A video posted on YouTube has been viewedmore than 16 million people. No, this is not a new clip of Olga Buzovoy. At this channel in general there are only 14 thousand subscribers. And there's an incredibly popular video about how students spend lunch in Japan: "Do you like school food?" Asks the voice-over. "I like it!" The children answer in one voice. At lunch here, they answer responsibly. They spend 45 minutes on it - the same as the lesson lasts. Children do not go to the dining room. The food itself comes to them in class. But first things first.
A photo: frame from the video The main heroine of the movie - fifth grader Yui. She carries a lunch mat, her own wands, a toothbrush and a cup, where she picks up water to rinse her mouth. In addition, in the girl's portfolio, a napkin is not a paper napkin, but a real one. In school, Yui goes along with a crowd of classmates. This is also part of the tradition of the Japanese way of life: go to school on foot. Children gather in groups, one of their parents sees them off. To bring the child by car here is not accepted. Let's skip the first lessons and go straight to the kitchen. Five chefs pack food for each class in saucepans and boxes, load on trolleys. Feed 720 people. Soon the attendants will arrive - they will take lunch to classmates. At the end of the lesson, the children "serve" their own tables: they put a mat-tablecloth, spread out the sticks. All wear special robes, hats, under which hide the hair, and masks. Carefully wash your hands and rub your hands with antibacterial gel. And only then the attendants go for food. The obligatory part of the ritual is to thank the cooks for a delicious dinner. Yes, even before they try.
1/5Photo: still from videoPhoto: still from videoPhoto:Still from videoPhoto: Still from videoPhoto: Still from videoThey also manage the classroom themselves: they pour soup, lay out mashed potatoes, hand out milk and bread. Then the teacher tells where the food on the plates came from. The students grew the potatoes they will serve for lunch today themselves: there is a vegetable garden next to the school. In addition to mashed potatoes, there will be fish baked in pear sauce and vegetable soup - similar to our cabbage soup, only with water instead of broth. The pears and fish were grown on a nearby farm - nothing is brought in from far away, they prefer local products. Next year, the current fifth-graders will grow their own potatoes. In the meantime, they eat the ones the sixth-graders planted. There are two packages of milk, a few servings of potatoes and soup left. Their children will play rock-paper-scissors - nothing should go to waste! And the children will even unwrap the milk cartons to make it easier to pack them and send them for recycling. The meal is over – everyone brushes their teeth in unison. Yes, and the teacher too. That’s all – all that’s left is to clear the tables and tidy up: sweep, wash the floor in the classroom, on the stairs, even in the toilet. The children do all this themselves. And imagine, neither the children themselves nor their parents are against it. Such a ritual, as the Japanese themselves claim, forms a healthy lifestyle in general and a healthy attitude to food in particular. Vegetables and fruits should be seasonal, all products – local. If possible, of course. Everyone should understand that lunch is not just a set of products, it is also someone’s work. Which must be respected. And note that there are no sweets, cookies or other harmful things on the table. The amount of sugar is cut to a minimum: it is believed that glucose from fruits is quite enough for the body. It is incredibly useful for teeth. As well as for the figure. Here is the answer for you – why Japanese children are considered the healthiest in the world. No matter how trite the truism may sound, it does not cease to be the truth: “You are what you eat.”
