WEB POSTED 10-08-2002
Where is "survival 101"?
According to articles which appeared in the September 16th issues of
NEWSWEEK and U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, as well as the
September 24th issue of THE NEW YORK TIMES, the American school
systems are guilty of coaxing our children whom we entrust to them into
dietary self-destruction. The purported incentive is the huge payoffs
received from the junk-food companies.
U.S. NEWS, in a brief sidebar entitled "Oil Change," flashed a
small ray of hope by reporting that one of the schools� major suppliers,
McDonald�s, is switching to a shortening which contains only "�about
half the trans fatty acids or trans fats (read: very bad fats) that they
do now."
One cause for the uproar is the fact that "...researchers over the
past decade discovered that trans fats can hike harmful cholesterol
levels and block arteries as much or more than the much-maligned
saturated fats in food like red meat, ice cream and butter."
The same week, NEWSWEEK, in its column entitled "Periscope,"
carried the headline "How to Flunk Lunch." The magazine gave its own
method of grading the nutritional value of school lunches in various
cities. An example of grades it awarded: Fort Lauderdale - B; Miami,
Fairfax, Virginia and New York - C; Dallas and Los Angeles - D;
Philadelphia and Detroit - F. In addition, the statement was made that
"By high school, schools are looking like a 7-Eleven with books."
The half-page article in the NEW YORK TIMES was entitled
"Schools Teach 3C�s: Candy, Cookies and Chips," and begins with the
assertion that "...in more and more schools nationwide, children from
kindergarten through high school are being taught that �nutrition� comes
in boxes of fast foods, candy wrappers and soft-drink cans and bottles.
"In many schools, fast-food companies have co-opted the lunch
program, and children have ready access to soft-drink and snack
machines. In the classroom, too, children in 12,000 schools are required
to watch a 12-minute television program every day with two minutes of
commercials from companies like McDonald�s, Hershey, Pepsico, Coca-Cola,
KFC, Frito-Lay, Domino�s and 7Up."
A New York University instructor is quoted as stating that, "Given
their purchasing power, numbers, potential as future customers and
captive status, it is no wonder that food companies view school children
as an unparalleled marketing opportunity."
The article points out that "To be sure, in exchange for advertising
and the opportunity to sell their nutritionally wanting products in
schools, corporations often contribute money and materials desperately
needed by schools.
The situation is probably best described by San Francisco school
board member Jill Wynns: "The law requires your future customers to come
to a place 180 days a year where they must watch and listen to your
advertising messages exclusively. Your competitors are not allowed
access to the market. The most important public institution in the lives
of children and families gives its implied endorsement to your products.
The police and schools enforce the requirement that the customers show
up and stay for the show."
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