kids have no choice - there is one meal and they are all forced to stay in and eat it.
Try doing that and they'll have you before a court - it probably breaches their human rights or something equally fatuous.

Answer 4

Why are you getting upset?...... its not like he's made not eating crisps or chocolate once a week mandatory! Get a grip woman. If you choose to let your kids eat these things a couple of times a week then so be it! I think what we are seeing here is someone going on the defensive because she can't handle the criticism against how unhealthy these snacks are plus a wee bit jealous that Jamie is a success and can afford to buy healthy organic veg from Marks and Spencer which his kids will eat because they were brought up from the beginning eating healthy food. I know there are a lot of people out there who can't but that does not make him a tw*t as you call it.... he is excising his freedom of speech.

Answer 5

Well, the bottom line is he is right. Good quality healthy meals are starting to be provided in schools and parents still send their little darlings to school with packed lunches with chocolate biscuits, crisps, string cheese and other such fast food junk because Little Johnny throws a tantrum if he can't have what wants and it isn't worth the hassle arguing. It amazes me that parents allow their children to choose between crap and a healthy meal. If you gave me the choice when I was a lad I would have chosen the chocolate everytime. Would that have been good for me? My parents insisted I eat healthily. Perhaps others should listen to Mr. Oliver and do the same.

Answer 6

He is just being an idealist- and fair enough.

I wasn't fed those things as a child. My mother shopped at health food stores for our packed lunch- we weren't rich, she was a single working mother and she didn't have all the time in the world. We would get things like frozen yogurt, proper chocolate (which is healthy in the right doses) and carrot cake for treats. We did complain and put up a fuss but she'd never back down. She knew we would be able to eat junk food elsewhere so it wasn't a case of being tyrannical- just that she wasn't going to be the one giving it to us.

I'm grateful for this now. I grew up extremely healthy and I dont think of crisps and sweets as staple foods- I will always see them as unhealthy and bad, whereas a lot of people I know who grew up eating them would have a really hard time cutting them out.

(Admittedly, as an adult feeding myself I'm nowhere near as healthy as when i was a kid, but I am so well educated in nutrition that if I ever wanted to change that, I'd know what to do!!)

I see no reason why children need to be given junk food, yes they need treats but there are healthier options. Jamie was talking about packed lunches when he said that- there's certainly no need to have a bag of crisps and a biscuit every single day.

Answer 7

you say it hasn't affected you but me and a work friend were
waiting out side a primary school for the children to be picked
up by there parents and leave the premises so that we could
drive into the play ground safely and do some work there .
while we were waiting we were observing the mothers and
noticed that 95% were obese and both thought what on earth
are there children going to be like when they get to that age.
like you i cant stand Jamie Oliver and think that he is over
paid considering he is not in the same league as the rest
of the other chefs but you have to give him credit for trying
to get good food into our schools and educate the youngsters
that greasy burgers and chips are not the way forward for a healthy life.
kids think they know best , they dont we have to teach them
for there own good.
variety is the spice of life .

Answer 8

The most natural and healthy diet for humans is an omnivorous diet, and not a plant based diet, or a meat-based diet per se. The Paleo Diet can be very widely varied and omnivorous for the most part, but the most important thing is that it’s unprocessed, and avoids the worst foods that agriculture brought mankind… refined inflammatory vegetable oils, refined grains (some are worse than others), and sugar! Learn here https://tr.im/GrTaR

As you can see, the benefits of adopting a Paleo way of eating can be incredible! I’ve been eating 95% Paleo for the last 5-6 years and I’ve never felt better. I have dozens of friends that have adopted a more Paleo way of eating too, and have seen all sorts of health problems disappear, including eliminating acne and other skin problems, digestion problems, improving brain clarity, and of course, losing a lot of body fat!

Answer 9

If you actually took the time to take in what was being said, you may think differently. He actually said that parents that put fizzy drinks, chocolate and crisps in their kids lunches everyday were tossers. He's not said that parents should never give these things to their kids. It's just common sense really. You keep eating ****, your going to get fat. With all respect, things were different for me when I was growing up than they are for my daughter now. and I'm only 26! Children have so many excuses not to go out and play, alot more than when I was young.

You really shouldn't get all shirty about someone who is trying to help this country's children from growing up with medical problems.

Answer 10

I don`t watch much tv so never heard Jamie making those remarks about parents . Yes he can be annoying but as parents we have to be thankful someones fighting our corner for our childrens school meals , lets face it they were crap , twizzlers , pizza & chips ,
no my daughters don`t go to school dinners i make them a healthy packed lunch but in winter i will prefer them to have a hot lunch at school now the menus changed . At the end of the day no-one likes to be judged on their parenting and thats how he has made alot of people feel .