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If they want kids to eat healthy school dinners instead, maybe they should make them taste nice? But that takes effort, so it’s difficult. And many politicians get a kick out of compelling people to do things, so it’s not surprising that they’ve gone for this option instead.

Any idea if this move will close existing venues, or just prevent new ones from opening?

Aparently my google foo + patience was not up to answering this.

I personally think a nice chicken kebab is one of the most delicious and healthiest fast food options there is (please do not disabuse me of this idea!).

A few chunks of marinaded chicken, grilled, with a heap of shredded salad, about a gallon of ultra-spicy chilli sauce (mainly tomato, chilli, onion, garlic and herbs) and a handful of pickled jalapenos – and seasoned with a squirt of lemon juice.

Hell, I don’t always eat the pitta bread.

Low fat, high protein, high fibre, low cholesterol..and delicious to boot.

Perfect. Support your local kebab van. You know it makes sense.

Alex, I can totally see your point of view, but I also find it far from a black and white issue.

Point #1: We do not want, nor need, a nanny state. Whilst the oft-flogged Demolition Man example is fairly unlikely to transpire, being told what we can and cannot do to ourselves in circumstances that affect nobody else is nothing short of ludicrous. If I want to smoke (and no, I don’t, but IF!), then I’ll smoke. If I want a pint of beer, I’ll have a pint of beer. And if I want a burger, I’ll eat a fucking burger. If I die of a heart attack I’ll only have myself to blame.

Point #2: As a staunch non-smoker, I was all for the public smoking ban — UNTIL it happened. Now, with all of the shivering, rain-soaked addicts crammed under shop awnings, in pub doorways and loitering in designated office smoking areas, I breathe more cigarette smoke than I ever did in my local pub just walking down my local high street. Which I have to do at least twice a day, going two and from the office. My point? I have to go to work. I don’t have to pop into the pub. Yeah, yeah, I know this is supposedly to protect employees of pubs, restaurants and the like (i.e. to protect the business owners from getting sued), but how will the Government react if pedestrians start suing local councils?

So what’s my point? Sometimes “beneficial” decisions aren’t as well planned as they’d liek you to think. There’ll be a sting in the tail somewhere, you mark my words.

On the other hand…

Point #3: Kids are stupid. I was, you were… we all were. Part of the reason that I’m a chunky chappy now is due to all of the fast food restaurants and sweetie shops within walking distance of my secondary school. Not primary, when I was given balanced and (as far as I remember) tasty school dinners, and had no money to spend. Not at middle school, where my mother made me a packed lunch every day and chose exactly what went in it. No, at secondary school, where the greasy, unsubsidised school canteen served more fatty fried crap than the average MacDonalds, prompting most parents to give their kids money to pick up food elsewhere. And did we make a beeline for the nearest salad bar? Did we ‘eck — straight down the chippy, or to the kebab shop, or the sweet shop. If a similar junk food ban had been in operation then — or if the school had had more of an eye on its catering facilities, which would have been the far more sensible option — I couldn’t have eaten crap.

Point #4: Are rent-lucrative supermarkets going to included in this ban? I’m betting not, which is interesting, as the Tesco Superstore built on the grounds of my old secondary school (they sold them a playing field) sells sweets, crisps, cakes, pies, fizzy drinks and hot food like fried chicken and sausages to go. How is that any different in the long run to a fish & chip shop?

Ultimately, I don’t know what I’d prefer as a resolution on this. Either decision leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

“I suppose you could allow the parents to force ’em to eat at school (by buying vouchers or something), that way the parents get some choice of what their kids eat, and the kids can choose whether they want to spend their hard-negotiated pocket money on eating crap or other stuff.”

It’s a great starting point, but in order to make it work the government will need to ensure that every single damned school in the country has the budget to make decent, healthy meals available for its pupils — and by this I mean actually sort it out, rather than giving Jamie Oliver another photo op and then forgetting all about it. After that, by all means force them to eat at school, because at least then they’ll be getting a decent. balanced meal. You could even combine it with lesson time, teaching kids how to prepare, cook and eat food from around the world in the correct manner, using the correct cutlery and implements (okay, okay, this last part is a pipe dream, but seriously — every time I see a patron of any age reach for a fork in Wagamama I die a little inside).

In the meantime, restrict the sale of sweets in the same manner as cigarettes, I say!