Alice Waters makes an intriguing and innovative proposal on the op-ed page of today's New York Times; why not turn lunchtime in our public schools into a learning opportunity?

Citing the still-shocking news that today's kids may die younger than their parents thanks to the diabetes epidemic, Waters also calls for the return of mandatory physical education (she uses the more gentle euphemism, “universal,” but her meaning is clear).

And while she applauds the eviction of vending machines from school hallways and efforts to upgrade the quality of cafeteria lunches, that's only half the battle, according to Waters.

She argues that a steady diet of salty, sugary junk food has made our children wary of unfamiliar, healthier foods, and laments the fact that we have “abdicated our responsibility to these children, placing their well-being in the hands of the fast food industry.”

The result, says Waters, is that “not only are our children eating this unhealthy food, they're digesting the values that go with it: the idea that food has to be fast, cheap and easy; that abundance is permanent and effortless; that it doesn't matter where food actually comes from.”

When Waters launched her Edible Schoolyard program 10 years ago at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, the idea was to get kids excited about growing their own food. In the process, the students learned about seeds and soil, botany and history, and acquired an appreciation of what it takes to get food on our plates.

The Edible Schoolyard program shows that when children learn to grow and prepare good, healthy food for themselves, they get excited about eating well. Waters wants to see such programs actually incorporated into the core curriculum for students from kindergarten right through high school.

Waters acknowledges that such a move would require “significant investment,” but adds that the cost of not teaching our kids to eat better will be far higher. You may say she's a dreamer, but I give her an “A” for ambition. We can lecture kids about good nutrition till the cows come home, but giving them the skills and knowledge to make healthier meals would really nourish them, and might set them on the path to a lifetime of eating well.