It’s not, however, in favor of us all downing large Meat Lover pies. Quite the opposite: Polis is upset that unhealthy pizza is being routinely served to students and classified as a vegetable by the USDA.

“While tomato paste has a small amount of nutrients, pizza is loaded with sugar, salt, bread and cheese, which carry a great deal of fat and carbohydrates that turn into sugar during digestion,” reads a release from Polis’s office. “Categorizing pizza as a vegetable because of its small amount of tomato paste is exactly the wrong approach, as Type II diabetes rates among children and child obesity continue to climb.”

So back to that SLICE Act name? It stands for “School Lunch Improvements for Children’s Education” and would, in part, seek to create a better pizza in three ways: 1) “Allow the USDA to accurately count 1/8 of a cup of tomato paste as 1/8 of a cup, instead of half of a cup, which qualifies pizza as a vegetable” 2) “Allow the USDA to implement science-based sodium reduction targets” and 3) “Allow the USDA to set a whole grain requirement.”

“Agribusinesses should never dictate the quality of school meals,” says Polis. “Big food companies have their priorities, which include selling cheap, unhealthy foods at high profits. But parents and schools have their priorities; making sure our kids eat right because research shows a clear connection between nutrition and student performance in school.”

UPDATE: Corey Henry, the vice president of communications for the American Frozen Food Institute, writes in with a response to Polis.

“Congress did not make pizza a vegetable. Pizza is not now considered a vegetable and never will be considered a vegetable, and no one has ever, or will ever, ask that pizza be considered a vegetable. Congress acted to retain the current vegetable crediting for tomato paste as part of USDA’s new school meal nutrition standards in recognition of tomato paste’s significant nutritional value. Tomato paste is an incredibly versatile and nutrient rich food, packed with Vitamins A and C and rich in fiber, potassium and antioxidants. Nearly two whole tomatoes are required to make just one tablespoon of tomato sauce, which is why USDA rightly credits 1/8th of a cup of tomato paste as a full serving of vegetables. Indeed, USDA’s latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage increased consumption of tomato products, such as paste and sauce.

“Unfairly downgrading the nutritional classification of tomato paste would have severely hindered the ability of school nutritionists to serve a wide range of healthy, affordable meals that school children enjoy eating. Frozen food producers are committed to working with our school nutritionist partners to provide healthy food options that improve nutrition. The frozen pizza our members provide to schools is calorie and portion controlled, made with whole grains, rich in fiber with reduced levels of fat and sodium.

“Frozen food makers endorsed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and USDA’s final school meal nutrition standards. We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with school nutritionists as we work to achieve progress towards our shared goal of improved childhood nutrition.”