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[Article Summarized by Meridian Institute] News outlets have been having a field day with the proposal from Congress that pizza sauce can be considered a vegetable, writes Michele Simon, a public health lawyer specializing in industry marketing and lobbying tactics, in this opinion piece. But, she says, as is often the case with reporting, the story is more complex than it has been portrayed, and many media outlets did a poor job of explaining the massive industry lobbying at play. Simon says a bit more history, some common sense, and political context are needed to fully understand the issue. The Republicans, she says, can’t blame Obama for this one. Congress authorized, in 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve nutrition standards for school food. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine, at the request of the USDA, released a report with specific recommendations – based on science. The process has, therefore, been going on long before the budget crisis and before Obama was president. As for common sense, Simon asks: “If you stop and think about it, shouldn't all food assistance programs (i.e., paid for with taxpayer dollars), at the very least, comply with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is supposed to be based on the latest nutrition science? Recall the feds' new MyPlate, released to much fanfare earlier this year, which recommends half the meal be comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables, not tater tots and pizza.” And finally, the politics: Simon says it isn’t just that the processed food industry is unhappy with the proposed changes to school meals, it’s how they are flexing their political muscle to get their way. The critical, and most under-reported part of the story, she argues, is how Congress has “hijacked the USDA regulatory process to do the food industry’s bidding.” Even though Congress authorized all that went into the recommendations for improving school food, when the food industry didn’t get what they wanted, they went to Congress, which then usurped the entire process. Simon concludes: “And let's not forget this is supposed to be about our nation's kids. Which raises one more interesting question: Where exactly is Michelle Obama and her Let's Move campaign now? The First Lady has been a champion for improving school meals but of course she has no real power. The food industry has plenty. And while politicians curry favor with lobbyists, schoolchildren will pay the ultimate price, with their health.”