Big Way Of Life

You've all heard of Jamie Oliver, and no doubt you are all aware of his successful campaign to get school canteens in the UK serving healthier food.

Five years ago Jamie got 271,000 signatures on his petition in the UK, which prompted the then Prime Minister Tony Blair to pump £280m into improving school meals. And now Jamie is turning his attention to America – widely thought of as the unhealthiest nation in the world.

Jamie's Food Revolution, being shown as a TV show on the ABC network, focuses on schools in Huntington, West Virginia, in an effort to change their thinking when it comes to school meals. However, he wants to use the school as a benchmark for schools across the rest of the country. He is employing similar techniques to those he used over here to spread his message, with lots of pupil interaction and aiming to get one million signatures on his petition. Jamie is over half way there to meeting his target, including big names such as Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Anniston and Gwyneth Paltrow.

However, Jamie has not had the warm welcome he would have liked, with many Americans criticising him for trying to dictate what they and their children should eat.

Monique Feddey, a student at Central City Elementary School believes that although his intentions are good, Jamie is wasting his time with his plan.

She said: "I just think it's worse than the old food. It's better, but it's also worse because people are wasting it because they don't like it and it's better because it's healthier."

Although students remain unconvinced, the teachers are displaying a much more open mind.

Central City Elementary Principal Patrick O'Neal said, "I'm really supportive of the petition. The control of school lunch is beyond our control, but it has to be up to the federal government. I know I'm ready for change and the cooks are behind it, but we have to get the government behind us to switch from the processed foods."

Should Jamie reach his goal of one million signatures, he will take the petition to the White House in an effort to influence national legislation. There he would likely find a supporter in First Lady Michelle Obama, who has set up her own campaign to fight childhood obesity across the country.

For more information on Jamie and his Food Revolution, visit his website, here.