From the Jan. 2015 edition of Carolina Journal, a monthly journal of news analysis and opinion from the John Locke Foundation

A student in the pilot Farm to Lunchroom grant program milks a cow at a North Carolina elementary school recently so that it can be shared with classmates in the school lunchroom. Other students killed chickens for the chicken "tenders" also served at lunchtime. (CJ spoof stock photo) New Farm to Lunchroom Program Arrives at N.C. Schools (a CJ parody) By E.B. Dawson Agriculture Correspondent RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has chosen North Carolina to lead a pilot program bringing the trendy concept of farm-to-table dining to public school lunchrooms across the state. As part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Schools Act of 2010, inspired by the advocacy of First Lady Michelle Obama, the USDA will help underwrite the cost of placing organic produce gardens, livestock grazing areas, and poultry ranges on school grounds. In addition, school facilities now used for shop classes or science labs will be retrofitted to accommodate dairy cattle and goat milking, along with the processing and cold storage of freshly slaughtered cows, pigs, and chickens. Students will be "an integral part of the process," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We look forward to the day an eighth-grader can wring the neck of a free-range chicken she raised from the nest. She'll dress the bird, roast it, and serve it to her classmates, all in the same school day," Vilsack said. North Carolina's program will be funded from a 2015 USDA Farm to Lunchroom Grant, enabling the N.C. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Instruction to host a series of eight "Procuring Local Foods" workshops demonstrating how schools can "successfully procure local foods (including meat, dairy, and produce) following USDA guidelines," according to a USDA press release. New facilities will be constructed on school grounds. In addition to the food processing areas, athletic fields will be converted into grazing pastures and gardening space. Solid waste from livestock and poultry, along with unused vegetable matter, will be recycled or composted for use at the school farms. "We look for this process to be a fully closed circle," Vilsack said, pointing out that schools will be able to supplement their revenues by selling any excess meat, dairy, or produce items at the State Farmers Market. "What proud parent wouldn't want to tell his neighbors to visit the farmers market and look for heirloom Black Tuscan Palm Tree kale that their kids grew?" One of the more contentious components of the grant is the experimental "udder-to-sippy-cup" project that has students in the upper grades milk cows directly into the drinking vessels used by K-3 students. The project forced the USDA to overlook its longstanding opposition to the consumption of raw milk, but Vilsack said the agency relented because "fresh trumps safe." N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler wasn't sold on the program initially, but he said, the longer President Obama remained in office, the more it made sense. "The president's reckless economic and fiscal policies have ruined the prospects for most of these kids to ever make a decent living," Troxler told Carolina Journal. "At least they'll learn some survivalist skills so that they can scrape by when the day comes that they have to raise their own food or starve." CJ