I have a bone to pick with the Shura of my masjid. What I have noted is that whenever food is arranged for some kind of event by shura some kind of junk food is served to the kids like pizza. At community picnics burgers and hot dogs are served to the community as a whole , of course halal meat is used for them.
Even for some small scale events for adults , any time the food is supposed to arranged by Shura Pizza , potato chips etc are served.
Should I be raising my voice against this practice. If we emphasize healthy eating to our kids and then we serve junk food are we not giving mixed messages to our kids ?
Does Islam has any concept of healthy eating and avoiding junk food ?
If I was as concerned about this issue as you, I would suggest some healthy alternatives...Ask the committee to serve health concious food...And then see how many show up at the next picnic...
We had this exact discussion at our masjid a few months back. They always serve junk food as well, and guess what? I actually think that's a good thing and many of the moms agreed.
Before you get into a tizzy, I'm a mom of two young kids, 6 and 4. 90% of the time, they eat healthy. I cook for them at home, and I'm very particular about their snacks and treats. We go out to eat no more than once a month. But, it is so hard taking my son to Sunday School. He hates getting up early, he hates sitting there for 3 hours listening to the teacher drone on and on and on about a particular letter in Arabic, a particular concept, etc. And every single mother complains about that as well. Kids have short attention spans and they resent having to go to school one more day, when so many kids are at home, sleeping in and goofing off.
Many of the mothers agreed that it is a great incentive for the kids to know they would have treats at masjid. That is the only way you will keep them interested in their young age. So for us, Sunday is the day he can get a slice of pizza, a piece of candy, or cookie. I know we want to promote healthy eating, but come on, it is highly unrealistic to think that your kids will NEVER eat junk. They will always have a treat here and there, and even us as adults cannot live on carrot sticks alone. We all have the occasional soda, hamburger, bag of chips, etc. It's overall eating habits that matter, and deprivation backfires in both kids and adults.
The thing is that you should start your healthy eating habits at home, so that the weekly treat won't make them fat. You can also control their portions at the masjid too ("okay, just one slice of pizza and one cookie--if you get the cookie, no chips" or "I only have two dollars today--just enough for a slice of pizza and a water"). Anyways, I'm sure biryani and nihari have just as many calories, if not more, as a slice of pizza. They tried selling fruit and veggie crudites at the masjid, but it was a failure and they actually lost money. It's not fair for parents to blame the masjid for their poor parenting in regards to food consumption. If little Ali is fat, it's not because he had a slice of pizza at masjid.
Pakistanis love their meat. Its a culture that has to be changed.
I think this wasn't always the case. In the 1960s and 1970s, when our parents grew up, meat was very expensive and wasn't consumed like it is today. They ate a lot of sabzi and daal, and there were two national meatless days (Tues and Wed) as well.
If anything I think a balanced lifestyle (in terms of food) is more important. Eating enough and not overeating. You can eat pizza once in a while and still incorporate food that our Prophet (SAW) ate into your diet. But what do I know, I'm a girl
Some foods are just bad by nature…don’t forget a lot of it is crap that’s pushed on you by corporations out to make a buck. There is a trust between the general public and these companies that they won’t mislead us.
But some go to the extent of fabricating research/studies to support outlandish claims about their product…margarine I think fits into this category (it’s really not all that good for you after all). Then look at those damn jerkwads advertising stuff like fruit loops and what not to little kids…evil I tell ya.